PITTSBURGH, Pa. – – Head Women’s Hockey Coach Michael O’Grady has announced the addition of Lila Toczek to his staff for the upcoming 2021-22 season.
Toczek, a Buffalo, New York native, comes to Chatham from Division III Buffalo State University. A four-year varsity member, she was named to the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) All-Academic Team each season and earned New England Women’s Hockey League (NEWHL) Player of the Week accolades during her junior season. In her senior year, Toczek was named captain.
Toczek’s time at Buffalo State spanned well beyond her playing career. Throughout her undergraduate studies, Toczek served on the staff at the University’s arena, managing facility usage, game scoring, and sales at the rink’s store.
After graduating, Toczek remained at Buffalo State as a volunteer assistant coach. She worked with the athletes both on and off the ice, specifically developing their strength, conditioning, and game skills. Toczek was also essential to the Bengals’ recruiting process, analyzing film and communicating with prospective student-athletes.
In addition to her college coaching experience, Toczek has ample experience with all age groups.
For three summers, she served as an assistant coach at Rush Hockey, a premier showcase camp for NCAA-bound players. While at Rush, she helped develop the on-ice skills of the players, managed line combinations throughout games, and taught leadership values while also recruiting.
Heading into her senior year, Toczek was selected to be a coach and counselor at the New York State Amateur Hockey Association select camp, in which she supervised a team of 14 girls, instructed off-ice and on-ice drills and exercises, and helped sharpen the players’ leadership and communication skills.
Toczek graduated from Buffalo State with Magna Cum Laude honors in 2020 with a degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. She will be continuing her academic career at Chatham in the Master of Business Administration program.
