Tony Maci has been named the next head coach of the Union women’s hockey team.
Earlier this offseason, Maci had been named associate head coach at Clarkson. He takes over for Josh Sciba, who took a job in the PWHL.
“I’m extremely thankful and humbled to have the opportunity to lead the Union College women’s hockey program,” Maci said in a statement. “I’d like to thank president David Harris, vice president for student affairs Annette Diorio, director of athletics Jim McLaughlin, Beth Tiffany, and everyone involved in the search process for giving me the opportunity to come to Schenectady. Throughout this whole process, I kept hearing the same thing about Union College and the campus community, and that was there are great people here. That is something I want to be a part of.”
“We are very happy to welcome someone with Tony’s experience to Union as our next head women’s hockey coach,” McLaughlin added. “His focus on the overall experience and support of student-athletes came through clearly during the interview process. As our program continues to develop and improve, Tony’s track record of success will be an incredible benefit to our players and what they look to achieve both on and off the ice.
“It is a very exciting time for our women’s hockey program, and I look forward to seeing Tony behind the bench this season.”
Maci has spent the last eight years on staff at Clarkson, serving as the top assistant on Matt Desrosiers’ staff before recently earning a promotion to associate head coach. During his time on the bench, the Golden Knights have blossomed into a perennial title contender, winning a pair of Division I national championships in 2017 and 2018, reaching four Frozen Fours and making the NCAA tournament seven times. As the team’s recruiting coordinator and skills coach, Maci has recruited and developed two Patty Kazmaier Award winners, nine AHCA All-Americans and 38 all-ECAC Hockey honorees during his time in Potsdam.
“I’d like to thank former athletics directors Steve Yianoukos and Scott Smalling, athletic director Laurel Kane, assistant athletics Director Ben Gaebel and especially head coach Matthew Desrosiers, as well as all of the student athlete and people involved in the Golden Knights women’s hockey program for the support throughout my career at Clarkson University,” Maci said. “This has not been an easy decision to leave the North Country and Clarkson, as it’s a special place for my family. It’s where I met my wife, Sarah, and where all three of our children have been born. It holds a special place in our hearts.”
Maci started his Division I coaching at fellow ECAC school Princeton, where he helped guide the Tigers to the NCAA tournament in 2015-16 with a 22-9-2 record, the most wins in program history at the time. He got his start in the college coaching ranks three years earlier as an assistant coach at Adrian, pushing the young program to a combined 59-15-6 record over three years and its first NCHA regular-season title in 2014-15.
A native of Grosse Ile, Mich., Maci graduated from St. Lawrence in 2005 with a degree in English and was a five-year member of the Saints men’s hockey team.
Maci takes over a Union women’s hockey program that is trending positively, having posted two of the three winningest seasons in the program’s Division I history in the last two years, including a program-record 11 wins in 2022-23. Last season, the team won a program-record four games in a row in December and January, capped by its second win over a nationally-ranked team with a 2-1 OT win at Penn State.
“We are going to be a group that works hard both on and off the ice, as well as in the community,” said Maci. “We will put a premium on player development first so that we can play an exciting skilled brand of hockey, while working hard as exceptional student-athletes in the classroom.”
Before moving to a brand-new facility at Mohawk Harbor in 2025, the Garnet Chargers will begin their final season in Messa Rink on Oct. 4 against RIT after a season-opening series at Robert Morris on Sept. 27-28.
