WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester State University Athletics Department announced a number of changes to the men’s ice hockey coaching staff on Wednesday morning. 

Shayne Toporowski will step down from the head coach position in order to spend more time with his family, while long-time member of the Lancer program John Coughlin Jr. will retire from his role as associate head coach. Bob Deraney will take over as the seventh head coach in program history. All changes will be effective at the end of the 2020-21 academic year.

Toporowski leaves Worcester State after seven years at the helm of the men’s ice hockey program, compiling 58 wins. In the 2018-19 season, Toporowski led Worcester State to a record of 15-10-2, the program’s winningest season in 42 years. The Lancers qualified for the MASCAC Tournament in five of the six years that Coach Toporowski was at the helm.

“When I was hired almost seven years ago, the first coaching hire I had to address was the vacant men’s ice hockey coach position,” said Worcester State Director of Athletics Michael Mudd. “Shayne Toporowski was the perfect fit to establish a new team identity, which in my opinion, was a hockey club that was hard to play against every night and was never outworked.  More importantly, Shayne developed and helped prepare young men for the real word for life after hockey.”

“I would like to thank all the Worcester State Athletics Department staff for the opportunity to coach the men's ice hockey program over the last seven years,”said Toporowski. “It has been a privilege to coach all the players at the collegiate level and help grow the hockey program. Special thanks to Coach Coughlin and all the work he put into the program, especially with the recruiting and administration duties. I wish him a fulfilling retirement!”

“Coach Toporowski has brought a level of expertise to the program that is second to none,” said Coughlin. “His support and patience for all of my old time stories were much appreciated. Our players will continue to be well-served by his efforts.”

“I thank Shayne for all his contributions to the Worcester State hockey program,” said Mudd. “I certainly respect the fact that Shayne is at a point in his life where he would like to spend more time with his family and have more time to watch his two talented kids, Dmitri and Olena, participate in their activities.”

“Lastly, I want to thank my family for their support,” said Toporowski. “I look forward to spending more time at home with my wife and children. The change in my life will allow me to attend both of our children’s activities while they pursue their respective passions. I wish the incoming staff, returning players, and incoming recruits good luck! Go Lancers!”

Coach Coughlin has spent nearly 20 seasons over two stints on the Worcester State men’s ice hockey coaching staff, his most recent tenure as associate head coach beginning in 2007. The Coughlin name has been tied to Worcester State men’s ice hockey from the very beginning of the program. John Coughlin Sr. was the first ever head coach of the team, leading the Lancers from their inaugural season in 1966-67 until 1980-81. Both father and son have been inducted into the Worcester State Athletics Hall of Fame, and the synthetic turf stadium on campus is named in honor of the elder Coughlin.

“The Worcester State University hockey program has been a source of great pride for the Coughlin family for over 50 years,” said Coughlin Jr. “Having been able to coach with my father was an experience I will cherish forever. There were many great memories and championships during the 1970s.”

“John Coughlin Jr. has done so much for the Lancers hockey program since he arrived nearly 50 years ago. I am going to miss my daily conversations with John about hockey and life,” said Mudd. “Unfortunately I never met his father but I have heard from so many people connected to Worcester State about what an incredible person he was. John Jr. is the same type of person.”

“A very special thank you to the University for providing me the opportunity to be part of a great experience,” said Coughlin Jr. “It has been a great ride, and a privilege to work with the many gifted players that have represented this University so well. I would also like to express a very deep sense of gratitude to the Athletics Department and University for their generous support and recognition of my father's contributions over the years. I am looking forward to watching the program grow and move forward.”

“I don’t know if I know a more high character gentleman than John Coughlin Jr.,” said Mudd. “He worked so hard for this program and cared greatly about the student-athletes that he recruited  to our campus. I appreciate and am very thankful for all that he has done for Worcester State University and our hockey program.”

Taking over the reins of the program beginning in the 2021-22 season will be Bob Deraney, who brings a lengthy coaching resume to Chandler Street. Most recently, Deraney served as an assistant coach with the Worcester Railers of the East Coast Hockey League.

Deraney coached nearly 30 years at the collegiate level, most notably for 19 seasons as the head women’s coach at Providence College. He led the Friars to three Hockey East championships during his tenure, and was a three-time Hockey East Coach of the Year. Upon leaving Providence in 2018, he was the all-time winningest coach in both Hockey East and Providence College history.

Before his time at Providence, Deraney served as an assistant coach for a trio of Division I men’s ice hockey programs, UMass Amherst, Dartmouth College, and Northeastern University. In each role, he worked primarily with the defensemen and goaltenders, and was also heavily involved with video analysis and recruiting.

Deraney has worked extensively with USA Hockey, dating back over 30 years. He has worked as a scout and as a player development coach for both the women’s national team and men’s junior team, and won gold medals as an assistant coach of the women’s Under-18 World Championships in 2008 and the Women’s National Team at the World Championships in 2015.

Other recent coaching stops for Deraney include the South African Men’s National Team, KRS Vanke Rays of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, and the Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League, the top professional league in Russia.

Prior to his coaching career, Deraney played four years of Division I hockey at Boston University, graduating in 1987. Deraney and the Terriers won two Beanpots and one Hockey East Championship in his four years.

"I'm very excited about this opportunity to become part of the Worcester State University community and its Athletic Department, and to become the seventh head coach in the history of its men's ice hockey program,” said Deraney. “I want to thank Athletic Director Mudd for this terrific opportunity. I'm honored. I also would like to thank Associate Head Coach John Coughlin for all he has done over the last 14 years for his unquestionable commitment to the program and the players, and Head Coach Shayne Toporowski for the significant advancements the program has made under his leadership the last seven years. I look forward to taking the torch from them and beginning this next chapter of the program.” 

“Shayne and John notified me at the beginning of the season that they were going to be stepping down from leading our program at the end of this season in order to spend more time with their respective families,” said Mudd. “This timing afforded me the opportunity to be selective in identifying who I felt was the best person to lead the hockey program moving forward. Bob Deraney is a highly experienced college hockey coach with strong ties to the New England hockey community.”

“It's a players' game, and my goal is to develop these young men on and off the ice,” said Deraney. “While the players are with us, we will have the ability to take the program to new heights that the alumni, former players, and Worcester State community will continue to be proud of and, after graduation, they will be prepared to chase their goals and dreams, whatever those may be."

“Besides being an outstanding goaltender back in the day at Boston University, his 30 years of experience coaching hockey at the Division I level is a great luxury to our program,” said Mudd. “Bob’s network in hockey around the world, as well as his personality and collegiality, will be a huge benefit to our hockey program. I look forward to Bob continuing the improvement of our hockey program that Shayne and John developed.”

Release courtesy of Worcester State Sports Information