Courtesy of UMass Dartmouth Sports Information

DARTMOUTH, Mass. – University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Director of Athletics Amanda Van Voorhis announced the appointment of Erik Noack to serve as the fourth head coach of the Corsair men’s ice hockey program today.

“Erik exuded a passion and love for the game throughout the interview process,” Van Voorhis said. “His values are our values - community service, academic success, the whole development of student-athletes, and competitive success. His approach mirrors the NCAA Division III philosophy and he epitomizes the mission through his actions on and off ice. A tremendous leader in his own right, he's equipped with the skills of a mentor and well versed in the challenges student-athletes face. He's a proponent of relationship building, communication, empowerment, and student-athlete leadership. I anticipate this will be a smooth transition and look forward to the future of UMass Dartmouth Hockey.”

Noack joins UMass Dartmouth after spending the past 13 seasons as the head men’s ice hockey coach at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. Under his leadership, the Wildcats experienced tremendous growth and improvement as a program, as Noack compiled a career record of 148-172-21. After posting a 1-22-2 in his first year, Noack led the Wildcats to an eight-win turnaround with his own recruits in the 2004-05 season and qualified for the ECAC Northeast playoffs.  As a result, he was named the ECAC Northeast Co-Coach of the Year in 2005 and two student-athletes were named to the All-Rookie Team. The Wildcats have enjoyed regional success ever since, achieving a program-best record of 18-8-1 in 2013-14, including a regular-season upset of No. 7 Williams. Noack led his charges to the ECAC Northeast playoffs in 11 of his 13 seasons at the helm.

Through the recruiting efforts of Noack and his staff, Johnson & Wales was home to three American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) All-Americans and four ECAC Northeast Players of the Year, while nine players signed a professional contract in the past two years alone. In 2008, Matt McGilvray became the program’s first-ever conference Player of the Year and All-American, while Jeremiah Ketts, a two-time ECAC Northeast Player of the Year, became the program’s first two-time AHCA All-American  (2011, 2012). Most recently, Josh Obregon garnered All-America accolades in 2014. In addition, Noack’s players consistently performed in the classroom, achieving a 3.46 team GPA last year.

Prior to his time at JWU, Noack was an assistant coach at SUNY Fredonia during the 2001-02 season under longtime Blue Devils head coach Jeff Meredith. The 1998 graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology played five years of professional hockey in both the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) before entering the coaching ranks.

Noack attended Kimball Union Academy and played junior hockey for the Cornwall Colts (CJHL) before beginning his collegiate career at Rochester Institute of Technology, where he played defense and served as a captain his senior season. In 113 career collegiate contests, he registered 14 goals and 19 assists for 33 points. The Tigers were a Division III perennial powerhouse during his tenure, posting an overall record of 83-25-11 between 1995 and 1998, earning three NCAA tournament appearances, and advancing to the 1996 championship game.

A native and resident of Barrington, R.I., Noack earned his Master of Business Administration degree from Johnson & Wales in 2004.