Chris Schultz (ice hockey)

Chris Schultz is an American ice hockey coach and former player who was twice named the NCAA Division III coach of the year.[1]

Chris Schultz
Current position
TitleHead Coach
TeamGeneseo State
ConferenceSUNYAC
Biographical details
BornChili, New York, USA
Alma materState University of New York at Geneseo
Playing career
1993–1997Geneseo State
Position(s)Forward
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2000–2003Geneseo State (asst.)
2003–2006Aquinas Institute
2006–PresentGeneseo State
Head coaching record
Overall259–122–28 (.667)
Tournaments8–5 (.615)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2014 SUNYAC champion
2016 SUNYAC tournament champion
2018 SUNYAC tournament champion
2019 SUNYAC champion
2019 SUNYAC tournament champion
2020 SUNYAC champion
2020 SUNYAC tournament champion
2022 SUNYAC champion
2022 SUNYAC tournament champion
Awards
2014 Edward Jeremiah Award
2016 Edward Jeremiah Award

Career

Schultz began his college career in 1993 and played four years for the ice hockey team at Geneseo State. Schultz was a two-year captain of the Ice Knights and his playing days ended upon his graduation with dual degree in special education and history.[2] He returned to his alma mater three years later as an assistant coach under current RIT associate coach, Brian Hills. He remained with the club for three seasons before taking over at his high school alma mater, the Aquinas Institute.

In 2006, after losing Jason Lammers to Division I, Geneseo hired Schultz as their new head coach. He was taking over a program that had won two consecutive SUNYAC titles and appeared primed to make the next step in the NCAA tournament. Schultz became the third head coach in three seasons for the Ice Knights and this took a toll on recruiting. Unfortunately, the team regressed in his second season and the club posted a sub .500 record in his second season, the only sub .500 of his career to date. While the team improved markedly the following year, the program was hit with a postseason ban in 2010 because the university had used financial aid grants to entice Canadian players to the school. Of the 21 grants awarded to Canadian students, 19 went to members of the ice hockey team.[3]

Despite the university's unintentional infraction, Schultz remained with the team and the program began to consistently rise over the course of several years.[4] In 2014, Schultz led the team to their first ever regular season SUNYAC title and, though they lost in the title game of their conference tournament, they earned one of the three at-large NCAA bids. The Knights won the program's first two NCAA games versus Nichols and Norwich to reach the Frozen Four (Lewiston, Maine) for the first time and, though they lost to eventual champion St. Norbert, Schultz was selected as the National Coach of the Year. In 2016, the Knights won the SUNYAC final, beat Salve Regina and Williams College, earning a spot once again in the Frozen Four (Lake Placid) and was once again a recipient of the Edward Jeremiah Award National Coach of the Year, though this time the honor was shared with Peter Belisle. In 2019, after winning the SUNYAC once again, the Knights found themselves back in the Frozen Four (Stevens-Point, Wisconsin) after defeating Manhattanville College. The Knights eventually fell to Norwich University in the national semifinal game. The three appearances in the national semifinal helped raise the profile of the program but Schultz didn't stop there. Beginning in 2018, Geneseo State won four consecutive SUNYAC Tournament titles, including 5 of out of 6 years holding the crown, and made the Frozen Four in consecutive tournaments (discounting the cancellations due to COVID-19). In 2022 he led the Knights to the NCAA Division III National Championship game in Lake Placid for the first time where they ultimately fell to Adrian. Schultz is the only head coach in Geneseo hockey history to have won any NCAA tournament games. In addition to the aforementioned national coach of the year awards, Schultz is also a five-time SUNYAC Coach of the Year recipient, a Rochester Press-Radio Club Coach of the Year (2019), and was inducted into the Aquinas Institute Hall of Fame in 2017.

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1993–94 Geneseo State SUNYAC
1994–95 Geneseo State SUNYAC
1995–96 Geneseo State SUNYAC 248132132
1996–97 Geneseo State SUNYAC 22481210
NCAA totals 262955

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Geneseo State Knights (SUNYAC) (2006–present)
2006–07 Geneseo State 16–10–010–4–02ndSUNYAC Semifinals
2007–08 Geneseo State 8–17–06–10–07th
2008–09 Geneseo State 14–12–18–7–13rdSUNYAC Semifinals
2009–10 Geneseo State 13–10–29–6–14thPostseason ban
2010–11 Geneseo State 16–8–210–5–12ndSUNYAC Semifinals
2011–12 Geneseo State 13–12–17–8–1T–4thSUNYAC Quarterfinals
2012–13 Geneseo State 17–9–111–4–13rdSUNYAC Semifinals
2013–14 Geneseo State 23–7–014–2–01stNCAA National Semifinal
2014–15 Geneseo State 12–10–49–6–13rdSUNYAC Quarterfinals
2015–16 Geneseo State 20–5–69–2–5T–2ndNCAA National Semifinal
2016–17 Geneseo State 17–7–310–5–1T–2ndSUNYAC Semifinals
2017–18 Geneseo State 20–6–310–3–32ndNCAA National Quarterfinal
2018–19 Geneseo State 25–2–213–1–21stNCAA National Semifinal
2019–20 Geneseo State 22–3–213–1–21stNCAA tournament cancelled
2021–22 Geneseo State 23–4–112–2–11stNCAA National Runner-Up
Geneseo State: 259–122–28151–66–20
Total:259–122–28

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. "American Hockey Coaches Association". Archived from the original on 2010-01-16. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  2. "Chris Schultz". Geneseo State Knights. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  3. "NCAA bans teams from playoffs". ESPN. February 3, 2010. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  4. "Geneseo Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
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