Former Professional Player Joins Men's Hockey Coaching Staff
7/30/2020 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
FAIRFIELD, Conn.—Steve Bergin, Sacred Heart University's new assistant coach for the men's ice hockey team, comes to SHU after playing and coaching professionally.
"We are thrilled to be adding Steve to our coaching staff," said C.J. Marottolo, men's hockey head coach. "He has rapidly climbed the ladder and is highly respected in both the college and professional coaching circles."
The Sacred Heart men's hockey team has achieved success during the last few years. It ranked among the National Collegiate Athletic Association's top 20 Division I hockey teams earlier this year and won the inaugural Connecticut Ice Tournament, defeating Yale and Quinnipiac universities. The New England Hockey Journal selected Marottolo as Atlantic Hockey coach of the year, and named top 10 Hobey Baker Award finalist, Jason Cotton, player of the year. Additionally, the American Hockey Coaches Association chose Cotton and fellow senior Mike Lee as All-Americans. Atlantic Hockey also ranked the team All-Academic.
"I am beyond excited to join the SHU family and be a part of the coaching staff," Bergin said. "They have done a great job building a strong program. In talking with C.J. throughout this process, it was evident early on that we share a lot of the same core values and have a lot of similar philosophies when it comes to coaching."
Bergin previously coached the South Carolina Stingrays, an affiliate of the NHL's Washington Capitals, and was the ECHL coach of the year for the 2019-20 season. He also was the winning coach in the ECHL's All-Star game. He had a 44-14-4 record, with a 25-5-4 road record. The 25 road wins is the second highest in ECHL history. The Stingrays also led the ECHL in team defense, allowing a league low of 2.37 goals per game, and tied for the best winning percentage in the league.
Bergin, 32, of Groton, MA, played hockey for the University of Connecticut from 2007 to 2011 and was team captain his senior year. He went on to play minor league hockey for five years.
He said he is grateful for the opportunity to work with SHU's hockey team. "I'm especially looking forward to meeting and working with the players," Bergin said. "A big reason that I wanted to coach a college team was that I could have more of an impact at this level. Being able to develop a student-athlete as a person and a player for four years really appeals to me. I'm looking forward to getting started."
"Steve's experience will definitely impact our team on every level as we strive to win an Atlantic Hockey Championship," Marottolo said. "Our student-athletes all have dreams of playing professionally, and to have Steve be part of our staff will be a tremendous resource for athletes who want to embark on pro careers. He has a terrific work ethic, communication skills and knowledge of the game, and he knows what it takes to be successful."
Marottolo said Bergin's responsibilities include recruiting, working with the team's defensemen, running the penalty kill, assisting in practice and game-planning and quarterbacking all video operations.
With a new arena in the University's future, Bergin's hire and great work by Scott McDougall, the team's other assistant coach, Marottolo said he believes the program has assembled a staff that will maximize and develop student-athletes' potential as people and as players.
