Purdue University Northwest Men's Ice Hockey

Trosien enters his fourth season as Purdue Northwest Director of Hockey Operations and the ACHA DI Head Coach in 2025. Trosien has quickly elevated the PNW hockey program to national recognition. In the 2023-24 season, he guided the Pride to the 2024 Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL) Tournament Championship, program-record 31 wins, and led the team to the Elite Eight in the ACHA Division I National Tournament. Under his leadership, PNW has secured back-to-back appearances in the ACHA DI National Tournament in 2024 and 2025. During this time, Trosien coached the 2023-24 ACHA DI National Player of the Year Sam Bourdages and All-American goaltender Cooper Olson. Bourdages became the first Purdue Northwest student-athlete to earn a National Player of the Year recognition regardless of sport or affiliation.  In 2024, three Purdue Northwest DI Hockey student-athletes Cooper Olson, Andrew Remer, and Carter Hobbs, coached by Trosien, represented Team USA at the World University Games. They became the first student-athletes to represent their country at any level Before his time at PNW, Trosien was named the 2021-22 GLCHL Coach of the Year while leading Grand Valley State University. That season, he guided GVSU to a GLCHL tournament championship in its first year as a league member, with marquee victories over nationally-ranked Adrian College in the semifinals and Davenport University in the final. Additionally, GVSU’s Division III team made a national semifinal appearance and won a conference title under his oversight. Over four seasons as the Lakers' Division I head coach, Trosien compiled an overall record of 43-43-2. Prior to GVSU, Trosien served as an assistant coach at Waldorf University (Iowa) for two seasons. He also spent five seasons as the head coach at Northern Michigan University, where he led the team to three ACHA Division II Regional Championship appearances and amassed over 120 wins. Trosien began his collegiate coaching career at Delta College in Michigan, where he posted a 61-51 overall record across four seasons. During his tenure, he led the team to a regional championship and an ACHA Division III National Tournament appearance in 2008.  

Purdue Northwest Athletics has named Tom Pauly head coach for the ACHA Division II Hockey program. "I am excited for Tom and look forward to working with him as he continues to build our Division 2 hockey program," said Director of Hockey Operations and DI Head Coach, Carl Trosien. "Tom has been on the Division 1 staff the last few years and played a major part in building the D1 team into champions. Tom has proven himself as a very good recruiter and he is ready to take this next step. I am confident that Tom will have our Division 2 program competing at the National Tournament here soon." Pauly has been an assistant for the DI Hockey program the past two seasons and was primarily tasked with coaching defenseman. He was part of the coaching staff that helped lead the Purdue Northwest ACHA DI Hockey team to their first ever GLCHL Tournament Championship, record season wins, and an Elite 8 appearance in the ACHA National Tournament. Prior to his time with the Pride, Pauly was an assistant coach for the Carl Sandburg High School hockey team for six seasons. While there, he helped develop 12 players to play in collegiate hockey, two AHAI Sweet 16 appearances, and 2017 Founders Cup Champions. "It is an honor to have earned the trust and confidence of Carl Trosien and the Athletics Department to take over the D2 program," said Pauly. "I am incredibly excited to get started and looking forward to replicating the successes of our D1 team." Pauly received his degree in English Literature at the University of Illinois in 2011.