Shawhan agrees to extension as head coach of hockey Huskies

Courtesy: Michigan Tech Huskies

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech Head Hockey Coach Joe Shawhan has agreed to a three-year contract extension Athletic Director Suzanne Sanregret announced on Tuesday (Apr. 20).

“I am pleased to announce that Coach Shawhan has agreed to continue to lead Michigan Tech hockey,” Sanregret said. “Joe understands and is passionate about our hockey tradition, cares deeply about our student-athletes and their success on and off the ice, and is committed to excellence in all areas of the program. I look forward to continuing to support him and his vision for Huskies hockey.”

“I want to thank Suzanne for her support,” Shawhan said. “Laura and I love this community and the people. It’s home for us. With regards to hockey, what’s most important to me is to be part of something special. Michigan Tech hockey is supported in the Copper Country with passion and enthusiastic expectations to be among the best in the nation. I look forward to continuing the work with our great student-athletes to achieve just that.”

Shawhan was an assistant coach at Tech for three seasons (2014-17) before being hired as the head coach. In his first season, he tied a program record for a first-year Michigan Tech head hockey coach with 22 wins. The Huskies won the Jeff Sauer Trophy as WCHA Playoff Champions and made their 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

The Huskies won the 2017 Ice Breaker Tournament in the program’s first-ever appearance with wins over Union and host Minnesota Duluth. Tech won the 55th annual Great Lakes Invitational in 2019 at Little Caesars Arena after defeating Michigan State and Michigan for the first time in tournament history for the program’s 11th tournament title.

During the Shawhan era, Mitch Reinke (St. Louis), Joel L’Esperance (Dallas), Dane Birks (Pittsburgh), and Jake Lucchini (Pittsburgh) have all signed NHL contracts. As an assistant, Shawhan also coached Matt Roy (Los Angeles) and Tanner Kero (Dallas) who have had success at the NHL level this season. He also helped goaltenders Jamie Phillips (Winnipeg) and Angus Redmond (Anaheim) earn NHL contracts.

Six different Huskies have been named to All-WCHA Teams while Shawhan has been head coach, and Tech has been ranked in the top 20 in all four seasons.

In his three years as an assistant coach, the Huskies went to a pair of NCAA Tournaments, won the Broadmoor Trophy as WCHA Playoff Champions, won the MacNaughton Cup as regular-season WCHA Champions, and were ranked No. 1 in the nation.

Tech will enter the 2021-22 season returning four All-WCHA honorees in Trenton Bliss, Arvid Caderoth, Brian Halonen, and Colin Swoyer, 93 percent of its scoring from the 2020-21 season, and a Mike Richter Award finalist in Blake Pietila.

Shawhan originally signed a four-year contract when he was named head coach in May 2017. This current contract was agreed upon in January 2021.