Paul Kirtland is leaving his position as an assistant coach at Yale to take a similar post at Minnesota State, a perennial powerhouse in the CCHA. Kirtland, a 2013 graduate of Ohio State, spent just one calendar year at Yale, not coaching in a game, due to the Ivy League’s decision to not play during...
Paul Kirtland is leaving his position as an assistant coach at Yale to take a similar post at Minnesota State, a perennial powerhouse in the CCHA.
Kirtland, a 2013 graduate of Ohio State, spent just one calendar year at Yale, not coaching in a game, due to the Ivy League’s decision to not play during the coronavirus. Prior to that, Kirtland served as an assistant coach under C.J. Marottolo at Sacred Heart for two seasons.
Kirtland is one of the sharper young coaching minds in the college game. His coaching resume also includes stops at Division 3 Trinity College, the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints and the NAHL’s Fairbanks Ice Dogs.
Minnesota State, a participant in the 2021 NCAA Frozen Four, has won four consecutive regular-season titles and appeared in three of the last four national tournaments. Head coach Mike Hastings and associate head coach Todd Knott are regarded as one of the best duos in college hockey. Kirtland should help keep the Mavericks atop the CCHA perch and in the hunt for national championships.
Keith Allain is once again looking for a new assistant coach. Earlier this summer, Yale had hired Joe Howe from Alaska Fairbanks to replace Josh Siembida. Now, the Bulldogs are on the hunt for another assistant coach.
There will certainly be quite a few interested applicants. One local name to keep in mind is Avon Old Farms assistant coach and UMass alum, Mike Pereira. He’d bring college hockey playing experience and a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the local recruiting base.
Sacred Heart tabs Durocher
Ryan Durocher will join C.J. Marottolo’s staff at Sacred Heart. The SUNY-Cortland alum will fill the void on the Pioneers’ staff when Steve Bergin left to become an assistant coach with the AHL’s Hershey Bears.
Durocher will be the second assistant coach on the staff along with Scott McDougall, the Mansfield, Mass., native and UConn alum. Durocher spent the 2020-21 season at Robert Morris, but that school’s program folded earlier this offseason. Prior to that, the Canton, N.Y., native was an assistant coach in the USHL with the Sioux City Musketeers. He also has video coaching experience with the AHL’s Binghamton Devils and as the Director of Hockey Operations at St. Lawrence.
