GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics) —University of North Dakota head hockey coach Brad Berry is a finalist for yet another national award, being named Tuesday as a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award, given annually to the CCM/AHCA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Coach of the Year. Selected by the nation’s 60 NCAA Division I head coaches, the winner will be announced on Tuesday, April 7.
Berry just completed his fifth season behind the bench at North Dakota and had his team primed for a playoff run when the Coronavirus pandemic shut down the season following the regular season. His UND squad had piled up a 26-5-4 overall record, capturing the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s regular season title and was the No. 1 ranked team in the Pairwise Rankings.
He was also a finalist for the award in his rookie season of 2015-16, when he guided North Dakota to its eighth NCAA title, becoming the only first-year head coach to do so. Although UND has had numerous finalists for this award, he’d aiming to become the first winner since Dean Blais in 2001.
Berry has already been named the NCHC Coach of the Year from his peers and was dubbed the College Hockey News and USCHO.com Coach of the Year by those media outlets.
The Spencer Penrose Award nominees represent any coach who won or shared Coach of the Year honors in his conference this past season, coaches whose teams are ranked in the Top Four of the final Pairwise Rankings, and also include a recommended nomination from the Big Ten conference (Bob Motzko of Minnesota). In addition, the AHCA Awards Committee has nominated Greg Powers of Arizona State, coach of the sole NCAA Division I independent program, on the basis of an NCAA Tournament qualifying position in the Pairwise Rankings. Of this year’s finalists, two are past recipients of this award: Mike Hastings of Minnesota State (2015) and Scott Sandelin of Minnesota Duluth (2004).
The Spencer Penrose Award is named in memory of the Colorado Springs benefactor who built the Broadmoor Hotel Complex, site of the first 10 NCAA championship hockey tournaments.
The CCM AHCA COACH of the YEAR AWARDS are sponsored by CCM HOCKEY and chosen by members of the AMERICAN HOCKEY COACHES ASSOCIATION. CCM is the legendary hockey brand dedicated to the endless pursuit of performance by delivering game-changing, head-to-toe innovative hockey equipment to players worldwide.
2019-2020 AHCA Men’s Ice Hockey Spencer Penrose Award Finalists
(CCM/AHCA Division I Coach of the Year)
Brad Berry, North Dakota, NCHC Coach of the Year/Pairwise Top 4
Red Gendron, Maine, HE Coach of the Year
Mike Hastings*, Minnesota State, Pairwise Top 4
Eric Lang, AIC, Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year
Bob Motzko, Minnesota, Big Ten
Greg Powers, Arizona State University, Pairwise Qualifier
Scott Sandelin*Minnesota-Duluth, Pairwise Top 4
Mike Schafer, Cornell, ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year/Pairwise Top 4
Tom Serratore, Bemidji State, WCHA Coach of the Year
Awards for Head Coach Brad Berry in 2019-20
*College Hockey News National Coach of the Year
*USCHO.com National Coach of the Year
*NCHC Herb Brooks Coach of the Year
*Spencer Penrose Award finalist (announced April 7)
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