Soderquist Named Finalist for Spencer Penrose Award
WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University head hockey coach Ryan Soderquist has been named a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award, given annually to the NCAA Ice Hockey Coach of the Year, the American Hockey Coaches Association announced Tuesday.
The seven nominees for the award are comprised of any coach who won his respective conference Coach of the Year award, and any coach with a team in the Frozen Four. Soderquist was named the Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year on March 15 for the second time in four seasons.
The other six nominees are Norm Bazin of UMass-Lowell, Rick Bennett of Union, Bob Daniels of Ferris State, Don Lucia of Minnesota, Mel Pearson of Michigan Tech and Jerry York of Boston College.
In his 10th season at Bentley, Soderquist took a team that was picked 10th in the AHA preseason coaches poll and had them in contention to win the regular season title on the final weekend. They ended up just three points out of first-place in sixth, a four-place and 10-point improvement from 2010-11. The Falcons' 16 wins this year is second most in the program's Division I history, and they advanced to the conference quarterfinals after beating Sacred Heart in the first round.
The winner of the Spencer Penrose Award will be announced on April 6 in Tampa, Fla.