Union men's hockey coach Nate Leaman announced the hiring of Gary Heenan to the coaching staff. Heenan, the former head coach at Utica, replaces Tony Gasparini who was an assistant for the past two years.
Heenan and Leaman were opponents in college. Heenan was a defenseman at Hamilton while Leaman was at SUNY Cortland. Now coaching side-by-side on the same bench, Leaman looks forward to the addition of Heenan.
“Gary started a program basically from scratch,” Leaman said. “Within four years he took them to the top of the league ECAC West), so he has a proven track record. He's a very polished guy and will be a great fit here at Union.”
Heenan compiled a 52-40-11 record during his tenure at Utica. He was hired in 2000 to begin a hockey program at the school and the Pioneers began play the following season in 2001. In his third season, Utica had its first winning record at 15-10-1. Last season, he was named ECAC West Hockey League Coach of the Year after guiding the Pioneers to the regular-season conference title with a 9-1-2 record, and a 16-5-6 overall mark.
Heenan began his coaching career as an assistant at SUNY Brockport in 1998. He returned to his alma mater as an assistant before being hired by Utica. Heenan will work with the defensemen at Union.