SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Bringing over a decade of collegiate coaching experience to Schenectady, TJ Manastersky has been named assistant men’s hockey coach at Union College, head coach Rick Bennett announced.
“I am grateful to Rick Bennett for the opportunity to coach at Union College,” Manastersky said. “I am thrilled to join a storied hockey program at an elite institution, and I am eager to get to work with Coach Bennett, Coach Ronan, and the exemplary student-athletes.”
“Our program is excited to announce TJ as the newest addition to the men’s hockey coaching staff,” said Bennett. “TJ’s passion and ability to connect with student-athletes was evident in the hiring process. His nine years of head coaching experience at Curry College and his numerous coaching accolades during that time speak volumes about him as a person and a coach. TJ is widely respected in the college hockey community and it will be an honor to work with him and John Ronan this upcoming season.”
Manastersky comes to Union following nine years as the head men’s hockey coach at Division III Curry College. During his time in Milton, he led the Colonels to a 113-82-19 (.572) record, berths in all four Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournaments, and seven postseason appearances in eight seasons overall. He was the youngest coach in the NCAA when hired before the 2012-13 season.
He was named CCC Coach of the Year in 2018-19, when he guided the Colonels to a 16-7-3 record, which included a 13-2-1 mark in the final 16 games of the regular season and a win at the season-opening Buffalo State Tournament.
Off the ice, Curry boasted 30 AHCA All-American Scholars since 2019, the most of any NCAA college hockey program, in addition to eight Curry Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards and five class valedictorians.
Prior to his time with Curry, Manastersky spent three years as an assistant at Div. III Fredonia State University and two years at Div. I Canisius College. He also has worked as a regional scout with the USHL and spent time as an evaluator with USA Hockey, the Greater Ontario Hockey League and Team Ontario.
Manastersky played collegiately at Oswego State and graduated in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in athletic coaching. He also earned a master’s of science in health and physical education from Canisius in 2009.
Manastersky’s first game on the Dutchmen bench will be on October 8, when Union begins the 2021-22 season at the University of New Hampshire.
