FAIRANKS, AK – Alaska Nanooks head hockey coach Dallas Ferguson is one of nine finalists for the American Hockey Coaches Association, Spencer Penrose Award. The award is given annually to the top NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Coach.
Ferguson elevated the Nanooks to an overall record of 17-16-6 and a league mark of 13-10-5: the most overall wins the program had seen in a season since the 2004-05 campaign and the most CCHA victories in over half a decade.
The former Nanook defenseman guided this year’s Nanook squad to a fourth place finish in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings to tie the program’s mark for best regular-season conference finish. Their 34 points in the conference standings bested the previous best of 33 achieved in 2001-02.
Under Ferguson’s tutelage the Nanooks earned a first round bye in the 2009 CCHA playoffs and hosted a second round playoff series for the first time in Fairbanks. The Blue and Gold prevailed 2-1 over the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Carlson Center to earn a trip to Joe Louis Arena and the CCHA Championships for the first time since 2005, and just the third time in 17 seasons of association with the Michigan-based league.
For his heroics behind the bench, Ferguson won the CCHA Coach of the Year award, besting University of Michigan’s bench boss Red Berenson and Ferris State’s Bob Daniels. The first-year coach helped guide the Nanooks to a quick turnaround, far exceeding expectation as they were picked to finish 11th in the 12-team CCHA and almost doubled the program’s win total from the previous season.
He is one of just two CCHA coaches amongst the finalists, along with Frozen Four participant Miami University's head coach Enrico Blasi.
The award is named in honor of the former Colorado Springs benefactor who built the Broadmoor Hotel Complex, site of the first 10 NCAA Hockey Championships. It will be presented at the American Hockey Coaches Association Coach of the Year Banquet on Saturday, April 25, in Naples, Fla.
2008-09 AHCA Men’s Ice Hockey Division I Coach of the Year Finalists
Keith Allain, Yale *
Enrico Blasi, Miami # @
Greg Cronin, Northeastern *
Dallas Ferguson, Alaska *
Dave Hakstol, North Dakota *
Jack Parker, Boston University # @
Tom Serratore, Bemidji State * #
Kevin Sneddon, Vermont #
Ryan Soderquist, Bentley *
*Denotes 2008-09 Conference Coach of the Year
# NCAA Frozen Four Participant
@ Previous Winner of the Spencer Penrose Award
