Miami announced Monday that Anthony Noreen has been named the seventh head coach in RedHawks history.
Noreen, who takes over for Chris Bergeron, who has not brought back after the 2023-24 season, has been the head coach of the USHL’s Tri-City Storm since 2017 and has also served as the Storm’s president of hockey operations since 2019. He has been involved with USA Hockey for nearly a decade, most recently as the 18U head coach for the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Noreen led the 2018 U.S. Junior Select Team to a gold medal in the World Junior A Challenge.
“I am honored and humbled to be the next head hockey coach at Miami University,” said Noreen in a statement. “I would like to thank David Sayler and Brad Okel for their belief in me, and the alumni of this storied program for creating something special to build upon. I look forward to being a part of the next chapter of Miami hockey and establishing a standard that all of our supporters can be proud of.”
During his time with Tri-City, Noreen has produced a record of 236-126-24-18, making him the winningest coach in franchise history. His Storm teams have qualified for the playoffs in each of his seven seasons at the helm (with the exception of the 2019-20 postseason, which was canceled due to COVID). Noreen has led the Storm to two Anderson Cups (2018-19 and 2021-22), setting a franchise record for wins and points in the 2018-19 season and breaking the league record for wins and points in 2021-22. He was named USHL coach of the year in both of those seasons (the first Storm coach to earn that honor) and has produced more playoff appearances and more regular-season titles than any other Tri-City head coach.
The Storm topped the USHL in penalty killing for four straight seasons (2018-22) and led the league in goals against in two of those years. In 2021-22, Noreen’s team won a franchise-record 11 consecutive games and went on to lead the USHL in goals scored and power-play goals.
Noreen has coached 34 NHL draft picks over the past seven years with the Storm, and his Tri-City program has produced more than 100 NCAA Division I hockey players in that time. The 2024 NCAA tournament featured a total of 24 former Storm players, with 14 of the 16 participating programs (and each school in the Frozen Four) having at least one Tri-City product on their roster.
Storm players under Noreen won two USHL player of the year awards to go along with two defenseman of the year honors, three goalie of the year recognitions, one forward of the year pick and a rookie of the year selection.
“I am excited to introduce Anthony Noreen as the next head coach of the Miami University hockey program. All of us here at Miami are committed to getting our hockey program back to being nationally competitive within the NCHC and building on our proud history of NCAA tournament appearances,” said Miami director of athletics David Sayler. “I am reminded of a famous quote by Wayne Gretzky, where he said, ‘Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.’ This quote could not be more true of where we find ourselves in college athletics at this moment of time,” Sayler continued. “We set out to find someone that is adept at bringing high-end talent into their program, developing that talent on and off the ice, and communicating clearly to forge strong culture and win hockey games.
“Coach Noreen has succeeded in all of those areas while having to evaluate his ever-changing roster each year, something that will serve him extremely well in his new role as the head coach of the Miami hockey program.”
Noreen’s experience with USA Hockey includes his most recent role as U-18 head coach for the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup as well as a collection of three medals earned with the U.S. Junior Select Team in the World Junior A Challenge. Noreen served as head coach for the U.S. Junior Select Team in 2019 (bronze medal) and 2018 (gold medal) after helping the U.S. to silver in 2017 as an assistant.
Before joining Tri-City, Noreen was the head coach for the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears from 2015 to 2017 after four previous seasons in the USHL as Youngstown Phantoms head coach and general manager (2011-15). Noreen posted a mark of 38-35-4-6 in Orlando and led the Phantoms to a 126-99-10-9 record. His 2014-15 Youngstown team set a USHL record with a 17-game win streak en route to claiming the Anderson Cup, as Noreen was named the league’s coach of the year.
Noreen, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Interpersonal/Organizational Communication from Wisconsin-Stevens Point, began his coaching career at his alma mater as an assistant from 2007 2010. Noreen played four seasons for the Pointers from 2003 2007, serving as a team captain in his junior and senior years. He was named to the NCHA all-academic team in 2005-06 and 2006-07 and graduated from UWSP in 2007.
Noreen will continue with the Storm through the remainder of the USHL regular season and postseason before officially assuming his role leading Miami hockey.
The introductory press conference for Noreen will be held April 9 at 1 p.m. in the club lounge at Goggin Ice Center.
