For leading his team to a record of 26-1-0 and the top ranking among women’s Division III programs, Plattsburgh’s Kevin Houle has been named the 2020 CCM/AHCA Women’s Division III Coach of the Year.
It is the seventh time that Houle has been so honored.
This season, Houle guided the Cardinals to an 18-0-0 NEWHL record and the Cardinals’ third consecutive NEWHL tournament title. It marked the Cardinals’ eighth consecutive conference title overall, counting the five ECAC West championships they won in the final years of that conference.
Over the last eight seasons, Plattsburgh has lost a combined 13 games.
Plattsburgh earned the NEWHL’s automatic bid into the 2020 women’s NCAA tournament before it was canceled.
Earlier this season, Plattsburgh set the record for the longest home winning streak in NCAA women’s hockey history as the Cardinals defeated Oswego State 3-0 on Nov. 9, for their 29th consecutive home win. The Cardinals’ home winning streak was at 40 games when the NCAA tournament was canceled and the season ended.
Plattsburgh also set the NCAA Division III women’s hockey record for the longest overall winning streak with its 26th consecutive win over then-No. 7 UW-River Falls as part of the Panther/Cardinal Classic on Nov. 30, in Middlebury, Vt.
Houle, who is the program’s longest tenured and winningest coach, has a 423-51-25 (.873) record since taking over the program for the 2003-04 season. He has coached the Cardinals to seven national championships (five in the past six years), seven ECAC Women’s West championship titles, three NEWHL titles, and at least 20 wins in each of his seasons.
