SCHENECTADY, NY – Union College men's ice hockey head coach Nate Leaman has been named the InsideCollegeHockey.com National Coach of the Year, the website announced early Thursday morning. The honor comes after Leaman led the Dutchmen to the ECAC Hockey Championship game and a school-record 21 wins.
“A lot of coaches lead their teams to better-than-expected finishes every year,” wrote INCH ECAC Hockey correspondent Joe Gladziszewski. “Others lead teams that fail to meet expectations. For Union and head coach Nate Leaman, expectations were exceeded. It was the best season in the program's 19-year Division I history that included a school-record 21 wins, its first appearance in the ECAC Hockey Championship weekend and title game and a place in the national rankings for [14] straight weeks.”
Along the way to the 21 victories, including a program-best 12 in conference play, Leaman earned his 100th career victory with a 7-0 win at UConn on Dec. 30. At the conference's end-of-the-season banquet he was recognized as the ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year.
“The tangible results and achievement are excellent,” Gladziszewski continued. “Other, less measureable data also trends positively for the Dutchmen. A once-dormant Messa Rink is now the place to be on campus Friday and Saturday nights, and the change in attitude around the program is such that winning is now an expectation. This isn't a one-and-done run for Union.”
