Article courtesy of MSUMavericks.com.Â
Mankato, Minn. --- Minnesota State men's hockey head coach Mike Hastings announced the hiring of assistant coach Paul Kirtland.
Kirtland joins the Mavericks after serving as an assistant coach with the men's hockey program at Yale in the 2020-21 (Yale did not compete during the season due to CoVID).
"We are excited to add Paul Kirtland to our coaching staff," said Hastings. "He is respected across college hockey and brings an energy and passion to recruiting and player development that our program will benefit from. We welcome Paul and his wife Colleen to the Maverick family."
While at Yale his responsibilities included recruiting, video breakdown, systems play, player/skill development and penalty kill.
A native of Vernon, Conn., Kirtland was a member of the Sacred Heart coaching staff for two seasons where he helped lead the Pioneers to two of the best seasons in program history while earning their first listing in the national polls. The 2019-20 squad ranked third in the country in offense and second in the country in shorthanded goals before finishing second in the Atlantic Hockey standings. The year before, they had their highest (fourth) conference finish in eight years.
"It is an honor to be joining the Maverick hockey family," said Kirtland. "The tradition of excellence for this program is well-known and I am excited to begin working with the staff and student athletes to contribute to their continued success. I would like to thank athletic director Kevin Buisman and Coach Hastings for affording me this opportunity."
Kirtland also was a member of coaching staffs with Dubuque (United States Hockey League, 2017-18), Trinity College (NCAA DIII, 2015-17) and Fairbanks (NAHL) (2013-15). A 2013 graduate of Ohio State where he played for the Buckeyes from 2009-12, Kirtland played one season of professional hockey in the ECHL.
Minnesota State, which went 22-5-1 overall in 2020-21 and in addition to claiming the WCHA regular-season championship, won the NCAA West Region championship in advancing to the Frozen Four for the first time, opens the 2021-22 season Oct. 2-3 with a nonconference road series at UMass.