Matt Thomas (ice hockey)
| Sport(s) | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Alaska-Anchorage |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | October 25, 1975 Maple Ridge, BC, CAN |
| Playing career | |
| 1993–1994 | St. Michael's Buzzers |
| 1994–1998 | RIT |
| Position(s) | Center |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1998–1999 | RIT (assistant) |
| 2000–2002 | Maine (assistant) |
| 2002–2004 | Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies (assistant) |
| 2004–2005 | Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies |
| 2005–2009 | Fresno Falcons |
| 2008–2013 | Stockton Thunder |
| 2013–present | Alaska-Anchorage |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 37–58–11 (.401) |
Matt Thomas is a Canadian ice hockey coach currently working for Alaska-Anchorage.
Career
Thomas started his college career as a player for RIT during a period where the team was at the top of the Division III ranks. The Tigers finished as National Runners-Up in his sophomore season and continued with two more strong campaigns (including Thomas being captain in his final year), before Thomas ended his playing days and turned to coaching.[1] Thomas stayed with RIT for one season as an assistant before moving on to Division I, signing up with Maine in the early 2000s. Thomas arrived in Orono just after Shawn Walsh was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and helped the team through the difficult period when Walsh died the following year and the team was turned over to Tim Whitehead.[2]
Thomas remained under Whitehead for one year before heading to the professional ranks, serving as an assistant for the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies for two seasons before being promoted to head coach/Director of Hockey Operations for the 2004–05 season. After the 42-win debut, Thomas was offered a position with the Fresno Falcons and moved west to take the job. Thomas continued his success in the ECHL with a 43-win, 100-point season, ending with Fresno reaching the conference finals in 2006.[3] Thomas was able to get the Falcons to reach the playoffs in each of the following two seasons but in 2008–09, with the economic downturn, Fresno announced that they would cease operations 30 games into the season, ending Thomas' tenure with the team. Thomas did not remain unemployed for long as his former team (since having relocated) offered him the chance to turn around their season and Thomas agreed to take over as head coach for the Stockton Thunder.
With the Thunder Thomas was able to get the team back on the right track and make the playoffs is his half-season behind the bench. The next year he reached the conference finals for the second time, and was finally able to get into the championship series in 2013. With his success at the minor professional level Thomas was offered the chance to improve the fortunes of Alaska-Anchorage who hadn't had a winning season in 20 years and agreed to take over from the departed Dave Shyiak.[4] Thomas' hiring immediately paid dividends as the Seawolves produced their first above-.500 record since joining the WCHA which should establish Thomas for at least the near future.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1993–94 | St. Michael's Buzzers | MetJHL | 46 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 110 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | RIT | ECAC West | 24 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | RIT | ECAC West | 18 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | RIT | ECAC West | 30 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | RIT | ECAC West | 30 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NCAA totals | 102 | 25 | 47 | 72 | 154 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
College Head Coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves (WCHA) (2013–14–present) | |||||||||
| 2013–14 | Alaska-Anchorage | 18–16–4 | 12–12–4 | 6th | WCHA Semifinals | ||||
| 2014–15 | Alaska-Anchorage | 8–22–4 | 5–21–2 | 10th | Did Not Qualify | ||||
| 2015–16 | Alaska-Anchorage | 11–20–3 | 8–18–2 | 9th | Did Not Qualify | ||||
| Alaska-Anchorage: | 37–58–11 | 25–51–8 | |||||||
| Total: | 37–58–11 | ||||||||
|
National champion Postseason invitational champion |
|||||||||
