Courtesy of the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA)

GLOUCESTER, Mass. - Kevin Houle, who led Plattsburgh State to its second consecutive NCAA Division III Championship in women's ice hockey, has been voted by his peers as the American Hockey Coaches' Association Coach of the Year for an unprecedented third year in a row.  The Coach of the Year Award is chosen by members of the AHCA and will be presented on April 26 at the Coach of the Year Celebration in Naples, Fla., as part of the annual AHCA Convention.

"It's an honor to receive this award and an accomplishment to earn it three years in a row.  It's tied to the success of our program that has been achieved the last three seasons.  Most of the credit goes to the dedicated players and coaching staff--assistants Erin O'Brien and Chad Kemp--that have worked hard making the Plattsburgh State program one of the best in the country," Houle said.

Plattsburgh went 25-3-1 in 2007-08, downing Elmira (2-0) and Manhattanville (3-2) in the NCAA Tournament semifinals and finals last month at home in the Stafford Arena. The first victory over the Soaring Eagles was a measure of revenge for the Cardinals, who were denied by Elmira of a third straight ECAC West Tournament crown.  The Cardinals did win their fifth-consecutive conference regular season championship.

In winning back-to-back NCAA titles, Houle, who is 121-19-7 in five seasons at the school, joins elite company as only Middlebury and Elmira had multiple championships at this level of NCAA play.  He is the winningest active coach, men's or women's, in NCAA all-Divisions with an .847 percentage.

In addition to his successful season at Plattsburgh, Houle was named as an assistant coach on this year's U.S. Women's National Team. He served with head coach Jackie Barto's squad in Sweden in the fall and is currently in China for the 2008 World Championships.

Houle is a 1986 graduate of Boston College, where he lettered for four years for coach Len Ceglarski.

The runners-up for this year's award were Lauren McAuliffe, first-year head coach at Manhattanville College, and Dan Laughlin, head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

Previous Winners
2000 Ted Wisner, Colgate
2001 Bill Mandigo, Middlebury
2002 Jamie Wood, Elmira
2003 Michele Amidon, Bowdoin
2004 Bill Mandigo, Middlebury
2005 Bill Mandigo, Middlebury
2006 Kevin Houle, Plattsburgh State
2007 Kevin Houle, Plattsburgh State
2008 Kevin Houle, Plattsburgh State