New era at Vermont

Union's Sneddon to replace longtime coach Gilligan

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) -- Union College coach Kevin Sneddon is the new head coach of men's hockey at the University of Vermont, UVM announced Wednesday.

Sneddon, 33, will succeed Mike Gilligan, who announced his retirement May 16 after 19 years as head coach.

"He is an exceptional young man who has already accomplished a great deal in his career," Bob Corran, UVM's director of athletics, said of Sneddon. "We are confident he will provide vision, leadership and a strong sense of values to our men's hockey program."

Sneddon, the captain of the 1991-92 Harvard University team, has been the head coach at Union for five years. He has compiled a 50-99-18 record overall and an ECAC Division I record of 36-66-10.

In Sneddon's first year as coach, the Dutchmen were 1-19-2 in the ECAC and 3-26-3 overall. He has not had a winning season at Union but the team's win total has climbed gradually. This past season, Union was 10-10-2 in the league, good enough for sixth place, and 14-18-4 overall.

Since entering ECAC Division I, Union has competed without benefit of athletic scholarships. At Vermont, Sneddon will have close to the NCAA maximum of 18 with which to rebuild a program that has not had a winning season since 1996-97 and endured a hazing scandal four years ago.

Sneddon will inherit a team that returns its top three goal scorers and only four seniors, plus Gilligan's final recruiting class. Vermont finished 10th in the ECAC with an 8-14-2 record and was 13-20-3 overall after going 3-18-1 in the league and 3-26-2 overall the previous season.

"I am extremely honored to accept this position and I welcome the opportunity of leading this program into a new era," Sneddon said. "Mike Gilligan has done a tremendous job of building and sustaining a strong foundation, and I hope to build upon the strong tradition of UVM hockey."

Sneddon's teams have been characterized by a strong work ethic and a willingness to mix it up with opposing teams. In each of the last four years, the Dutchmen have been ranked among the five most penalized teams in ECAC Division I.

As head coach, Sneddon lost his first three games against Vermont, but Union has won five of the last six meetings, including both games this past season. His Union team also swept road series of Dartmouth-Vermont and Clarkson-St. Lawrence for the first time in the program's history.

 

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