Saint Mary’s announced Monday that Chad Davis has been named the new head women’s hockey coach.
Davis, who spent last season spearheading the launch of the women’s hockey program at Milwaukee School of Engineering, comes to Saint Mary’s after spending two seasons as the head women’s coach at Rochester Institute of Technology, where he was named CHA coach of the year in 2019.
He replaces Sarah Murray, who stepped down earlier this offseason.
“We are thrilled to have Chad lead our women’s hockey program and our amazing student-athletes,” said SMU athletic director Brian Sisson in a statement. “His many years of experience as a head coach, developing student-athletes, and taking programs to new heights will be great for our program and our students.
Prior to his stint at RIT, Davis put together a stellar resume at Adrian, amassing a 150-37-10 record in seven seasons with the Bulldogs. Davis won the NCHA regular-season championship in four consecutive seasons (2015-18) and captured the conference tournament title three times (2016-18). His teams also made three consecutive NCAA tournament trips from 2016 to 2018 and finished as the national runners-up in 2017. Davis was named the AHCA/CCM coach of the year during the same season.
“I would like to thank athletic director Brian Sisson, president Father Burns, and the entire hiring committee for the opportunity to lead the women’s hockey program at Saint Mary’s University,” said Daivs, who inherits a team that finished 8-15-2 a year ago. “I look forward to meeting the team and beginning the championship process. My family and I are excited to be a part of the Winona community.”
Davis played at American International, appearing in 52 games as a goaltender from 2001 to 2004. He also played professionally with the CHL’s Laredo Bucks before starting his coaching career, which began with stops at American International and Robert Morris.
“As a former hockey student-athlete, and someone who has taken a team to the national championship, we are excited to get started and see Chad’s impact on our program,” Sisson said. “We welcome his wife Lauralee, and kids, Claire, Luke, Logan, and Camryn to the Cardinals family.”
