Wayne Wilson
Head Coach
Phone: 585-475-5615
Email:
jwwatl@rit.edu
Wayne Wilson enters his 11th season as head coach of the Tigers, needing one win to become the all-time leader in coaching wins at RIT. He looks to guide RIT to an appearance in the 2010 NCAA Division I Tournament. The Guelph, Ontario native has led RIT to two Atlantic Hockey Association Regular Season Championships in the last three years.
During that time, the Tigers have recorded a stellar 63-36-10 record, and are 55-21-8 in AHA play. During his tenure at RIT, Wilson has guided the Tigers to a 188-91-24 record. In just four seasons of Division I play, Wilson has the Tigers competing against the best teams in the country.
Last season, he led the Tigers to a Division I team record 23 wins, which included an 11-game winning streak. RIT was the second highest scoring team in the nation. On Dec . 6, 2008, RIT defeated No . 10 Air Force. It was the highest ranked team the Tigers have defeated in four years of Division I play. The Tigers finished with a 23-13-2 mark and advanced to the Atlantic Hockey Association semifinals.
Wilson’s teams have competed well against the top teams in the nation. On Oct . 27, 2007, the Tigers defeated then No . 18 Cornell, 4-1 in front of 5,142 raucous fans at Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester. A little over two months later, on Dec . 29, Wilson’s Tigers shocked the Division I hockey landscape, defeating No . 14 Minnesota at the Dodge Holiday Classic in front of 10,046 fans at Mariucci Arena. It was the first time Minnesota had lost a game in their home tournament since the 1999-00 season.
In 2007-08, forward Simon Lambert became the first RIT player to be named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, college hockey’s finest honor.
In 2006-07, RIT won the Atlantic Hockey regular season title in its first year in the league.
Wilson is no stranger to success at the collegiate level. He won a national title as a player at Bowling Green State University in 1984. Wilson led the Falcons to three NCAA Tournament appearances as an assistant coach and led RIT to three straight trips to the NCAAs from 2000-2002.
In 2003-04, Wilson became the third coach in the program’s storied history to win 100 games. He picked up his 150th coaching win on Nov . 17, 2007 against Mercyhurst.
Wilson has led RIT to three NCAA tournament appearances and four ECAC West Tournament titles and has been named the ECAC West Coach of the Year three times. He earned AHCA Coach of the Year honors in 2000-01 when he guided the Tigers to their fifth appearance in the NCAA Division III National Championship game after an unbeaten regular season (22-0-1).
During his time at RIT, Wilson has coached eight All-American selections (two-time selection Jerry Galway, Pat Staerker, Derek Hahn, Peter Bournazakis, Mike Bournazakis, Tyler Euverman, and Mike Tarantino). In 2001, Jerry Galway became only the second player in RIT history to be named NCAA Division III AHCA Player of the Year.
Last season, Brennan Sarazin and Dan Ringwald were All-Atlantic Hockey first team selections. Lambert won the Atlantic Hockey Leading scorer award in 2008 and was a first team selection, along with defenseman Dan Ringwald.
In Wilson’s tenure at RIT, many players have graduated and moved on to professional careers within their field of study. Last season the team GPA was 3.37, exceeding the university average. The Tigers led the league with 22 players earning AHA All-Academic team honors.
While at Bowling Green, several of his players (including Rob Blake, Nelson Emerson, and Brian Holzinger) went on to successful careers in the National Hockey League. In 2007, Steve Pinizzotto became RIT’s first athlete to sign a professional hockey contract since Chris Palmer signed with New Jersey Devils in 1990. Pinizzotto was a key component of the 2009 Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears of the AHL. Lambert and Matt Smith also signed professional contracts following the 2007-08 season, while Brennan Sarazin, Bobby Raymond, and Anton Kharin signed after the 2008-09 season.
Wilson starred at Bowling Green State University, playing on defense for the Falcons from 1981 to 1984. He captained the team in 1984, helping the Falcons to the NCAA Division I National Championship.
Wilson earned a degree in health, physical education, and recreation from Bowling Green in 1984, and added his master’s degree in education at BGSU in 1987. He lives in Pittsford, N .Y ., with his wife, Lynn, and children Stephanie (20) and Stuart (18). Stephanie is a junior at Wilson’s alma mater, Bowling Green. Stuart will be playing Junior A hockey in 2009-10.
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