The Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association has named its 2014 section coach of the year recipients along with the John Mariucci Award winners as the state coach of the year.
The Mariucci Award winner for Class AA is Mike Taylor of Eagan. It is the first Mariucci Award for Taylor, who has taken his team to the state tournament this year for the fourth time. The Wildcats, who are playing in tonight’s third-place game, claimed third place in 2011, their best finish.
The Class A head coach of the year is Luverne’s Derrick Brown. The Cardinals were the only team in the state to finish the regular season with an unbeaten record (24-0-1). Making its first appearance at the state tournament, Luverne is playing in the consolation championship game today.
Assistant coach of the year awards went to Chris Johnson of Centennial in Class AA and St. Cloud Cathedral’s Ron Brown in Class A.
This year’s academic state champions are LeSuer-Henderson/St. Peter/Tri-City United in Class A and East Ridge in Class AA. The Class AA state academic title is the second consecutive award for head coach Doug Long and the Raptors.
Coach of the Year awards
Section 1AA
Head Coach—Trent Eigner, Lakeville North
Assistant Coach—Todd Karich, Farmington
Section 2AA
Head Coach—Jeff Lindquist, Bloomington Jefferson
Assistant Coach—Tom Streeter, Chanhassen
Section 3AA
Head Coach—Mike Taylor, Eagan
Assistant Coach—Doug Watson, Eagan
Section 4AA
Head Coach—Matt Doman, Stillwater
Assistant Coach—Peter Hamilton, Stillwater
Section 5AA
Head Coach—Ritch Menne, Centennial
Assistant Coach—Chris Johnson, Centennial
Section 6AA
Head Coach—Lee Smith, Eden Prairie
Assistant Coach—John Russo, Benilde-St. Margaret’s
Section 7AA
Head Coach—Mark Manney, Andover
Assistant Coach—Brett Barta, Andover
Section 8AA
Head Coach—Andy Lundbohm, Roseau
Assistant Coach—Bryan Erickson, Roseau^
Class AA John Mariucci Award-State Coach of the Year
Head Coach—Mike Taylor, Eagan
Assistant Coach—Chris Johnson, Centennial
Section 1A
Head Coach—Chris Lonke, New Prague
Assistant Coach—Will Fish, Northfield
Section 2A
Head Coach—Casey Yoder, Orono
Assistant Coach—Dan Paulson, Delano/Rockford
Section 3A
Head Coach—Derrick Brown, Luverne
Assistant Coach—Kullen Schroht, Luverne
Section 4A
Head Coach—Mark Loahr, Totino-Grace
Assistant Coach—Greg Pogreba, St. Paul Johnson
Section 5A
Head Coach—Paul Gibson, Chisago Lakes
Assistant Coach—None Selected
Section 6A
Head Coach—Eric Johnson, St. Cloud Cathedral & John Kothenbeutel, Sauk Rapids/Rice
Assistant Coach—Ron Brown & Tom Bruce, St. Cloud Cathedral
Section 7A
Head Coach—Reed Larson, Virginia-Moutain Iron/Buhl
Assistant Coach—Jason Strukel , Virginia-Moutain Iron/Buhl
Section 8A
Head Coach—Tyler Palmiscno, East Grand Forks^
Assistant Coach—Scott Oliver, East Grand Forks^
Class A John Mariucci Award-State Coach of the Year
Head Coach—Derrick Brown, Luverne
Assistant Coach—Ron Brown, St. Cloud Cathedral
^-Repeat winner from 2013
Academic Team Champions
Section 1AA
Rochester John Marshall, 3.40 GPA (Jay Ness)
Section 2AA
Burnsville, 3.27 GPA (Janne Kivihalme)
Section 3AA
East Ridge, 3.73 GPA (Doug Long)^
Section 4AA
Irondale, 3.35 GPA (Adam Schmidt)
Section 5AA
Anoka, 3.48 GPA (Todd Manthey)
Section 6AA
Benilde-St. Margaret’s, 3.55 GPA (Ken Pauly)
Section 7AA
Duluth East, 3.70 GPA (Mike Randolph)
Section 8AA
Buffalo, 3.48 GPA (Aaron Johnson)
Class AA State Academic Champion
East Ridge, 3.73 GPA (Doug Long)
Section 1A
LeSuer-Henderson/St. Peter/Tri-City United, 3.71 GPA (David Swanberg)
Section 2A
Mound-Westonka, 3.55 GPA (Doug Runke)^
Section 3A
Willmar, 3.70 GPA (Dan Tollefson)
Section 4A
Totino-Grace, 3.50 GPA (Mark Loahr)^
Section 5A
Chisago Lakes, 3.72 GPA (Paul Gibson)
Section 6A
None
Section 7A
Marshall School, 3.51 GPA (Brendan Flaherty)
Section 8A
Red Lake Falls, 3.29 GPA (Trevor Page)
Class A State Academic Champion
LeSuer-Henderson/St. Peter/Tri-City United, 3.71 GPA (David Swanberg)
^-Repeat winner from 2013