Utica University Men's Ice Hockey

Heenan was hired as head coach of the Utica College men's ice hockey program in August 2000.  Since that time, Heenan has led the team to 13 consecutive ECAC Men's West Conference playoff appearances (2003-2016), four appearances in the ECAC West championship game, three ECAC West regular-season championships and a trip to the NCAA Frozen Four.  He currently holds an overall record of 206-146-42 in his 14-year tenure and recently posted his sixth consecutive winning season. This past season, Heenan guided his team to a 14-10-4 record with a 6-6-3 ECAC West Conference record. The Pioneers hosted a first round conference game defeating Elmira College. Utica advanced to the ECAC West Final game after beating Manhattanville before falling in the championship game against Hobart College. Heenan guided freshmen Hayden Dawes and Michael Fredrick to All-Conference honors with Dawes also being named the conference Rookie of the Year. Off the ice Heenan helped the Pioneers land a program high 19 players on the All-Academic team. In the 2014-2015 season, Heenan and his Pioneers once again led the nation in home attendance for the ninth consecutive season this past year. Utica's average home attendance of 3,695 fans per game ranks second all-time for home attendance in division III history, just one spot behind the 2012-13 Pioneers single season record average of 3,754. UC's average attendance ranked 23rd nationally at all levels of NCAA hockey (DI-DIII). The Pioneers sold out six of their 14 home in 2014-2015 season. UC also played a part in another record-breaking event this season as the Pioneers tied Oswego State, 4-4, in the Frozen Dome Classic at Syracuse University's Carrier Dome.  Utica and Oswego attracted a new NCAA Division III hockey indoor attendance record of 7,047 fans to the Dome for the contest.    He guided senior Louie Educate to his second ECAC West All-Conference selection and freshman defender Dalton Carter to the All-Rookie Team. In the classroom, eight of his student-athletes landed on the 2014-2015 ECAC Men's West All-Academic Team for maintaining an average of 3.0 or higher. Three of Heenans seniors including and have all played professionally in the Southern Professional Hockey League since the end of the collegiate hockey season.  Baird and LaFosse were both picked up by the Fayetteville FireAntz and Educate was signed by the Knoxville Ice Bears.  In 2013-2014, he guided four players to ECAC West All-Conference Teams including All-American and Player of the Year Trevor Hertz.  Hertz was the Colleges fourth All-American and joins Jimmy Sokol (2005, 2nd Team),  (2012, 3rd Team) and teammate (2013, 1 Team) as one of four Pioneers in program-history to earn All-American status. Heenan has now secured representation on the All-American team in three consecutive seasons.  Hertz recently signed his first professional contract with the Mississippi Surge of the Southern Professional Hockey League following his collegiate career.  He has played in two games for the Surge and registered his first professional assist on March 16 His squad wrapped up the season ranked 13 in the USCHO.com national polls and won the ECAC West regular season title for the second consecutive season. The Pioneers also earned the right to host ECAC West Tournament Championship game for the first time since 2005. UC advanced to the conference tournament championship game for the third time in school-history. Utica led the nation in home attendance for the eighth consecutive season. In 15 home dates, 54,464 fans came through the turnstiles at the Aud and the Pioneers sold out nine home games this past season Off the ice, he landed a school-record 18 players on the 2013-2014 ECAC Men's West All-Academic Team which was the most representatives out of any of the Conference's six teams.  Six of those 18 players earned Empire 8 Presidents List honors for securing a 3.75 GPA or better. Coach Heenan had a record-setting season in 2012-2013 where he was named ECAC West Coach of the Year and USCHO.com Runner-Up after leading the Pioneers to their best record in program history and their first ever trip the NCAA Tournament.  Heenan posted an impressive 21-6-1 overall record including an 11-3-1 mark in arguably the best conference in Division III hockey and earned the hosting rights to the ECAC Mens West Conference Tournament as well as an NCAA Tournament game at the friendly confines of the Utica Memorial Auditorium.  His squad went 8-1-1 in conference play to wrap up the regular season and despite losing to Manhattanville in the conference championship earned an at large bid to the NCAA's.  After a first-round bye, UC defeated Bowdoin at the Aud and went on to the Frozen Four in Lake Placid only to lose to national champion, The University of Wisconsin EAU-Claire in the semi-finals.  He closed out the year with the colleges highest ranking in school-history in the national poll.  The No. 5 ranking is the highest the Pioneers have ever finished in the USCHO.com final regular season poll and it also marks the highest the Pioneers have risen in the poll all season.  The Pioneers led the nation once again in home attendance for the seventh-consecutive year with a record-setting average crowd of 3,754 fans per home game, shattering their previous mark of 3,253.  UC's average attendance ranked 19th nationally at all levels of NCAA hockey. The Pioneers sold out 11-of-17 home games, including the recent NCAA Tournament quarterfinal victory against Bowdoin on March 9th. He guided seven players to all-conference honors and two to All-USCHO Teams including first-year Pioneer Louie Educate to First-Team All-American status.  This achievement marks the first player in program history to be named to the First-Team D3hockey.com Men's All- American squad. Educate became one of the most decorated athletes in a single season based on all the awards that he has received this year. To go along with the D3hockey.com First Team honors, Educate has also been named American Hockey Association CCM All-American First-Team and selected to the 2013 All-USCHO men's hockey team as he totaled 36 points on 18 goals and 18 assists, good enough for an average of 1.29 points per game.  He was also named the ECAC Men's West Player of the Year this past season after leading the conference in scoring with 19 points. Off the ice, his squad was one of 16 teams to record an impressive 3.0 or better grade point average including a school-record 17 student-athletes named to the All-Academic Team.  Four of those players also were named to the Presidents List. In the 2011-2012 season, Heenan and the Pioneers traveled overseas to Europe prior to the start of the season and posted a perfect 4-0 mark beating professional teams in Germany, Italy and Austria.  Following the trip, Heenans squad got off to its best start in over seven years as it posted a 6-1 record over its first seven games, including a huge 3-2 win over national power Oswego St.  He concluded the season with a 15-9-2 overall mark while posting a 4-6-2 record in arguably the best conference in DIII hockey.  The Pioneer general guided senior standout Tim Coffman to All-American status for only the second time in program history as he broke and tied all of the all-time scoring records in the UC record books.  He also placed two other Pioneers on All-Conference Teams while an impressive 13 student-athletes to the ECAC West All-Academic Team.  UC registered its first ever sell-out crowd (4,000) on Dec, 10 2011 at the New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss and went on to eclipse the DII and DIII record once again for home attendance, averaging 3, 253 fans per home contest. In his 11th year as head coach, Heenan had his team ranked in the top 15 of the USCHO.com national poll throughout the entire season.  UC was ranked 15th to start the year and pushed up to as far as 7th at one point. In 2010-2011, Heenen led the Pioneers to 17 wins as they finished the season ranked 15th in the country. Utica finished with the highest ranking in the program's tenure against the hardest schedule in the nation.  UC and its home crowd powered to a 12-2-1 record at the AUD. The Pioneers finished the 2007-08 season with a 15-10-1 overall record and an 8-6-1 record in the ECAC Mens West Conference. The season came to an end after a semi-final round loss to second-seeded and eventual conference tournament champion, Manhattanville College by a score of 6-2 on Mar. 1, 2008 at the Playland Ice Casino in Rye, NY.  The NCAA mens hockey records book has been keeping track of home attendance figures since 1996 and the Pioneers eclipsed Elmira Colleges previous record of 2,495 fans per home contest set by the Soaring Eagles in 1997. Heenan has had the privilege of coaching two ECAC West Rookies of the Year, Goalie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year.  In 2005 he was named the conference's coach of the year. A four-year letter winner and all-star defenseman at Hamilton College (1994-1997), Canadian-born Heenan also played overseas in both Germany and Austria before jumping into the coaching profession. Prior to joining Utica College, Heenan was the assistant men's coach at Hamilton College (1999-2000) and an assistant coach at SUNY Brockport (1998-99). Coach Heenan takes great pride in giving back to the community with his entire team and himself presently serves on the Boards for: the Oneida County Youth Bureau, The Shawn Grady Foundation, The United Cerebral Palsy, The Central Association for the Blind and visually impaired and The First Source Federal Credit Union. Gary currently resides in New Hartford with his wife, Jodi, daughter, Riley, and son Jack.   Gary Heenan was hired as head coach of the Utica College men's ice hockey program in August 2000.  Since that time, Heenan has led the team to 13 consecutive ECAC Men's West Conference playoff appearances (2003-2016), four appearances in the ECAC West championship game, three ECAC West regular-season championships and a trip to the NCAA Frozen Four.  He currently holds an overall record of 206-146-42 in his 14-year tenure and recently posted his sixth consecutive winning season. This past season, Heenan guided his team to a 14-10-4 record with a 6-6-3 ECAC West Conference record. The Pioneers hosted a first round conference game defeating Elmira College. Utica advanced to the ECAC West Final game after beating Manhattanville before falling in the championship game against Hobart College. Heenan guided freshmen Hayden Dawes and Michael Fredrick to All-Conference honors with Dawes also being named the conference Rookie of the Year. Off the ice Heenan helped the Pioneers land a program high 19 players on the All-Academic team. In the 2014-2015 season, Heenan and his Pioneers once again led the nation in home attendance for the ninth consecutive season this past year. Utica's average home attendance of 3,695 fans per game ranks second all-time for home attendance in division III history, just one spot behind the 2012-13 Pioneers single season record average of 3,754. UC's average attendance ranked 23rd nationally at all levels of NCAA hockey (DI-DIII). The Pioneers sold out six of their 14 home in 2014-2015 season. UC also played a part in another record-breaking event this season as the Pioneers tied Oswego State, 4-4, in the Frozen Dome Classic at Syracuse University's Carrier Dome.  Utica and Oswego attracted a new NCAA Division III hockey indoor attendance record of 7,047 fans to the Dome for the contest.    He guided senior Louie Educate to his second ECAC West All-Conference selection and freshman defender Dalton Carter to the All-Rookie Team. In the classroom, eight of his student-athletes landed on the 2014-2015 ECAC Men's West All-Academic Team for maintaining an average of 3.0 or higher. Three of Heenans seniors including and have all played professionally in the Southern Professional Hockey League since the end of the collegiate hockey season.  Baird and LaFosse were both picked up by the Fayetteville FireAntz and Educate was signed by the Knoxville Ice Bears.  In 2013-2014, he guided four players to ECAC West All-Conference Teams including All-American and Player of the Year Trevor Hertz.  Hertz was the Colleges fourth All-American and joins Jimmy Sokol (2005, 2nd Team),  (2012, 3rd Team) and teammate (2013, 1 Team) as one of four Pioneers in program-history to earn All-American status. Heenan has now secured representation on the All-American team in three consecutive seasons.  Hertz recently signed his first professional contract with the Mississippi Surge of the Southern Professional Hockey League following his collegiate career.  He has played in two games for the Surge and registered his first professional assist on March 16 His squad wrapped up the season ranked 13 in the USCHO.com national polls and won the ECAC West regular season title for the second consecutive season. The Pioneers also earned the right to host ECAC West Tournament Championship game for the first time since 2005. UC advanced to the conference tournament championship game for the third time in school-history. Utica led the nation in home attendance for the eighth consecutive season. In 15 home dates, 54,464 fans came through the turnstiles at the Aud and the Pioneers sold out nine home games this past season Off the ice, he landed a school-record 18 players on the 2013-2014 ECAC Men's West All-Academic Team which was the most representatives out of any of the Conference's six teams.  Six of those 18 players earned Empire 8 Presidents List honors for securing a 3.75 GPA or better. Coach Heenan had a record-setting season in 2012-2013 where he was named ECAC West Coach of the Year and USCHO.com Runner-Up after leading the Pioneers to their best record in program history and their first ever trip the NCAA Tournament.  Heenan posted an impressive 21-6-1 overall record including an 11-3-1 mark in arguably the best conference in Division III hockey and earned the hosting rights to the ECAC Mens West Conference Tournament as well as an NCAA Tournament game at the friendly confines of the Utica Memorial Auditorium.  His squad went 8-1-1 in conference play to wrap up the regular season and despite losing to Manhattanville in the conference championship earned an at large bid to the NCAA's.  After a first-round bye, UC defeated Bowdoin at the Aud and went on to the Frozen Four in Lake Placid only to lose to national champion, The University of Wisconsin EAU-Claire in the semi-finals.  He closed out the year with the colleges highest ranking in school-history in the national poll.  The No. 5 ranking is the highest the Pioneers have ever finished in the USCHO.com final regular season poll and it also marks the highest the Pioneers have risen in the poll all season.  The Pioneers led the nation once again in home attendance for the seventh-consecutive year with a record-setting average crowd of 3,754 fans per home game, shattering their previous mark of 3,253.  UC's average attendance ranked 19th nationally at all levels of NCAA hockey. The Pioneers sold out 11-of-17 home games, including the recent NCAA Tournament quarterfinal victory against Bowdoin on March 9th. He guided seven players to all-conference honors and two to All-USCHO Teams including first-year Pioneer Louie Educate to First-Team All-American status.  This achievement marks the first player in program history to be named to the First-Team D3hockey.com Men's All- American squad. Educate became one of the most decorated athletes in a single season based on all the awards that he has received this year. To go along with the D3hockey.com First Team honors, Educate has also been named American Hockey Association CCM All-American First-Team and selected to the 2013 All-USCHO men's hockey team as he totaled 36 points on 18 goals and 18 assists, good enough for an average of 1.29 points per game.  He was also named the ECAC Men's West Player of the Year this past season after leading the conference in scoring with 19 points. Off the ice, his squad was one of 16 teams to record an impressive 3.0 or better grade point average including a school-record 17 student-athletes named to the All-Academic Team.  Four of those players also were named to the Presidents List. In the 2011-2012 season, Heenan and the Pioneers traveled overseas to Europe prior to the start of the season and posted a perfect 4-0 mark beating professional teams in Germany, Italy and Austria.  Following the trip, Heenans squad got off to its best start in over seven years as it posted a 6-1 record over its first seven games, including a huge 3-2 win over national power Oswego St.  He concluded the season with a 15-9-2 overall mark while posting a 4-6-2 record in arguably the best conference in DIII hockey.  The Pioneer general guided senior standout Tim Coffman to All-American status for only the second time in program history as he broke and tied all of the all-time scoring records in the UC record books.  He also placed two other Pioneers on All-Conference Teams while an impressive 13 student-athletes to the ECAC West All-Academic Team.  UC registered its first ever sell-out crowd (4,000) on Dec, 10 2011 at the New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss and went on to eclipse the DII and DIII record once again for home attendance, averaging 3, 253 fans per home contest. In his 11th year as head coach, Heenan had his team ranked in the top 15 of the USCHO.com national poll throughout the entire season.  UC was ranked 15th to start the year and pushed up to as far as 7th at one point. In 2010-2011, Heenen led the Pioneers to 17 wins as they finished the season ranked 15th in the country. Utica finished with the highest ranking in the program's tenure against the hardest schedule in the nation.  UC and its home crowd powered to a 12-2-1 record at the AUD. The Pioneers finished the 2007-08 season with a 15-10-1 overall record and an 8-6-1 record in the ECAC Mens West Conference. The season came to an end after a semi-final round loss to second-seeded and eventual conference tournament champion, Manhattanville College by a score of 6-2 on Mar. 1, 2008 at the Playland Ice Casino in Rye, NY.  The NCAA mens hockey records book has been keeping track of home attendance figures since 1996 and the Pioneers eclipsed Elmira Colleges previous record of 2,495 fans per home contest set by the Soaring Eagles in 1997. Heenan has had the privilege of coaching two ECAC West Rookies of the Year, Goalie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year.  In 2005 he was named the conference's coach of the year. A four-year letter winner and all-star defenseman at Hamilton College (1994-1997), Canadian-born Heenan also played overseas in both Germany and Austria before jumping into the coaching profession. Prior to joining Utica College, Heenan was the assistant men's coach at Hamilton College (1999-2000) and an assistant coach at SUNY Brockport (1998-99). Coach Heenan takes great pride in giving back to the community with his entire team and himself presently serves on the Boards for: the Oneida County Youth Bureau, The Shawn Grady Foundation, The United Cerebral Palsy, The Central Association for the Blind and visually impaired and The First Source Federal Credit Union. Gary currently resides in New Hartford with his wife, Jodi, daughter, Riley, and son Jack.  

Findorff was hired in the Fall of 2015 as the assistant mens hockey coach.  He will assist Head Coach Gary Heenan with all facets of the program, including day-to-day operations, scouting, recruiting, as well as game and practice preparation. Findorff brings a wealth of hockey experience to Utica College, both as a coach and a professional player.  Prior to Utica, he was the general manager and coaching director for Tahoe Sports and Entertainment in South Lake Tahoe, California.   He increased camp and tournament revenue in his first six months at Tahoe and continued the expansion of ice use by building year round programs for both kids and adults. Other duties at Tahoe included managing and operating the Tahoe Sports Center Ice Arena and encompassing facilities. Findorff managed financials, human resources, food & beverage, events, sales and marketing. Starting in October of 2014, he became a co-founder, director and head coach of the Elevate Academy program for elite hockey training. His duties included leading all on and off ice practices and recruiting players to join the training program from across California and Nevada. He also developed detailed performance plans on a player-to-player basis.  His accomplishments included winning the Northern California High School Hockey League and placing six players in AAA and/or Prep School Programs. He also built the Future Stars in-house hockey program from a handful of kids to 30 regular players. He directed and coached the program with assistance from other coaches on staff. A 2009 graduate of Division I Miami-Ohio University, he earned a Bachelors of Arts in Business Management Information Systems, a minor in World Political History and was on Miami Universitys Athletic Director Honor Roll.  A four-year letter winner on the ice, he was national runner-up his senior year (2009) and also was on the Team Advisory Council.    While at Miami, the former Red Hawk coached Miami University Youth Hockey from 2005-2009 and also ran summer camps at Colorado College during the summers.   Findorff went on to play professionally over the next two years.  He was a member of the New York Islanders (AHL) organization in 2009 and then joined the Phoenix Coyotes organization (ECHL) in 2010. Originally from Jackson Hole, WY, Michael currently resides in Utica, NY with his wife Tara and their dog Hopson.