The 2019-20 season marks Kevin Patrick's eighth season on the University of Vermont men's hockey coaching staff. He was promoted to the position of associate head coach in the summer of 2015.
Patrick received the 2019 Terry Flanagan Award at the 2019 AHCA Convention in May 2019. The award is given annually to an assistant or associate head coach recognizing a career body of work.
Patrick boasts 19 years of Division I coaching experience, including a national championship as an assistant at Wisconsin and two seasons as a head coach in the United States Hockey League. Patrick was an assistant under current Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon for four years at Union College.
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Patrick helped lead the program to three 20-win seasons in a four-year span from 2013-17. Two years ago, the Catamounts earned their highest Hockey East regular season finish in the standings since 2009 with sixth place. Patrick coached the penalty kill to a No. 11 national ranking, including a streak of 36 consecutive penalty kills. The seniors in the Class of 2017 finished third all-time in the program’s Division I era in wins with 77.
In 2018-19, Vermont ranked 15th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 2.41 goals per contest. Vermont's penalty kill finished the season ninth in the country with an 86.3% success rate (101-for-117).
Four years ago, Vermont was one of the top defensive teams in the country, ranking ninth nationally with a team goals against average of 2.22. UVM also continued its penalty killing success at a rate of 87.5-percent, which was 10th in the NCAA. As a team, Vermont was the seventh-least penalized team in college hockey and won the Hockey East Charlie Holt Sportsmanship Award for having the least penalty minutes in league play.
Patrick had a major influence on captain Mike Paliotta, who was named the 22nd NCAA All-American in program history after the season. Paliotta became the first Catamount to win the Bob Monahan Award as the best defenseman in New England and was also recognized as the Best Defensive Defenseman in Hockey East. He also joined Chris McCarthy as one of only two UVM players to earn Hockey East Second Team All-Star honors.
Patrick was selected as an assistant coach for the 2015 U.S. Junior National Team that competed in the IIHF World Junior Championships in Montreal and Toronto. Patrick was joined on the U.S. staff by head coach Mark Osiecki and assistant coaches Don Granato and Mike Ayers. He also attended the 2014 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, New York.
In 2013-14, Patrick helped restore Vermont's penalty kill to national prominence as it finished tied for eighth in the NCAA at 85.2-percent. The Catamounts' team goals against average of 2.34 was also ranked 11th in the country. UVM won 20 games for the first time in five years and qualified for its sixth NCAA Tournament in school history. Paliotta was named a Hockey East Honorable Mention All-Star after the season.
Before coming to Vermont, Patrick spent two years as the head coach of the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL, leading the squad to the playoffs in 2010-11. He previously spent five seasons as an assistant coach for Wisconsin, compiling a total of 113 wins in his tenure. In his first year on the staff in 2005-06, the program won 30 games en route to its sixth NCAA national championship in school history. Patrick and the Badgers made it back to the national title game in 2010.
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Prior to his time at Wisconsin, Patrick was an assistant coach at Bowling Green for three years. He oversaw the team's defense and helped the Falcons earn their first winning record in the CCHA in nine years. The Schenectady, New York native also spent four seasons as an assistant at Union from 1998-2002 while Sneddon was the head coach for the Dutchmen.
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Patrick was a four-year defenseman at Notre Dame and served as captain of the program during his final two seasons. He also played two years of lacrosse, helping the Fighting Irish qualify for the 1990 NCAA Tournament. After graduating in 1992, Patrick spent one year in professional hockey and was named to the 1993 American Hockey Association All-Star Team with the Green Bay Ice.
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