NEW HAVEN, Conn. – After leading the Albertus Magnus College men's ice hockey team to a record 2021-22 season, Head Coach Kyle Wallack was named a finalist for the 2021-22 Edward Jeremiah Award, given annually to the College Division (II-III) Men's Ice Hockey Coach of the Year, as announced Wednesday by the AHCA. The winner of the award will be declared on Thursday, March 24.
Wallack, who started the Albertus men's ice hockey program from scratch, 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 showed dramatic improvement 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 Alex Gagnon (Montreal, Quebec) led the way for the Albertus attack, placing ninth in DIII with 1.61 points per game.
Albertus' season was highlighted by a seven-game win streak 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.
The other finalists for the Edward Jeremiah Award include Joe Cardarelli of Cortland State, Dean Fuller of Fitchburg State, Gary Heenan of Utica University, Tyler Krueger of UW-Stevens Point, Adam Krug of Adrian College, Blaise MacDonald of Colby College, Greg May of Augsburg College, Craig Russell of Plymouth State, Chris Schultz of SUNY Geneseo, Kevin Swallow of the University of New England, Mark Taylor of Hobart College, and Sean Walsh of Southern New Hampshire University.
