Dean Jackson Named STX/AHCA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Coach of the Year
Plattsburgh, NY — In addition to taking home the National Player of the Year award, Elmira College also claimed the country’s top coaching honor as third-year head coach Dean Jackson ’03 was named the STX/AHCA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Coach of the Year. For Jackson, this year’s award is his third Coach of the Year honor of his career, as he was named the D3hockey.com National Coach of the Year and CaptainU National Coach of the Year in 2013.
“First of all, well deserved Dean” assistant coach Josh Piro ’03 simply stated. “I’ve been around the game a long time and have had a lot of coaches, played for a lot of coaches, know a lot of coaches, and I can honestly say Dean is the hardest working coach I have been associated with.”
In just his third season at the helm of the Elmira College women’s ice hockey program, Jackson has quickly proven to be one of the top coaches in NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey. In his three years, he has amassed a 70-13-3 career record, including three consecutive NCAA Tournament bids, two NCAA Tournament Semifinal appearances, and an NCAA National Championship in 2013, Elmira’s third national title in program history.
Jackson has led the 2014-15 Soaring Eagles to a 24-2-1 record, which includes an Elmira College record setting 23 regular season wins, an unblemished 18-0-0 ECAC West Conference record, the 2014-15 ECAC West Conference regular season title, and a USCHO No. 1 national ranking for five consecutive weeks. He has also posted a 8-3-1 record against nationally ranked teams this season en route to being named the 2015 ECAC West Conference Coach of the Year.
Jackson had seven skaters receive year-end conference awards in 2014-15, headlined by a pair of AHCA All-Americans in ECAC West Conference Player of the Year Ashley Ryan ’15 and ECAC West Conference Defensive Player of the Year Brooke Wilgosh ’15. Jackson also had three players named AHCA First Team All-Americans in Ryan, Wilgosh, and Ashton Hogan ’15, marking the third time in program history EC has placed three players on the first team.
“I have known Dean for my whole life it seems, playing in college together and playing against him in the pros” stated Piro. “When we had the first conversation about the possibility of me being his assistant, he sold me on it and it has honestly been one of the better decisions I have made and it’s been an amazing ride so far. It has been an absolute pleasure working with him. I’ve learned so much from him as a coach and as a person too. He has really taught me a lot and I feel really privileged to be coaching with him.”
Coach Jackson will put his Coach of the Year honor to the test this weekend, starting tomorrow, March 20th, when the Soaring Eagles take on No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Rivers Falls in the NCAA Tournament Semifinals. Faceoff for tomorrow’s game is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Stafford Ice Arena in Plattsburgh, NY. Ticket prices for the game are $15 for adults and $10 for students.
