Published: May 20, 2009 11:33 pm      

WOMEN’S HOCKEY: NU tabs familiar face for women’s job

Although he’ll be called the new women’s hockey coach, little about the Niagara University hockey program is new to Chris MacKenzie.

A member of the first men’s team in 1996 who still holds the career marks in points, goals and assists for a defenseman, MacKenzie will return to Monteagle Ridge to head the women’s program, the school announced on Wednesday.

MacKenzie, who spent the last eight years as an assistant under former NU men’s coach Blaise MacDonald at UMass-Lowell, takes over for Margot Page, who did not have her contract renewed after 10 seasons with Niagara.

“For me to come home, and come back to a school I love, it all added up,” MacKenzie said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity.”

He has his work cut out for him, coming to a program that’s slumped badly in the past few seasons. After ascending to the NCAA Final Four in 2002, Page’s team managed just 26 wins in its last 106 games.

While MacKenzie had ties with the upstart women’s program when he played here and credited Page for putting the school on the women’s college hockey map, he sensed the players were in need of a change. When he started at Lowell with MacDonald, there was a similar feeling.

“I believe this team’s ready,” he said. “From talking with them, they were looking for a new direction. Not that I’m a world beater, but I’m just going to do my best. For me, it’s the first time being a head coach, so I’ll be learning as much from the job as the players will hopefully be learning from me.”

Ed McLaughlin, the school’s athletic director, announced the move on Wednesday.

“Chris brings us the discipline and passion we need to return our program to prominence,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “The key in this search was finding someone who understood Niagara University and could build success in all aspects of the program. Chris’ experience in creating success as a student-athlete and as a coach will put us back on the level where we want to be.”

Although he’s never been a women’s coach, MacKenzie already has solid ties in the game through his connection to his sister, Laura. The siblings grew up in Niagara Falls, Ont., and Chris said he watched as his sister played with and against players like Cammi Granato.

Laura has been a successful coach in Denmark for much of the past decade, including an eight-year stint in which she headed the Danish national team.

“If you grow up in Canada with a younger sister, you’re probably around women’s hockey,” he said. “I feel confident I can take on the challenges the job has to offer. In the end, the game’s still the same. Good players want to learn and they want to be coached.”

His longtime mentor said MacKenzie will be a great fit at Niagara.

“Chris asked my advice on the job, and knowing his personality and the way he goes about his business, he’s got the perfect make-up to be a women’s coach,” MacDonald said. “Once you go to the women’s side, it’s hard to get back to the men’s side. But I told him, as long as that’s the end game, he’ll be a phenomenal women’s head coach.

“I think he’ll take that program back to a national level. Not overnight, it takes time. But he’s a tireless worker, he understands the game, and he knows the Vincentian ways, from being around Niagara.”

MacKenzie, who was at Fenway Park on Wednesday enjoying the Toronto-Boston contest, said he’ll be back at Dwyer Arena on Friday, getting immersed in Niagara culture again.

And he can’t wait.

“I owe a lot of the success I’ve enjoyed in my life to Niagara. I hope my enthusiasm shows,” he said.

“I knew the girls on that (2002) team. I was excited for them to have that success. There was a lot of excitement. I’d like to try to bring that back.”

Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.