The 2009-10 Co-Hockey East and All-New England Coach of the Year Mark Dennehy enters his sixth season behind the bench for the Merrimack College hockey team.

For the first time in the Dennehy era, Lawler Arena sold out twice in the 2009-10 season and saw students flock to games in record numbers.

Off of the ice, the Merrimack Hockey program continues to set a torrid pace academically.

Andrew Braithwaite was named the Hockey East Top Scholar Athlete in 2009-10 for the third time in four seasons, while nine of his teammates joined him on the All-Academic team, each earning a 3.0 grade-point-average or better. Since the award’s inception 19 years ago in the 1991-92 season, a Merrimack student-athlete has received the honor 10 times, most among all Hockey East schools.

In 2008-09, the Warriors surrendered just 89 goals, setting a school record for the second straight year. Strong recruiting led to the addition of goaltender Joe Cannata, who helped the Warriors post a goals-against-average of under three in conference games for the first time in school history. Cannata and Bigos became the first players at Merrimack to be drafted since 2002, as both were taken in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. This marked the first time two Merrimack players were ever selected in the same year.  

After a tough 2006-07 season that saw the Warriors win just three games, Dennehy’s squad rebounded in 2007-08, winning its first three games and finishing the season with the fourth best win total in the school’s Hockey East history. Highlighted by weekend sweeps at Bemidji State, vs. #16 Maine, and a home-and-home with #14 Providence, the Warriors, who had just one senior and 22 freshmen and sophomores on the roster, caught the eye of the public and even garnered 22 national votes in the USCHO poll following the sweep of Maine on November 19. Forwards Rob Ricci, J.C. Robitaille, and Matt Jones combined to score 38 goals, one more than the entire team scored in 2006-07.  

Dennehy was named the seventh head hockey coach in Merrimack College history on June 30, 2005. Dennehy came from the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he worked with current UMass head coach Don Cahoon from 2000-2005.

While at UMass, Dennehy garnered Hockey East Coach of the Year staff member honors in 2002-03 and was involved in all aspects of coaching the Minutemen, including recruiting, video analysis, fund-raising, marketing, and on ice instruction. He was a part of one of the quickest rebuilding processes in the history of college hockey. The UMass team advanced to the finals of the 2003 Hockey East Tournament in just the third season under Cahoon and his staff.

Prior to his position at UMass, Dennehy worked for Cahoon at Princeton from 1994-99. He helped the tigers to three consecutive ECAC ‘Final Five’ tournaments in Lake Placid. In 1997-98, Dennehy contributed toward Princeton’s first ever ECAC championship and only NCAA appearance in the long distinguished history of the program.

From there, he became the head coach at Fairfield University for the 1999-2000 campaign before joining ‘Toot’ again at UMass.

Dennehy has recruited and/or coached two All-American players, two Hockey Humanitarian Award Finalists, four all-rookie team members, and five all-league selections. Six of his former players have signed NHL contracts. Jeff Halpern, the most prominent, served as the captain of the Washington Capitals during the 2005-06 season. He has also played for the U.S. National Team in the World Cup of Hockey, Olympics, and World Championships. He also recruited Jon Quick who was a member of the 2010 U.S. Olympic Silver Medal team.

More recently, Dennehy created, founded, and directed the U.S. College Hockey Advancement Camp. The first of its kind in the east, the USCHA attracts prospects and their families from all over North America. This prospect camp is fully staffed with college hockey coaches. The schedule includes practices, seminars, and games each day. The seminars include topics such as the NCAA Clearinghouse, Strength & Conditioning, and a panel discussion between the prospects, their parents, and college coaches.

A member of the American Hockey Coaches Association since 1994, Dennehy was named to the AHCA Board of Governors in 2006. He has also volunteered for both Massachusetts Hockey and USA Hockey.

A native of Dorchester, MA, Dennehy helped Boston College win three Hockey East regular season titles, played on the 1989-90 Hockey East Championship team and was a part of three NCAA qualifying teams, including the 1990 team which advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

He then went on to play a season in Britain’s elite league for the Ayr Raiders in 1991-92.  Dennehy parlayed that into a tryout with the Fort Wayne Comets in the IHL before trading in his skates for a whistle.

Dennehy resides in Andover with his wife Heather and three daughters – Kelsey, Kielan, and Caroline.

Phil Roy (pronounced WAH) enters his third season as an assistant coach with the Merrimack hockey program.

Last season, Roy worked primarily with the defense and the power play unit that ranked third in Hockey East and eighth in the country, scoring at a 21.1% clip. The power play, which keyed the Warriors’ historic 16-win season, ranked as high as second nationally during the season.

Roy came to Merrimack after spending the 2007-08 season as the head coach for the Neumann College Knights. Roy guided the Division II Knights to a 17-9 record and a fourth place finish in the ECAC West Division.

Roy debuted in the coaching world as an assistant at Hobart College prior to the 2005-06 season. During his tenure there, the Statesmen set the school record for most wins in a season and appeared in the Division III Frozen Four for the first time ever. He mentored the program's first All-American defenseman and was a member of the coaching staff that garnered 6 All-ECAC West selections, 14 All-ECAC West Academic Honorees and 1 ESPN All-Academic First Team award winner. He was also a member of the 2006 coaching staff that received Coach of the Year honors from the ECAC West organization.

Roy spent five years playing professional hockey in North America and Europe, serving as an assistant captain and assistant coach for the Diables Noirs de Tours in the France Elite League, where he led the league in scoring by a defenseman. He was also an assistant coach and a captain in the United Kingdom Elite League with the Basingstoke Bison. Prior to his European career, Roy played for the Johnstown Chiefs and Augusta Lynx of the East Coast Hockey League and for the St. John Flames and Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League. He was named team Rookie of the Year by the Muskegon Fury and was selected to the UHL All-Rookie Team in 2000-01.

Roy skated as a defenseman for Clarkson University from 1996 to 2000 where he recorded 77 career points, on 24 goals and 53 assists in 144 games. He played an integral role in the team's two first-place finishes, three NCAA tournament appearances and two ECAC tournament championships, while earning his undergraduate degree in technical communications.

A St. Leonard, Quebec native, Roy and his wife Sonia reside in Andover with their daughter Mackaelie.

Glenn Stewart enters his second season as an assistant coach at Merrimack College. A Toronto, Ontario native, Stewart works primarily with the forwards and the penalty kill unit.

First in Hockey East in penalty minutes in 2009-10, Stewart’s penalty kill was the difference in many of Merrimack’s 16 victories. Offensively, the Warriors scored more goals in the 2009-10 season than in any of the preceding four years under head coach Mark Dennehy.

Hired in August of 2009, Stewart spent five seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Connecticut, and three as the recruiting coordinator. During his first two years at UConn Stewart earned his master of arts degree in sport management.

Stewart began his college coaching career as an assistant coach at American International College in 2003-04. While at AIC, Stewart was responsible for recruiting and served as the team’s goalie coach.

Prior to coaching, Stewart played professional hockey for nine years in the East Coast and International Hockey Leagues along with several stints in the American Hockey League. As the assistant captain of the Quad City Mallards (UHL) in 1997 and 1998, Stewart helped lead his team to back-to-back Colonial Cup Championships.

As a professional, Stewart played in 618 games, tallying 402 goals and 452 assists, including three seasons in which he registered over 50 goals and 100 points. He remains in the top ten in many offensive categories in all time playoff scoring in the IHL. During his time as a professional player, Stewart also served as a player-coach for the Mallards from 1997-99 and as a member of the New Haven Knights from 2001-02.

Stewart was a four-year letter winner at the University of New Hampshire earning his bachelor of science degree in family and consumer sciences. He played in 144 career games and was named an assistant captain as a senior.

Stewart has also been extensively involved with USA hockey working within the New England District. He is employed as an evaluator and coach for the Yankee Conference Festival as well as the New England District Development Camps 13-18 that take place throughout the summer months.

Stewart and his wife Bridget reside in Wayland, MA.

Former Merrimack goaltender Jim Healey enters his second season as the goaltending coach at Merrimack College.

Following Healey coming aboard in mid-January of 2010, Merrimack closed the regular season with an 8-4-2 record, which included two shutouts from goaltender Joe Cannata and only four games where the Warriors surrendered three or more goals.

Healey, who was named to Merrimack’s All-Decade Team, appeared in 91 games for the Warriors from 2003-07, backstopping Merrimack to a playoff appearance in 2003-04, his freshman season. He was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie team in 2004 and to the All-Academic team in 2006. Healey was voted Merrimack’s Most Valuable Player in 2007 by his teammates.

Healey replaced Chris Rogles, who accepted a full-time position at Clarkson University, his alma mater.

The position of goaltending coach was filled by Rogles last summer after another Merrimack alum, Tom Welby, departed at the end of the 2008-09 season. Welby coached Healey his final two seasons at Merrimack.