SUNY - Plattsburgh Women's Ice Hockey

Houle has led Plattsburgh State to three NCAA Division III women's championships - the most recent of which came in 2014 in front of a sizable congregation of Cardinal backers at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. He owns an .847 winning percentage on a 261-40-20 career record, which ranks first among all active women's coaches.  Houle put together an almost unstoppable squad during a a 2013-14 campaign which will ultimately go down as one of the best seasons by any Plattsburgh State team. After constructing a record of 23-1-1 and netting yet another ECAC West regular season title, the Cardinals secured hosting rights to the ECAC West Tournament where they took down Utica and Elmira to hoist the tournament crown. In its opening game of the 2013-14 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament, Plattsburgh State - led by four goals from Ali Vakos - handled Williams College 4-0 to punch its ticket to the NCAA Semifinals. Looking to avenge their loss in the semifinal round from a season ago, the Cardinals took to their home ice and emerged with a hard-fought, 1-0 overtime triumph over St. Thomas before a raucous crowd of 1,619 fans witnessed the Cardinals claim the title of 2013-14 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament Champions with a 9-2 win over Norwich.  Houle saw three of his players earn All-American citations that season while Sydney Aveson became the second consecutive Plattsburgh State player - and just the second goaltender ever - to receive the AHCA Laura Hurd Award. Aveson was placed on the AHCA All-America First Team while Allison Era and Shannon Stewart picked up AHCA All-America Second Team laurels. For his efforts, Houle was bestowed with the AHCA National Coach of the Year award for the fifth time in his career.  Kevin Houle - Plattsburgh State Head Women's Hockey Coach In 11 seasons at the helm, Houle has led the Cardinals to 10 NCAA tournament appearances (reaching the Frozen Four his first five years), nine conference regular-season titles and four ECAC West championships. The winningest coach in school history has mentored 12 players who have earned All-America status 29 times. 2012-13 saw the Cardinals made their second straight trip to the NCAA Div. III Championships. Unbeaten in conference play, Plattsburgh State claimed the ECAC West regular season and tournament titles en route to its ninth NCAA Tournament Appearance. The Cardinals' season-long unbeaten streak came to an end in the NCAA Semifinals in a loss to Middlebury, but the Cardinals rebounded with a 4-0 win over Gustavus Adolphus to claim third place at the tournament. Teal Gove received the AHCA Laura Hurd Award while Houle was named the AHCA National Coach of the Year. Gove joined Sydney Aveson and Allison Era on the AHCA All-America First Team. The 2011-12 season saw Houle guide the Cardinals back to the NCAA Div. III Championships. After a 20-7-3 season Plattsburgh received an at-large bid to the tournament and defeated Middlebury College to reach the Frozen Four. Their season finished when they defeated Gustavus Adolphus in the consolation game in overtime to finish 3rd place. Houle notched his 200th win as a head coach when the Cardinals defeated Cortland 3-1 in February. The season also saw two Cardinal players, Teal Gove and Sydney Aveson, named AHCA All-Americans. Gove also won ECAC West Player of the Year honors, while Aveson won Goalie of the Year recognition and Emma Rutherford was named Rookie of the Year. Houle earned his fourth conference coach of the year citation in 2009-10, after the Cardinals--picked for third in the preseason poll--went undefeated in the Eastern College Athletic Conference West Division with a 17-0-1 mark, setting a school record for league victories. The team finished 23-3-2 overall, reached the NCAA Quarterfinals and produced three All-Americans to lead the nation. Houle's success led to an opportunity to be an assistant coach with the U.S. Women's National Team for 2007-08, in addition to his Plattsburgh duties. The Americans captured the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship (April 4-13) in China, a 4-3 win over top-seeded Canada. He also coached at the Four Nations Cup in Leksand, Sweden and attended training camps in Lake Placid, N.Y.;  Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Colorado Springs, Colo. Meanwhile, during that same season, Houle and the Cardinals won their second straight national crown and posted a 25-3-1 record. Junior center Danielle Blanchard was named the school's first Laura Hurd Trophy winner, emblematic as the player of the year in Division III. Plattsburgh set an NCAA women's all-Divisions record with a 35-game unbeaten streak. Houle became the fastest NCAA III women's coach to 100 wins (in 122 games) when the Cardinals blanked Oswego, 9-0, on the road Nov. 10, 2007. In 2006-07, Plattsburgh won its first national championship in a women's team sport as the Cardinals became the first NCAA ice hockey champion to go undefeated at 27-0-2. The team also swept ECAC West regular-season and tournament titles and produced three All-Americans in goaltender Bree Doyle, defenseman Julie Devereux and Blanchard.       Houle piloted the 2005-06 Cardinals to their best season at the time since the women's program was founded in 2001. Plattsburgh set school records for victories (26-3-1), win percentage (.883), home unbeaten streak (29 games), home winning streak (18) and overall winning streak (14) and spent the last five weeks atop the United States College Hockey Online coaches' poll. He coached six all-conference players, including ECAC West Co-Player of the Year Jenn Clarke, and three All-Americans, including Clarke who finished third in the national player of the year balloting. That campaign--which saw Plattsburgh sweep ECAC regular-season and tournament titles--was made even more impressive considering that Houle regularly used 10 freshmen in the lineup. In 2004-05, Plattsburgh (21-7-1) earned its second consecutive NCAA Tournament semifinals berth and Houle his second of three ECAC West Coach of the Year awards. The Cardinals went 11-1 during ECAC West play to claim a share of the regular season crown.  Erin O'Brien, Carolyne Roy and Elizabeth Gibson earned All-America honors. Houle took the coaching reins on April 29, 2003 from Scott Dockett, the program's first coach, and served an interim basis during the 2003-04 season. Houle inherited a squad that went 18-5 the season before with no NCAA trips and molded Plattsburgh into a 22-6-2 club that won its first ECAC West title with a perfect 12-0 conference ledger and advanced all the way to the national semifinals on the Cardinals first try. He accepted the job permanently later that summer. Gibson became the school's initial first-team All-American and both O'Brien and Roy joined her on the coaches' all-star team.    Houle originally came to Plattsburgh in 1989 to work on the men's side and become former B.C. teammate and current Cardinals coach Bob Emery's top assistant. He was promoted to associate coach in 1994 and held that position until heading up the women's program in 2003. The duo saw the Cardinals to NCAA championships in 1992 and 2001 and nine State University of New York Athletic Conference titles, including six straight from 1996 to 2002, both SUNYAC records. The Cardinals advanced to 10 NCAA tournament and seven Final Fours while winning 328 games.  Houle was involved in the recruiting and development of 11 All-Americans, five SUNYAC Players of the Year, six conference Rookies of the Year and nine SUNYAC Tournament MVPs. In 2002, he was honored by the AHCA with the Terry Flanagan Award, which recognizes the career body of work by a men's assistant coach. Houle was a fifth-round draft pick, and No. 103 overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League's 1982 Entry Draft, but opted instead to attend Boston College on an athletic scholarship.  He played professionally during the 1986-87 season in the Canadiens' farm system, splitting time between their American Hockey League affiliate Sherbrooke Canadiens and the Saginaw Generals of the International Hockey League. After suffering an injury that season, Houle worked as a scout for the Montreal organization for two years. A 1986 graduate of Boston College with a bachelor of science degree in communications, Houle earned his master's degree in leadership administration from Plattsburgh State in 1997.  Season School Record Pct. Conf./Place Final NCAA Ranking/Note 2003-04 Plattsburgh State 22-6-2 .767 12-0/1st #3/NCAA 3rd place in 1st year 2004-05 Plattsburgh State 21-7-1 .741 11-1/T-1st #4/11-0-1 home record 2005-06 Plattsburgh State 26-3-1 .883 12-0/1st #1/ECAC-West Champions 2006-07 Plattsburgh State 27-0-2 .966 12-0-2/1st #1/NCAA Champions 2007-08 Plattsburgh State 25-3-1 .879 14-1-1/1st #1/NCAA Champions 2008-09 Plattsburgh State 22-5-2 .793 15-3/3rd #3/Ended reg.-season 10-0-1 2009-10 Plattsburgh State 23-3-2 .857 17-0-1/1st #3/ECAC-W Coach of Year 2010-11 Plattsburgh State 20-4-3 .796 15-1-2/2nd #4/Three AHCA All-Americans 2011-12 Plattsburgh State 20-7-3 .717 15-1-2/2nd #3/NCAA 3rd place 2012-13 Plattsburgh State 27-1-2 .933 15-0-1/1st #3/NCAA 3rd place/ECAC West Champions 2013-14 Plattsburgh State 28-1-1 .950 15-1/1st #1/NCAA Champions, ECAC West Champions, AHCA National Coach of the Year 2014- 15 Plattsburgh State 26-2-2 .900 16-2/1st #1/NCAA Champions, ECAC West Champions, Three AHCA All-Americans 12 years Career Totals 287-42-22 .849 169-10-9 (.923) 4 NCAA Titles / 5 ECAC West Titles

Blanchard is one of the finest players to have worn the red and white. She was named a Second Team All-American as a freshman before receiving First Team honors the next three seasons (2007-2009). A member of the 2007 and 2008 National Championship teams, Blanchard was also named the 2008 Laura Hurd Winner which recognizes the top Division III womens hockey player in the nation. In addition to her numerous awards, Blanchard ranks second all-time in points (177), goals (87) and assists (90).   Following the conclusion of her on-ice career, Blanchard took her expertise to the bench where she served as an assistant coach for the Willowdale Womens Bantam AA Hockey team in Willowdale, Ontario for the 2009-10 season. Most recently, she worked with the Etobicoke Womens Junior hockey team as an assistant coach. Blanchard has also worked as a hockey instructor at numerous rinks and camps since 2009.   Blanchard graduated from Plattsburgh State in 2009 with a bachelors in communication studies with broadcast management. She fills the spot left by the departure of Nicole Williams, who resigned over the summer after five seasons with the Cardinals. Danielle Blanchard - Assistant Women's Hockey Coach