2013 Coaches

Shane is entering his fifth full season with the Bemidji State women’s hockey team after being hired midway through the 2006-07 season. Veenker serves as the recruiting coordinator whose responsibilities include working with the Beavers' defensive unit, defensive zone coverage, and video breakdown. Since joining the staff at BSU, Veenker has helped the Beavers earn their first winning season in program history along with the team’s first and highest national ranking of No. 7. He has also coached the first All-American and Olympian in program history in goaltender Zuzana Tomcikova (Bratislava, Slovakia) and helped guide Bemidji State to the WCHA Final Face-Off in 2010. Veenker joined the Beaver staff after serving as an assistant coach for the Bemidji High School girls’ hockey team, before which he head coached the Bagley-Fosston High School boys’ hockey team. The native of Windom, Minn. played high school hockey for his hometown team and before graduating from Bemidji State University in 1993 and 2001. While attending BSU, Veenker was employed for four seasons as the manager of the men’s hockey team, where he worked under legendary Beaver hockey coach R.H. 'Bob' Peters. Veenker has worked extensively with the USA Hockey Development Program serving as a Select 14, 15, 16, and 17 coach. He also has previous work experience in the World League of American Football (NFL Europe) and as a graduate assistant for the University of Minnesota football team.

Brian is a native of Vancouver, BC and began his collegiate coaching career at Princeton University as an assistant in 1980. The Dartmouth graduate served as the UNH men's hockey associate head coach for a total on nine seasons, (1993 - 1997 & 1999 - 2002) before being named the Head Coach of the UNH women's team in May, 2002. Brian has guided the Wildcats to 5 NCAA tournament appearances and led the team to the Frozen Four in 2006 and 2008. During the 2008 season, UNH was ranked no. 1 in the nation for eight weeks. Brian is a two-time national Coach of the Year runner-up (2003, 2006), a three time New England Hockey Writers Association Coach of the Year (2003, 2006, 2009) and a four-time Hockey East Coach of the Year (2003, 2005, 2006, 2009).

Holley Tyng begins her eighth season as a member of the Dartmouth women's hockey coaching staff. In June of 2011, she was promoted to associate head coach after working as an assistant coach for six seasons. She is responsible for the defense and updating social media (Facebook & Twitter), while also assisting in scouting and opponent video breakdown. During her time at Dartmouth, Tyng has help lead the Big Green to two ECAC Hockey Tournament titles, an ECAC Hockey regular-season championship, an Ivy League title and four NCAA Tournament appearances. From 2002-2005, Tyng served as the girls’ varsity hockey head coach at Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass. Over her final two years, she led the team to a 23-10-5 record and a pair of berths in the New England Tournament. Ten of the 12 seniors Tyng coached during her first two seasons went on to play for Division I or III women’s collegiate hockey programs. Three years ago she worked as a coach at the USA Hockey 15-year old camp in St. Cloud, Minn., and in the past she worked with the Select 14s in Rochester, N.Y. Prior to head coaching, Tyng was a summer counselor from 2000-03 at Providence College hockey camps, instructing players between the ages of nine and 18. She also helped evaluate the talent of 120 high schoolers from New England and the Canadian Maritimes trying out for Hockey Night in Boston in summer 2004. Tyng played four years of hockey at Providence College, where she was a captain as a senior. She played forward and defense during her 133-game career. Tyng was an ECAC Hockey League All-Academic selection as a sophomore, junior and senior. A native of East Orleans, Mass., Tyng attended Tabor Academy before graduating from Providence College in May 2001 with a degree in math and a minor in business.

Erik is in his third season as an assistant coach on the North Dakota women's hockey staff. His responsibilities include working with the team's penalty killing units, recruiting, scouting and basic hockey skills. "I feel like I am going to bring a youthful exuberance to coaching," Fabian said at the time of his hiring. "I have always wanted to coach. It is where my heart lies right now and is what drew me to this opportunity. I just want to go coach and do what I can for the program." Under his guidance, UND has set back-to-back records in succesful penalty-kill conversions, including an all-time high at 87.4 percent in 2011-12. Fabian is a former UND men's forward (2003-07) who played professional hockey in the East Coast Hockey League for the Pensacola Ice Pilots and Alaska Aces where, in 91 games, he scored 47 points, including 20 goals. Fabian helped lead the Sioux to a 24-14-5 record as an alternate captain his senior campaign and an overall record of 108-53-14 during his four years, including a MacNaughton Cup (WCHA regular-season first place) in his freshman season. He recorded a total of 39 points (19 goals and 20 assists) in 115 games. During his time in the Kelly Green and White, the Roseau, Minn., native, helped the Sioux to the NCAA tournament all four years, the semifinals three times and championship game once, finishing as national runner-up. Fabian joins the staff after previously serving as the assistant director of The Hockey Academy at Ralph Engelstad Arena, where he worked with Brad Berry, who was hired as an assistant coach by the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 24, 2010. Fabian's family includes his wife, Tina, daughter, Alexis, and son, Jackson.

Eddie Ardito, who served as volunteer assistant in 2010-11, was promoted to assistant coach for the Yale women’s ice hockey team in June of 2011. He played for Yale’s head coach, Joakim Flygh, at New England College. A native of Branford, Conn., Ardito was a three-time all-state and All-Southern Connecticut Conference selection for Branford High’s ice hockey team. He was also a three-time MVP and two-time captain, and was a two-time All-SCC selection for the football team. Ardito received a B.A. in sport & recreation management: athletic administration with a minor in coaching from New England College in 2006. He started his career as a forward for the Pilgrims and later served as student assistant coach. After graduating, Ardito spent a season as the interim head coach of New England College’s women’s ice hockey team, leading the team to a 12-6-1 conference record and the semifinals of the ECAC East Tournament. He simultaneously served as the head junior varsity coach and assistant varsity coach for the men’s team, which went 13-5-1 in the conference and advanced to the ECAC East Championship game. In addition to his time with New England’s hockey teams, Ardito also served as a volunteer assistant baseball coach for the Pilgrims in 2007. Ardito was assistant coach and director of hockey operations for Connecticut College’s men’s ice hockey team from 2007 through 2010. The Camels made a pair of NESCAC quarterfinal appearances in his time with them. Ardito and fellow Yale assistant coach Jessica Koizumi were Flygh’s first two hires after taking over as head coach prior to the 2010-11 season. The Bulldogs showed many signs of progress on the ice in their first season under their new leaders, and they were one of three finalists for ECAC Hockey’s SKOR Sports Trophy, recognizing the team that exemplifies sportsmanship, tenacity, commitment and innovation. They were in contention for an ECAC Hockey playoff spot until the final game of the year, and increased their goal total in conference games by 17 percent over the previous season (from 36 to 42). Yale was one of the least-penalized teams in the conference (8.1 penalty minutes per game) and did not incur a major penalty all season.

Emard is in her first season with the Colgate women's hockey program as an assistant coach. Emard joins the Raiders staff after a successful career at St. Lawrence as she was a two-time captain and led her team to the 2011-12 ECAC Hockey Championship. She helped St. Lawrence reach the NCAA Tournament four times during her five years and scored 106 points on 38 goals and 68 assists in 157 career games. She was selected to Team Canada’s U-22 squad in 2009 and was also a member of the ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team in 2007. During her playing career she was an instructor at the Doyle Hockey Development camp, teaching kids the fundamentals of skating and puck handling and other advanced skills. "As a player, Karell was a great leader at St. Lawrence and her experiences playing in both ECAC Hockey and NCAA tournaments will serve her well as she transitions to a coaching role,” said Fargo. “She will be a great resource for our student-athletes and their overall development" Emard graduated in 2011 with a degree in psychology and modern language and earned her Master's in educational leadership and administration.

Alison Domenico joined the Syracuse ice hockey staff as an assistant coach in 2011. Domenico comes to SU from Ohio State University, where she was an assistant coach with the Buckeyes in 2010-11. During her time Columbus, Domenico provided on and off-ice instruction with the Buckeye women's ice hockey team as well as video analysis and day-to-day hockey operations. Her responsibilities also included budget management for recruiting trips, prospective student-athlete visits, home meals and team banquets. Domenico received her bachelor's degree from St. Lawrence University in 2009, where she played four seasons for the Saints. She played in 153 career games, the sixth-most in St. Lawrence history, and is tied for first on the Saints all-time records list for career power play goals (29). During her career, she played in four ECAC Tournaments and four NCAA Tournaments, reaching the Frozen Four in 2006 and 2007. As the captain during her senior season, Domenico played in all 38 games, scoring 16 goals and adding 21 assists. She was named the ECAC Defensive Forward of the Year as well as earning ECAC Second Team All-League honors.

Chris MacKenzie joins the Buckeyes staff as an assistant coach after spending three successful seasons as head coach of the women's program at Niagara University (2009-11). "We are grateful to have such a great person joining us here," Handrahan said. "Coach Mackenzie will bring a variety of experiences to our program that will be valuable to our long term goals as well as an energy that is infectious. Our current and future players will benefit greatly from a coach of his caliber." During his time at Niagara, MacKenzie led the Purple Eagles to back-to-back second-place finishes in the College Hockey America (CHA) regular season, its highest finish since joining the conference in the '02-'03 season. Prior to his time at Niagara he was a Division I men's assistant at University of Massachusetts - Lowell (UML) from 2001-2009. While with UML, he helped guide the program to two Hockey East Final Four appearances in `01-`02 and `08-`09. Prior to becoming a coach, MacKenzie played collegiately at Niagara. He helped start the men's hockey program in 1996 and played four seasons, graduating as one of the most successful Purple Eagle defenders. As a freshman, MacKenzie was honored by then-head coach Blaise MacDonald and then-assistant coach Dave Burkholder as the program's first captain. He currently holds several records at Niagara, including most goals, assists and points in a career and season by a defenseman. MacKenzie received Player of the Year honor in 1998 and was a CHA all star 2000.

After a successful playing career, Kim Coates is the full-time assistant coach of the UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team. Hailing from Harrison Hot Springs, B.C., Coates grew up playing hockey in the women’s AAA league, before joining the Pacific Steelers and the Vancouver Griffins of the NWHL. She went to the United States to pursue her education and played two seasons (2003-2005) with Clarkson University of the NCAA (Division I) before returning home to suit up for the BC Breakers of the Western Women’s Hockey League (WWHL) for a year. Coates then joined UBC, playing three seasons (2006-2009), becoming an assistant captain and then captain of the team. In 72 regular season games for UBC, she scored 39 points, one of which helped the T-Birds to their first-ever win (in a shootout) over the Alberta Pandas. Another helped UBC beat Lethbridge, to clinch the points needed for the team's first-ever playoff berth. Coates completed her Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in History. She then joined the coaching staff of the Thunderbirds, starting out with video analysis and progressing to her current position of full-time assistant over the last three years. Outside of the UBC program, Coates has spent lots of time developing young female players in this province. She has been quite involved with BC Hockey’s High Performance Program, coaching at the U16 and U18 levels. Coates also helped coach the 2011 Team BC squad that competed in U18 National Championships in Saguenay, Quebec. She has completed the Development 1 coaching course and is taking her High Performance 1 through Hockey Canada this summer.

Brandy is currently an Assistant Coach with the University of Regina Cougars. She was an Assistant Coach with the Notre Dame Hounds AAA from 2009 - 2011. In her final year with Notre Dame, the Hounds won the Esso Nationals. West-McMaster is also a former Assistant Coach with Wilfrid Laurier University. She is a 5 year student-athlete with the U of R Cougars and was the 2001 CIAU Player of the Year. Brandy is a 3 time Canada West Player of the Year and is a U of R President's Award Winner. McMaster attended the Team Canada U-22 Camp in 2001. Brandy graduated with a B. Ed and M Sc. in PAS and holds her NCCP HP1 Coaching Certification.