Kyle Wallack, a former assistant coach for Yale University, has accepted an assistant’s position with the Universitiy of Vermont, according to the New Haven (Conn.) Register.
Kyle Wallack
Chip Malafronte said on his College Hockeytown blog that Wallack will replace John Micheletto, who left UVM after nine years to become head coach at Massachusetts.
UVM head coach Kevin Sneddon did not confirm or deny the report Friday. In a text message, UVM director of athletics Bob Corran said the search for assistants was ongoing and comments would be withheld until the search was concluded.
In addition to filling Micheletto’s position, Sneddon must also find replacements for assistant coach Joey Gasparini and director of hockey operations John Gobeil, who both accepted offers by Micheletto to join the UMass staff.
In his blog, Malafronte wrote, “It’s a great spot for Wallack, a West Hartford native who left Yale at the end of the 2011 season to take a job as head coach in the USHL. He’s an outstanding coach and an outgoing personality who knows how to recruit. His goal is to be a college head coach, and this certainly puts him back on track after being blindsided in Indiana, where he was fired and replaced by the team owner’s brother just before the playoffs despite his team being 19 games over .500.”
Wallack was a goaltender at Springfield College. He has also coached at Nichols, Delaware and Holy Cross.
He became head coach and general manager of the Indianapolis Ice of the USHL but was let go with two games remaining in the regular season despite a strong playoff position and a record 19 games over .500.
The Indianapolis Star reported, “Ice owner Paul Skjodt cited ‘team unrest’ and expressed a lack of confidence that the Tier 1 Junior team could win the Clark Cup if he stuck with the coach.”
Two incoming forwards, sophomore transfer Jacob Fallon (Michigan) and freshman Rob Polesello, played for Indiana this past season.
Several reports have cited Kevin Patrick as a leading candidate for a position on Sneddon’s staff. Patrick was a coach at Union, Bowling Green and Wisconsin, coordinating recruiting, before taking over the head coaching position for Muskegon in the Lumberjacks’ first season in the USHL. He was relieved of his duties in January. He also was an assistant coach/general manager for the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL.
Contact Free Press correspondent Ted Ryan at TedRyanVT@aol.com or follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TedRyanVT
