FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 2015
RINDGE, N.H. – Franklin Pierce University Director of Athletics Bruce Kirsh has announced that Bruce Marshall has been named the fourth head coach of the University’s men’s ice hockey program.
Marshall previously spent 25 seasons as the head coach at University of Connecticut, where he ushered the program through its transition from Division III to Division I and laid the groundwork for the program’s move to Hockey East.
He returns as a collegiate bench boss after two years serving as an administrator with the Division I Atlantic Hockey Association.
“I am very excited to be a part of the Franklin Pierce community and am looking forward to getting back on the ice and helping student-athletes reach their goals,” said Marshall. “Spending the last two years away from the game has helped me realize my real passion is for helping young men, and I’m excited at having that opportunity again.”
Rindge will be just the second collegiate head coaching stop for Marshall, who previously spent 25 seasons behind the bench at University of Connecticut, serving as the head coach from 1988-89 through 2012-13.
Inheriting a program which had won 15 games in a season just three times in a nearly 30-year history, Marshall guided the Huskies to a 15-11-1 mark in just his second season on the job and notched the program’s first-ever 20-win campaign (22-4-2) in 1991-92, his fourth year in Storrs, Conn. The 1989-90 season began a run of seven straight seasons of at least 15 wins for the Huskies, a stretch which was unprecedented in program annals.
Perhaps more impressive than his work on the ice was Marshall’s work off the ice at Connecticut. A ferocious fundraiser, Marshall spearheaded the program’s transition from Division III to Division I, all while laboring under the shadow of the institution’s nationally prominent men’s and women’s basketball programs.
Moving to Division I and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 1998-99, the Huskies notched 20 wins (20-10-4) in their inaugural Division I campaign and captured the MAAC title the next season.
At Storrs, Marshall inherited a Division III program which played in an open-air ice rink in rural Connecticut. By the time he left, it was a Division I program with a permanent, 2,000-seat, on-campus rink; was on the verge of Hockey East membership; and was about to begin playing a portion of its home games in downtown Hartford, Conn., at the 15,635-seat XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Through the end of the 2013-14 season, Marshall’s 351-386-72 career record (.478 winning percentage) ranked him 53rd all-time in the NCAA in wins, as well as 36th among Division I bench bosses. Had he been active at the time, he would have ranked 11th among active Division I head coaches. In his time at Connecticut, Marshall produced seven All-Americans, 26 All-Conference selections and the 2004 Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year (Tim Olsen).
“We are very pleased to welcome Bruce Marshall to the Franklin Pierce family,” Kirsh said. “He brings a level of hockey expertise to our program which is unparalleled within the Northeast-10. Furthermore, coach Marshall comes to us with an impeccable history of producing student-athletes who are strong community citizens and leaders.”
Prior to coaching at his alma mater, Marshall played collegiately at Connecticut, spent one season as an assistant coach for the Huskies and logged two years as the head ice hockey coach at Worcester Academy. As an undergraduate in Storrs, he was a four-year letterwinner, played in 94 career games and was co-captain of the 1984-85 team, which went 14-10-0 and earned the first ECAC playoff berth in program history.
Marshall is a 1985 graduate of Connecticut with a degree in physical education. He has previously spent time working with the USA Hockey Olympic Development program, served two terms as Vice President of the American Hockey Coaches Association and has sat on the Hobey Baker Award selection committee. He will officially join the staff at Franklin Pierce in June and will embark on his debut season with the crimson and grey this winter.
Information for this release provided by the Franklin Pierce Athletics Communications staff.
ABOUT THE NORTHEAST-10
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,500 student-athletes.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
Full of Pierce Pride for today's announcement! Bruce Marshall to join Raven Nation as head coach of men's ice hockey https://t.co/07HJ0scNh2
— President Andy Card (@PresidentCard) May 22, 2015
