Jun. 16—Madrid native and former Clarkson men’s hockey player Matt Curley resigned Monday as the men’s hockey coach at NCAA Division I Alaska-Anchorage.
The school announced last year that it was dropping hockey and did not compete last season. Curley’s resignation is effective June 30.
“This was a very difficult decision for me and my family because we believe in Seawolf hockey’s future,” Curley said in a statement. “It’s been a privilege to coach such fine young men, as well as live in the Anchorage community. The outpouring of recent financial support for the team has been great to see, and I wish the program nothing but the very best.”
Fans of the program, as well as Curley, have tried to raise funds to keep the program going, but last season saw many players transfer away, including current Clarkson forward Nick Wicks. The supporters were told it would take $3 million by the end of August to save the program.
One of Curley’s assistants, Canton native Mark Phalon, took a job at Niagara last season.
The Seawolves played in the Western College Hockey Association, which disbanded and the non-Alaska teams formed a new conference, The Central College Hockey Association, leaving Alaska-Anchorage out of a league.
Curley coached two seasons with Alaska-Anchorage with a record of 7-53-10. He played high school hockey for Norwood-Norfolk and was an assistant captain on Clarkson’s 2007 ECAC Hockey championship team. Curley’s younger sister, Maureen Webster, is the Clarkson women’s basketball coach.
“I want to thank Matt for his efforts while here at UAA and wish him well in his next endeavor,” Seawolves athletic director Greg Myford said in a statement. “His professionalism and effort in support of our students never wavered.”
Alaska-Anchorage was scheduled to play two nonconference games at Clarkson’s Cheel Arena last season, but those games were lost on the schedule to COVID-19.
TRIMBOLI NAMED USA HOCKEY PRESIDENT
Mike Trimboli, the Massena boys hockey coach, was elected the president of USA Hockey recently at a Board of Directors meeting.
He will serve a three-year term and succeeds Jim Smith, who spent the last six years as president.
Trimboli began working with USA Hockey first as a player in 1970 and then in 1979 as an on-ice official. He was a regional vice president for the New York State Amateur Hockey Association in 1996 and in 2004 he was the district player development coordinator.
Trimboli was elected to the USA Hockey Board of Directors for the New York District in 2005 and was elected vice president of USA Hockey in 2017.
He coached Massena to a state Division I championship in 2014.