NASHUA, N.H. – Eric Sorenson has been named the first-ever Head Coach for Men’s Ice Hockey at Rivier University. Sorenson brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the bench as he served as an assistant coach for the past six years at the NCAA Division III level along with playing four-years as a Division III student-athlete.
“We are pleased to welcome Eric to Raiders Athletics and to work with him to achieve our vision for the Men’s Ice Hockey program,” said Joanne Merrill, Rivier’s Athletic Director. “I believe his coaching experience and leadership will motivate student-athletes to achieve their full potential as scholars and athletes.”
Sorenson comes to Nashua after serving as the assistant men’s ice hockey coach at Williams College and Nazareth College over the past six seasons. His teams advanced to their respective conference tournaments in five of the six seasons. Prior to his tenure in college hockey, he held head coach and assistant coach/goaltending coach positions with the Rochester Jr. Americans along with spending nine years coaching and managing off-ice operations for Mitch Korn Goaltending Camps.
As a student-athlete, Sorenson was a standout goalie at Western New England University. While letting in all four years at WNEU, he holds career records for wins (29) and saves (2,175). Sorenson was named the ECAC Northeast Goalie of the Week eleven times and was also selected to the All-ECAC Northeast Team (twice) and a three-time member of the All-Academic team. He graduated from WNEU in 2014 with a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Sport Management. Sorenson then went on to earn his Master’s Degree in Sport Administration from Canisius College in 2017.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to help build this program,” said Sorenson, a native of Fairport, NY. “As the program leader, I will support a character-based culture with a focus on skill development, team, academics, and community involvement aimed at providing each student-athlete with the foundation to be successful in life.”
Sorenson is recruiting qualified student-athletes in preparation to take the ice in the fall of 2021 at Nashua’s Conway Arena, the Raiders home rink. Earlier, the University announced the addition of Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey – bringing the total number of varsity teams to 15.
“The addition of hockey is great news for local high school players who want to compete at the University level without leaving the state of New Hampshire,” said Brad Kreick, Chair of Rivier’s Board of Trustees and former NCAA Division I Ice Hockey student-athlete, in a statement last month. “Bringing college ice hockey to Nashua is a win for both the University and the city. We look forward to our inaugural teams taking the ice in 2021.”
