Inside Athletics

Kyle Wallack enters his fifth season as head coach of the Albertus Magnus College men's ice hockey team for the 2024-25 season.

During the 2023-24 season, Wallack led his Falcons to a 16-9-0 record and was named the Division III Independent Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year and named a finalist for the Edward Jeremiah Award, given to the College Division (II-III) Men's Ice Hockey Coach of the Year by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA). The team went on a five-game winning streak during the season, including a 2-1 overtime win over No. 10 Salve Regina on a goal by Charles Lavoie in the extra period. The Falcons also defeated Post, 8-1 as the team set a record with eight different goal scorers in a game.

There was no shortage of postseason awards for Wallack's team as Logan Bateman was named the Division III Independent Player of the Year while Sam Anderson and Harley Michaels were named to the All-Independent First Team and Tyler Ignazzitto, the second team. William Lavigne and Eric Chamandy were both named to the Division III All-Rookie Team. Bateman was also named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-American First Team and All-District Team. It was the fifth time an Albertus student-athlete was named as a CSC All-American. Along with Bateman, Ignazzitto, J.J. Berdal, Ryan Herpy and Cameron Weitzman were all named to the CSC Academic All-District Team. 

Along with the CSC Academic Awards, the Falcons led all of Division II/III for the second straight year with 20 members named as AHCA Krampade All-American Scholars.

For the second straight season, Herpy was named as a nominee for the Hockey Humanitarian Award while Tim Manning was named as a semifinalist for the Joe Concannon Award, which is given annually to the best American-born NCAA Division II/III college hockey student-athlete from New England.

The Falcons recorded their winningest season in 2022-23 with a 17-7-1 record for a .700 win percentage. The Albertus team recorded an average of 3.36 goals per game and an average of 2.42 goals against while winning a record-breaking nine home contests and seven away. The Falcons' seven away victories were highlighted by a 5-4 overtime victory over the nationally ranked No. 10 Trinity College in November. 

After the season, the Falcons racked up several awards in the postseason. The Division III Independent Men's Ice Hockey schools announced their 2022-23 Ice Hockey All-Conference Teams as forward Alex Gagnon (Montreal, Quebec) was named Player of the Year, forward Caden Pattison (Lake Stevens, Washington) earned Rookie of the Year, Logan Bateman (Ottawa, Ontario) was selected as Goalkeeper of the Year, and head coach Wallack was named the Coach of the Year. Gagnon was also named a finalist for the 2022-23 Sid Watson Award sponsored by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) and named to the New England Hockey Writers Association (NEHWA) Division II-III All-Star Team. Senior defender Ryan Herpy (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) was named as one of five finalists for the 2023 Hockey Humanitarian Award while forward Tim Manning (Concord, Ohio) had been chosen as a semifinalist for the 21st Joe Concannon Award, presented annually to the best American-born NCAA Division II/III college hockey student-athlete in New England. Wallack was named a finalist for the 2022-23 Edward Jeremiah Award, given annually to the College Division (II-III) Men's Ice Hockey Coach of the Year by the AHCA.

Wallack led the Falcons to a drastic turnaround from its first full season to its second in 2021-22. After going 4-18-2 in its inaugural campaign, Albertus improved dramatically in season two by going 16-8-1 for a .660 win percentage, the 22nd-best mark in all of DIII. AMC's 16 wins were six better than the next-best Division III independent program. The Falcons' dramatic progress can be traced to an improvement on the offensive end of the ice, as the team went from averaging 1.88 goals per game in 2019-20 to scoring 3.76 goals per game this season, the 17th-best mark in the country. Junior forward Gagnon led the way for the Albertus attack, placing ninth in DIII with 1.61 points per game. A seven-game win streak highlighted Albertus' season before the Christmas break that featured a road victory over No. 15 nationally-ranked Trinity (Conn.) College. The Falcons also won both the SNHU Stovepipe Tournament and the W.B. Mason Winter Classic, hosted by Plattsburgh State.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ice hockey team was unable to compete in a regular season but was able to play three exhibition games against Anna Maria and Connecticut College. The Falcons' lone exhibition win came on February 27 against the Camels. 

In his first at the helm of the Falcons, Wallack led Albertus to a 4-18-2 record over 24 games. The Falcons picked up wins over Fitchburg St., Western New Eng., King's (Pa.) and SUNY Canton, with the victories over WNE and King's coming at home. Freshman Cameron Weitzman (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec) led the way for Albertus, pacing the team in points (18) and goals (11). 

Wallack boasts 18 years of NCAA Division I coaching experience and one season as a head coach in the elite United States Hockey League. During that time, he recruited 15 NHL draft picks, three All-USHL players, and three USA Olympians. Serving as the associate head coach at the University of Vermont since 2013, Wallack's responsibilities included offensive coaching, recruiting, and power play.  Wallack helped lead Vermont to three 20-win seasons in four years from 2013-17, including a 2014 NCAA Tournament appearance. Two years ago, the Catamounts earned their highest Hockey East regular-season finish in the standings since 2009 with sixth place.

Before joining UVM, Wallack was the head coach of the Indiana Ice in the USHL, leading the team to a 35-16-9 record in the regular season. He also spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Yale and recruited the nation's top-scoring offense and several members of Yale's 2013 NCAA national championship squad during his final two years in 2009-10 and 2010-11. Wallack served as an assistant coach at the College of the Holy Cross for two seasons and helped the Crusaders register a historic overtime upset over Minnesota at the 2006 NCAA West Regional.

The West Hartford, Connecticut, native also spent three years as an assistant coach at Quinnipiac University, winning the 2002 MAAC Championship and claiming its first NCAA Tournament bid, followed by two seasons at the University of Connecticut.

As a player, Wallack was a four-year starting goaltender at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. He served as the team captain as a senior and earned All-NECHA honors twice during his career.

Coach Wallack's All-Time Coaching Record at Albertus Magnus College

 * - did not compete due to COVID-19 pandemic