Brockport alumnus Tim Crowley has been named the head coach of the women's hockey program at Elmira.
Tim played for Brockport from 2005-2006 through the 2008-2009 season. In his Brockport career he scored 24 goals and he was absolutely awesome during a playoff chase in the 2007-2008 season -- during January and February of that year he scored 7 goals and assisted 6 more.
Tim will do well in his new role. Here's Elmira's press release...
Pat Thompson, Elmira College Vice President of Athletics, has announced the permanent appointment of Tim Crowley as the head coach of the nationally-ranked women's ice hockey program. He will also maintain his role as the head coach of the Elmira women's golf team as well.
"I am very pleased about the permanent appointment of Tim Crowley as our head women's ice hockey coach," said Thompson. "Coach Crowley joined this team after it started and was able to resume the momentum of the season both on the ice and in recruiting. Having had the opportunity to work with him for almost five years, I felt he was a great fit and well qualified to carry on our women's ice hockey tradition."
Crowley served as the bench boss for the Purple and Gold during the 2016-17 campaign and guided the Soaring Eagles to the ECAC West Tournament title game, as well as the program's fifth consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. Elmira finished the season as the country's No. 6-ranked team according to both the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) and D3hockey.com national polls, as the Purple and Gold logged an 18-6-4 overall record with a 14-2-2 mark in league contests. Elmira ended the year with the country's seventh-ranked scoring offense (3.64 gpg) and scoring defense (1.43 gpg), as well as the eighth-highest winning percentage (.714).
"I'm very excited to become the head coach of a program with such tradition and thankful to Pat Thompson for giving me this opportunity," said Crowley. "Moving forward we want to continue the tradition that was set by Dean Jackson '03 and Greg Fargo '06 before me, which is being an elite program with a winning culture."
Under Crowley's tutelage, five Soaring Eagles received year-end accolades from the ECAC West Conference, including two Second-Team recipients and a trio of Honorable Mention selections. The Elmira women also excelled off the ice this season, as 15 student-athletes were placed on the ECAC West All-Academic Team.
Although 2016-17 was Crowley's first year as the interim head coach for the women's program, he is no stranger to the Elmira College hockey family after spending the past four seasons as an assistant for the EC men's team under Aaron Saul '98. Elmira captured its 10th ECAC West Conference Tournament title – the most of any ECAC West affiliated institution, past or present – during Crowley's second stint with the Purple and Gold in 2014.
"My time with Aaron and the men allowed me to develop throughout the past four years and I am thankful for that," Crowley added. "When the opportunity came earlier this year, Aaron was very supportive as were the guys which I am thankful for."
Crowley was instrumental in Elmira's run to the conference championship in 2013-14, especially his work with the Soaring Eagle power play. Elmira ended the year with the fourth-highest power-play success rate in Division III men's ice hockey that season (28.0%) and boasted the country's fourth-leading power-play goal scorer in Josh Burnell '14 (10).
During his time with the Elmira men, 14 student-athletes received ECAC West All-Conference honors, including the 2014-15 ECAC West Player of the Year, Jarryd ten Vaanholt '16, who would later go on to receive American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) All-America Second-Team accolades.
Crowley's coaching resume also includes a three-year stint as an assistant coach with SUNY Potsdam from 2009-12. He guided the Bears to a pair of SUNYAC postseason berths in 2010 and 2012, before leaving North Country to assume a similar position with the Soaring Eagles.
Crowley is a 2009 graduate of The College at Brockport, where he was a four-year member of the Golden Eagles' men's ice hockey team. He made 98 career appearances with 24 goals and 30 assists for 54 points, and helped the Golden Eagles earn their first-ever playoff win in program history during the 2009 SUNYAC Tournament.
