Western Connecticut State has announced the hiring of Doug Friedman as head coach of the Wolves’ men’s hockey team that will begin NCAA Division III play in the fall of 2025.
Friedman comes to WestConn from Boston University, where he has been director of hockey operations since 2021, helping that squad win the Hockey East title in 2023 and reach the NCAA Division I Frozen Four in each of the last two seasons. He has a wealth of hockey experience, including head coaching stints with the Twin City Thunder of the United States Premier Hockey league (USPHL) and Kents Hill Prep School in Maine that followed an eight-year professional career in the NHL.
Friedman begins at WestConn in late August and will serve as head coach of the Wolves’ ACHA hockey program while recruiting student-athletes and preparing for the inaugural varsity campaign next fall.
“I am looking forward to joining the WestConn community and contributing to the successful athletics program,” said Friedman in a statement. “I am thankful to athletic director Lori Mazza and the entire hiring committee for the opportunity to build and lead the Wolves’ men’s hockey program. My goal is to develop our student athletes to be the best they can be, on and off the ice.”
“After a very intense national search that yielded high-quality applicants, we are so excited to have Doug Friedman represent WestConn in our inaugural year of playing ice hockey,” added Mazza. “His vision of the culture for the program was exciting and we can’t wait to see how this process unfolds over the next few years. His experience and success at all levels makes him the perfect candidate to launch our NCAA program and we look forward to being a competitive member of the LEC.”
At Boston University, Friedman assisted head coach Jay Pandolfo in all aspects of the hockey program, including coaching on ice at practice and on the bench during games, overseeing recruitment of student-athletes and team academics, coordinating community service and fundraising activities, and managing the budget.
Prior to BU, Friedman was program director and head coach of the Thunder from 2018 to 2020, leading that team to the postseason in its inaugural season and placing several junior hockey players on NCAA teams. He was head men’s hockey coach, director of athletics, and head men’s golf coach at Kents Hill from 2014 to 2018 and increased that hockey team’s season win total each year.
Friedman was a highly decorated four-year player for the Terriers and served as captain in his final season in 1993-94 after making the squad as a non-recruited walk-on freshman. He helped the Terriers win two Hockey East crowns and two Beanpots and advance to three NCAA Frozen Fours and two appearances in the NCAA national title game while earning the New England collegiate defensive player of the year award as a senior.
Selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1993 NHL Draft (11th round, 222nd overall), Friedman played seven seasons of professional hockey, skating for the Edmonton Oilers and Nashville Predators of the NHL in addition to stints with five AHL teams (Cornwall Aces, Hershey Bears, Hamilton Bulldogs, Kentucky Thoroughblades, and Worcester Ice Cats) and in the IHL with the Milwaukee Admirals. Friedman was an alternate captain in each season of his professional career and won the 1997 Calder Cup in that role with Hershey.
Friedman coached youth hockey while working in the business works for 10 years, before taking on a full-time role as coaching director with the Portland Jr. Pirates where he coached junior hockey teams and ran the junior program from 2011 to 2014. He has been a USA Hockey National Development Festival coach and New England Development Festival coach and owns both a USA Hockey level 4 coaching certification and a USA Hockey level 3 officials certification. Friedman was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
