Trois-Rivières 2025 ECHL Champions

Exactly one week ago, the Trois-Rivières Lions finished their 2024-25 season with a title.

The Lions, the ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, completed a five-game triumph over the Toledo Walleye to earn their first-ever Kelly Cup as ECHL playoff kings with a 4-1 victory at home at the Colisée Vidéotron on June 7. Chris Jandric (North Dakota) tallied the game-winning goal in the deciding contest.

Trois-Rivières rebounded with four straight wins in the final, after Toledo took the opener in Ohio. The Lions, who began play in 2021-22, are the second Canadian team in league history to win the ECHL playoff title, following the now-defunct Newfoundland Growlers, who did the same in 2019.

Besides Jandric, who also played for Alaska Fairbanks in his college career, other former NCAA players on this year's Lions' playoff squad included Jakov Novak (Northeastern), Cory Thomas (Canisius) and Kirby Proctor (Omaha).

Wayne Wilson Retires at RIT

Rochester Institute of Technology men's hockey head coach Wayne Wilson has announced his retirement, effective immediately, after more than 35 years of coaching at the NCAA Division I level. 

A Bowling Green graduate who was a member of the Falcons' 1984 NCAA championship team, Wilson compiled a 471-337-82 overall record with RIT, including its transition from Division III to Division I in 2005, and its move from the Frank Ritter Memorial Arena to the Gene Polisseni Center in 2014. His ledger includes nine conference regular-season crowns, six conference tournament championships, and six NCAA tournament appearances, including four national tournament berths at the Division I level. 

Wilson's 2023-24 RIT team finished 27-11-2 overall and won both the Atlantic Hockey regular-season and playoff titles while making the NCAAs. The 2009-10 Tigers won both Atlantic Hockey titles, and also advanced to the NCAA Division I Frozen Four in Detroit.

A native of Guelph, Ont., Wilson, 62, began his coaching career at his alma mater, serving as an assistant coach at BGSU from 1988 to 1999 before taking the top job at RIT.

ADDENDUM: RIT has chosen alumnus Matt Thomas as its new head coach. Thomas, 49, who played for the Division III Tigers from 1994 to 1998, previously served two seasons as an assistant coach with Maine (2000-2002), and then coached in the ECHL for 12 seasons. He then spent five years as head coach at Alaska Anchorage (2013-18) where he led the Seawolves to a 48-105-21 overall mark and one WCHA Final five berth. The Maple Ridge, B.C. native then coached Cincinnati (ECHL) for two seasons before spending the last four years as an assistant with Providence (AHL).

Thomas Let Go at UAA

The University of Alaska Anchorage announced on Wednesday that it will not renew the contract of head coach Matt Thomas. The former RIT skater and minor-league coach led the Seawolves to a 48-105-21 overall mark in five seasons, including a 39-92-27 record in WCHA play, as the fifth-ever head coach in the UAA hockey program’s history.

Thomas' first campaign in Anchorage was his best, as he guided UAA to an 18-16-4 overall finish in 2013-14, plus a berth in the WCHA Final Five. His worst was his last this past season, as the Seawolves went 4-26-4 overall and finished last in the WCHA at 4-21-3, with the last two wins coming in the last two games of the year at archrival Alaska Fairbanks.

The UAA program began in 1979-80 at the NCAA Division II level, and became a Division I independent in 1984-85. The Seawolves earned three consecutive independent berths to the NCAA Tournament from 1990 to 1992, but have not returned to the nationals since that time. UAA joined the WCHA as an affiliate in 1992-93 and became a full member the following season, but has only registered one winning overall record since joining the conference, and has not qualified for the WCHA Tournament since 2014.

That's All, Folks

Congratulations to the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, who took home hockey's biggest prize for the first time in 39 years with their 4-0 victory in Vancouver in Game 7 on Wedenesday night.

And congrats also to Conn Smythe Trophy winner Tim Thomas (Vermont) and forward Rich Peverley (St. Lawrence) in getting their names inscribed on the Cup - they did both the ECAC and college hockey proud in the playoffs.

Also out on the ice at Rogers Arena following the deciding game clincher on June 15 was Steve Kampfer (Michigan), who played in 38 regular-season games for Boston this winter, while also on the Bruins roster was Matt Bartkowski (Ohio State). Blake Wheeler (Minnesota) and Mark Stuart (Colorado College) also toiled in Beantown this season, but were dispatched by the trade deadline to the Atlanta Thrashers, soon to be the Winnipeg Whatevers.

Now it's on to the NHL Awards, the Entry Draft - and waiting for those 2011-12 college and pro schedules to be finalized ...

ECAC Alums Leading Bruins

The Vancouver Canucks may have more former NCAA players on their roster; but it's the Boston Bruins' two former collegians, both from the Eastern College Athletic Conference, who came up big in Game Four of the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals at TD Garden last night in Beantown.

Former St. Lawrence forward Rich Peverley, who tallied 116 points in four seasons with the Saints from 2000 to 2004, scored twice in the Bruins' 4-0 win that tied the series for Boston at two games apiece. All-World goalkeeper and former Vermont Catamount backstop Tim Thomas picked up the shutout yesterday with 38 saves, two nights after he registered 40 stops in an 8-1 Boston rout in Game Three.

On the other side, former Dartmouth skater Tanner Glass made his Finals debut, blocking three shots for the Canucks while going minus-1. Former Boston College All-America netminder Cory Schneider stopped all nine shots he faced in mop-up duty in the third period for the Canucks, who have scored all of one goal in their last two outings. It was Schneider's first playoff action since a start in Chicago back on April 24 in the first round, and his first game back in Boston since the Eagles won the 2007 Hockey East championship game over UNH.

Now it remains to be seen if Schneider gets the start tomorrow night in Vancouver for Game Five - or gets ready to come on in relief again in what is now a best-of-three series.