A familiar face for long-time Icers fans will be the first coach of the Penn State women's hockey team.
Former Icer, ACHA Hall of Fame member Josh Brandwene was announced in a press release from the Penn State Athletic Department late this afternoon.
It's an outstanding decision based on Josh's history with Penn State and his previous roles as a coach and an administrator.
After an award-filled four years for the Icers under new boss Joe Battista, including breaking JoeBa's career points record for a blue-liner, Josh went on to coach ACHA powerhouses Michigan-Dearborn and Delaware. Brandwene has also coached at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts.
Most importantly, perhaps, is the stint by Josh as the head coach of the girl's hockey team at Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford, Conn. After rebuilding the girl's program from 2008 to 2010, Josh served as head coach of the boy's team this past school year.
JoeBa tells me that current Lady Icers coach Mo Stroemel will have a role to be determined with the new varsity team. That's a great move by the Athletic Department. Mo has done a great job recruiting for the Lady Icers and building the program from near nothing.
Josh will be formally introduced at a press conference Tuesday morning. The full press release can be read here. In the meantime, here are some notable quotes:
Athletic Director Tim Curley:
Director of Hockey Operations Joe Battista:
And last but certainly not least, from the Coach:
Former Icer, ACHA Hall of Fame member Josh Brandwene was announced in a press release from the Penn State Athletic Department late this afternoon.
It's an outstanding decision based on Josh's history with Penn State and his previous roles as a coach and an administrator.
After an award-filled four years for the Icers under new boss Joe Battista, including breaking JoeBa's career points record for a blue-liner, Josh went on to coach ACHA powerhouses Michigan-Dearborn and Delaware. Brandwene has also coached at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts.
Most importantly, perhaps, is the stint by Josh as the head coach of the girl's hockey team at Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford, Conn. After rebuilding the girl's program from 2008 to 2010, Josh served as head coach of the boy's team this past school year.
JoeBa tells me that current Lady Icers coach Mo Stroemel will have a role to be determined with the new varsity team. That's a great move by the Athletic Department. Mo has done a great job recruiting for the Lady Icers and building the program from near nothing.
Josh will be formally introduced at a press conference Tuesday morning. The full press release can be read here. In the meantime, here are some notable quotes:
Athletic Director Tim Curley:
We are proud to welcome Josh back to Penn State as the first head coach of the women's varsity ice hockey team. His wealth of experience and unique hockey background have prepared him to build our program and we are excited to have him on board.
Director of Hockey Operations Joe Battista:
I have known Josh and his family for almost 25 years. He was my first recruit as an Icer coach in 1987 and a big part of our early success. He has the perfect skill set to be a successful coach and mentor to the student-athletes in our women's hockey program. He has incredible passion for Penn State and coaching and has impeccable values, boundless energy and enthusiasm, and shares our culture for Success With Honor.
Josh has been a builder everywhere he has been, taking each team to unprecedented levels of success. His accomplishments reach beyond any one team or institution as evidenced by his impact on a national level as the only four-term president of the ACHA and a member of the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Board of Governors. We are proud to welcome him home.
And last but certainly not least, from the Coach:
I am honored, humbled and thrilled to return to Penn State to lead the women's ice hockey program at this amazing time in the hockey program's history.
I truly love every aspect of building a successful program. To have the opportunity to build a program the `Penn State Way,' here at this place that has meant so much to me and shaped who I am as a person and as a coach is a dream come true.
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