Former Husky Ellsworth named top coach in NCAA Division III
NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Former Michigan Tech goaltender Cam Ellsworth was named the recipient of the 2020 Edward Jeremiah Award winner as the NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year for the 2019-20 season as head coach of Norwich University. He was also named the New England Hockey Conference Coach of the Year.
The Edward Jeremiah Award is named in honor of the great Dartmouth College head coach and was first presented in 1970. The award is selected by the coaches in the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA).
The Cadets went 24-2-2 last season and won their second straight NEHC Tournament title. Norwich broke the Division III record for shutouts in a single season with 14 and carried an NCAA record at all levels with a nine-game shutout streak into the NCAA Tournament. The Cadets held a 0.86 goals-against average over the entire season, shattering the previous Division III record for team defense.
Ellsworth has compiled a record of 47-7-5 in his two years as head coach and is currently the Division III leader in winning percentage at .840. The Cadets ended last season on an 18-game unbeaten streak. They went to the NCAA Championship Game in 2019 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2020 before it was canceled.
Ellsworth played for Michigan Tech from 2001-05 and is the program's all-time leader in games played (117) and saves (3,510). He was an All-WCHA Third Team selection in 2005 and a three-time WCHA All-Academic Team member. Ellsworth also twice received Tech's George McCarthy Performance Award for scholastic and athletic achievement. He received his bachelor's in business administration.
Ellsworth played three seasons of professional hockey in the ECHL before beginning his coaching career with three seasons at Sioux City in the USHL. He then spent seven seasons as an assistant coach and associate head coach at UMass Lowell. The River Hawks qualified for five NCAA Tournaments and won three Hockey East Tournaments during his time.