Western New England University Men's Ice Hockey

Kyle Lyons is in her seventh season as the Head Coach of the Western New England field hockey team in 2025. Lyons has had winning seasons over the last five years, including 2024's 10-8 record overall.  The 2024 season can be highlighted by Sarah Johnston's (Uxbridge, Mass.) outstanding four-year career in blue and gold. Johnston hits the record boards in WNE field hockey history in seven different career categories, including points (109), points per game (1.54), goals (41), goals per game (0.58), assists (27), assists per game (0.38), and game winning goals (8). Johnston scored her 100th career point during her senior campaign, becoming just the sixth member all-time to pick up 100 points in a career. WNE field hockey also defeated the University of New England, a conference opponent for the Golden Bears, for the first time in program history after 29 total games.   The Golden Bears started the 2023 slate with a program record of ten straight wins, including six at home. The season would be highlighted by a win over 12th-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology, defeating the Engineers 1-0 in double overtime. WNE would compete in the Commonwealth Coast Conference playoffs, making it to the CCC semifinals before bowing out to top-seeded Roger Williams. Under the direction of Lyons, Western New England picked up four on the All-CCC Teams, with Sarah Johnston collecting her third All-CCC First Team honors, while Haley Kaczka (First Team), Olyvia Whyte (Second Team), and Ella Henry (Second Team) all were highlighted on All-CCC Teams in 2023. The Golden Bears finished with a 14-5 record, their most wins since the 2006 season. Western New England field hockey produced an 11-6 record for the second consecutive season in 2022, going 4-2 in CCC play. Lyons produced four to the All-CCC teams during the season, including Sarah Johnston, Taylor Klesyk, Haley Kaczka, and Abby Burns. Western New England field hockey finished sixth in the regional rankings in 2022, while Taylor Klesyk and Sarah Johnston picked up National Field Hockey Coaches' Association All-Region team honors. Lyons improved the Golden Bears from a two-win season to an 11-win season, the program's first season with double-digit wins since 2016. Western New England competed to a 4-2 mark in CCC play while reaching the CCC semifinal round before falling to Endicott on the road. Lyons guided Western New England to five wins in their final six regular season games while seeing four All-CCC team recipients. Sarah Johnston was also named CCC Rookie of the Year for Western New England.  While the 2020 season saw the Golden Bears compete in just two games, the Field Hockey program, under the direction of Lyons, won their most games in a season since the 2006 season, winning 11 games during the season, including four wins in CCC play. Western New England picked up a Rookie of the Year nomination when Sarah Johnston collected ten goals and seven assists during the season, good for 27 points. Lyons also guided three others to the All-CCC Team. The Golden Bears would bow out of the CCC Tournament in the semifinal round, making it to the semifinals for the first time since 2018. In her first season at the helm, the Golden Bears went 7-12, including 3-9 in CCC action, and appeared in the CCC quarterfinals. Under her guidance, Western New England was honored as a NFHCA National Team Academic Award winner, while eight student-athletes were honored for achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher. Additionally, the Golden Bears had one All-CCC in Jacqueline Clark, who was selected to the All-CCC second team.  Lyons brings 11 years of NCAA Division I field hockey experience to Western New England, including four as a student-athlete at the University of New Hampshire and seven as an assistant coach at Bryant University and the University of Vermont. Most recently, Lyons served as the top assistant at Vermont for five seasons from 2014-19. With the Catamounts, Lyons held the role of recruiting coordinator, organized team travel and assisted with game film breakdown, analysis and scouting. She helped mentor 12 America East All-Conference selections, three NFHCA All-Region honorees and five America East All-Academic performers. Lyons enjoyed a standout four-year playing career at the University of New Hampshire from 2008-12. She was a two-time America East All-Conference first team selection and two-time NFHCA Northeast Region honoree, garnering NFHCA All-America accolades as a senior in 2011. Lyons was a three-year starter as a defender for the Wildcats, appearing in 78 career contests with 62 starts. She compiled 58 career points with 22 goals and 14 assists. UNH reached the postseason all four years of her career, including a trip to the NCAA Tournament her junior season when Lyons helped lead the program to its first America East title since 1998. Lyons gained her first coaching experience at Bryant from 2012-14. She also coached at the club level with Seacoast United and Green Mountain Field Hockey Academy. A native of White River Junction, Vermont, Lyons earned her bachelor of arts degree in psychology from UNH in 2012.  Season Won Lost Pct. Conf. W-L/Place Notes 2019 7 12 .368 3-9/5th  1 All-CCC, National Academic Team Award, CCC Quarterfinals 2020 2 0 1.000 0-0 (Shortened season due to COVID-19 Pandemic). 2021 11 6 .647 4-2/3rd 4 All-CCC, 1 Rookie of the Year, 1 All-Region, 1 Synapse All-Rookie Team, 14 NFCHA Academic Squad Nominees 2022 11 6 .647 4-2 / 3rd 4 All-CCC, 2 All-Region, 10 NFHCA Academic Squad Nominees 2023    14 5 .737 2-3 / 4th 4 All-CCC, 2 All-Region, 11 NFHCA Academic Aquad Nominees Totals 45 29 .608 13-16 (.448) 13 All-CCC, 5 All-Region

The winter of 2023-2024 marked the fourth season for Katie Zimmerman as the head coach of the Western New England University women's ice hockey team and the team's first ever CCC Championship. Zimmerman will begin the 2024-2025 as her fifth season guiding the program. In just its third season of competitive action, Zimmerman and the Golden Bears won the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship and received an automatic bid to the NCAA National Tournament, making a first-round appearance against Middlebury College. Zimmerman was named CCC Coach of the Year, New England Hockey Writers Association Coach of the Year, and a CCM/AHCA National Coach of the Year Finalist after leading the Golden Bears to a 17-8-3 record and a second-place finish in the CCC regular season standings (11-5-2 CCC record). On the national stage, WNE boasted the country’s third-best powerplay at a  .291% success rate, had the fifth-most powerplay goals in the nation with 25, and had the nation’s tenth-most team shutouts with seven. WNE also received votes in the national poll in back-to-back rankings to close out the season (USCHO.com). Zimmerman’s squad was also honored with the CCC Team Sportsmanship award as well as claiming two other major individual awards by way of Alyssa Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.) being named the CCC Player of the Year/All-Conference First-Team and Abby Hay (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) claiming the CCC’s Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor. Four additional Golden Bears were named to the CCC All-Conference Second-Team (Rieley Jessie-Gerelli (Croton-On-Hudson, N.Y.), Alexa Paoli (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), Maddie Pope (Plantation, Fla.), and Maddy Tucker (Clarkston, Mich.). In just its second season in program history in 2022-23, Zimmerman guided the Golden Bears to a 15-8-3 overall record and a third-place finish in the CCC (10-6-2), earning a bye to the CCC semifinals in just the program’s second season of competition. The 2022-2023 squad featured a league-leading penalty kill at 90.2% (good for 12th best in the nation), an overtime record of 4-0-3 (tied most regular season OT wins in the nation), a six-game unbeaten streak (November 12 – December 3) and two separate four-game win streaks. The Golden Bears also picked up their first win over a nationally ranked opponent on November 12, 2022, with a 3-2 OT victory over #11 Endicott College. Zimmerman led Western New England first-year Maddie Pope (Plantation, Fla.) to Commonwealth Coast Conference Rookie of the Year honors and junior Rieley Jessie-Gerelli (Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.) to Goaltender of the Year, with both also garnering All-Conference First-Team selections.  Zimmerman and the Golden Bears competed in their inaugural season in 2021–22, playing their first game and picking up the first win in program history on October 29, 2021, in a 4-0 win over Anna Maria College. Zimmerman and the Golden Bears won seven games in their inaugural season, placing fifth in league standings and reaching the CCC Quarterfinal round for their first-ever playoff game. In her first season behind the bench, Zimmerman guided Western New England to five wins in CCC play. The Golden Bears highlighted their season with a win in mid-December over previously unbeaten Suffolk University, under the guidance of Head Coach Zimmerman, taking down the Rams 4-0 behind the first ever hat trick in the women's ice hockey program history from Katie Cronin (Winchester, Mass.).  Katie Zimmerman was named head coach of the Western New England University women's ice hockey program on June 12, 2019, and is the only head coach in program history.  Prior to WNE: Zimmerman came to Western New England following five seasons as an assistant coach at Amherst College, where she helped lead the Mammoths to a record of 82-34-18 (.679). The 2015-16 Amherst squad enjoyed its most successful regular season in program history at the time, going 20-1-3 en route to an appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinals. Prior to her time in Amherst, Zimmerman broke into the coaching profession as an assistant at SUNY Cortland in 2013–14. Additionally, she has held various roles with USA Hockey, including National Camp Head Coach, intern, and District Evaluator/Coach. Zimmerman, a 2013 graduate of Hamilton College, was a standout performer at the forward position during her four-year career with the Continentals. The Plymouth, Michigan, native was a two-time All-NESCAC selection, leading the conference in goals in both her junior and senior seasons. Zimmerman also earned D3Hockey.com All-East Region accolades at the conclusion of her final collegiate campaign. During Zimmerman's senior season at Hamilton, Zimmerman scored seven power play goals, which ranked fifth in the nation; five game-winning goals, which sat fifth in the nation; and 0.84 goals per game, which ranked sixth in the nation. Zimmerman finished her senior season with 21 goals and nine assists, good for 30 points, which ranked 13th in the nation. Her 57 career goals are good for third all-time in the record books at Hamilton, and her 97 points sit at seventh-most in history. After earning her undergraduate degree in communications from Hamilton, Zimmerman went on to receive a master's degree in coaching education from Ohio University in 2016. Season Won Lost Tied Pct. Conf. W-L Note 2020-2021 0 0 0 .000 0-0-0 Season Canceled due to COVID-19 2021-2022 7 15 4 .346 5-11-2 Inaugural Season, 7 CCC Players of the Week, CCC Quarterfinals 2022-2023 15 8 3 .635 10-6-2 9 CCC Players of the Week, 2 Major Award Winners, CCC Semifinals 2023-2024 17 8 3 .661 11-5-2 6 CCC Players of the Week, 2 Major Award Winners, 5 All-Conference Honorees, CCC Champions (First In Program History), CCC Coach of the Year, CCM/AHCA Coach of the Year Finalist, New England Hockey Writers Coach of the Year, NCAA Tournament Appearance (First in Program History) Totals 39 31 10 .550 26-22-6 (.537)

Heffernan  continues to build the Golden Bears into a Commonwealth Coast Conference contender. In 2012-13, Western New England led the league with 12 academic all-conference student-athletes and advanced to the postseason for the fourth straight year. The program had a breakthrough season in 2011-12 with a 14-12-1 record (.537) for its best winning percentage in 18 years. The Golden Bears reached the ECAC Northeast Semifinals--losing to top-seed and NCAA tournament participant Wentworth, 5-3, on the road--after going 8-5-1 for a .607 clip during conference play. WNE was cited for All-ECAC Northeast and academic all-conference honors 11 times. That success started with the 2010-11 campaign when Western New England posted an 8-17-1 record for its most wins in four seasons and a five-game improvement from the previous year. WNE also qualified for the ECAC Northeast playoffs for the first time and captured the Pepperidge Farm Face-Off Classic hosted by Worcester State. Heffernan's 36 wins at the school are the most in WNE history for a coach's first-four years into his tenure. Heffernan joined the Western New England athletics staff after serving as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Fredonia State University for the three seasons. While at Fredonia, Heffernan helped the Blue Devils to the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) championship in 2007 and an appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Heffernan also administered a national charity event Pink the Rink to raise money for breast cancer awareness. The event was featured in over 80 newspapers worldwide and also appeared on national networks including CNN, NBC, and ESPN. Prior to Fredonia, Heffernan served as head coach and general manager of the Cleveland Barons Under-19 AAA hockey club where he compiled an impressive 77-48-17 record for a .602 winning percentage. During his tenure, the Barons won back-to-back Ohio state championships in 2005 and 2006. Heffernan was a graduate assistant and video coordinator at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., from 2002-04. The Lakers were Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) champions in 2003 and appeared in the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship Tournament. Heffernan is a 2002 graduate of Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics. He received his master's degree in organizational leadership from Mercyhurst. Heffernan played 18 games of professional hockey in the United Hockey League (UHL) and Quebec Semi-Pro Hockey League (QSPHL) from 1999-2001. At Concordia, he played three seasons in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), Canadas Division I hockey league. The Greg Heffernan Coaching Record  (7 seasons)