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Craig Barnett

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

cbarnett@achahockey.org

814-449-9868

Craig Barnett

- EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Possessing an extensive playing, coaching and administrative background, Craig Barnett was named Executive Director of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) in 2018.

Barnett played college hockey at Plattsburgh State (NY) University from 1985-89 where he was part of the 1987 NCAA championship team as a goaltender and years later was selected to the schools’ all-decade team. After his stellar college career, Barnett played professionally as a member of the New York Rangers organization for two years with stints in Flint (IHL), Binghamton (AHL) and Erie (ECHL) prior to entering the coaching ranks.

Barnett’s 15-year coaching career includes assistant coaching positions at the NCAA I and II levels with Mercyhurst College (PA) and Kent State University (OH) and as a Head Coach at the NCAA I and III levels with the University of Findlay (OH) and Becker College (MA).

Barnett’s athletic administration career began in 2003 as Assistant Athletic Director and Director of Hockey at Lake Forest Academy, a prestigious prep school in Illinois. A year and a half later, Barnett re-entered college athletics when he was hired as Director of Athletics at NCAA III Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts before returning back to Erie, Pennsylvania to serve in the same role as Director of Athletics at Mercyhurst College.

In the fall of 2011, Barnett was named Commissioner of the American Lacrosse Conference, a NCAA I conference which included 4 Big Ten schools, 2 SEC schools and Johns Hopkins before the league was absorbed by the Big Ten in 2015. Six months later, the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, a NCAA I/II conference hired Craig as Commissioner and he served in that role until he accepted the Executive Director position with the ACHA in September 2018.

The Erie, PA resident also continues to serve as the NCAA Director of Compliance and Education for the North American Hockey League (NAHL), a position he has held since 2012.

Mo Stroemel

DIRECTOR OF HOCKEY OPERATIONS

mo@achahockey.org

814-880-5079

Mo Stroemel

- DIRECTOR OF HOCKEY OPERATIONS

Mo Stroemel has been the ACHA Director of Hockey Operations since 2017. Previously, he served multiple roles with Penn State's hockey programs since 1994, including Director of Hockey Operations for the inaugural season of the Women’s varsity program. From 1994 – 1997, Stroemel served as assistant coach of the Ice Lions before taking over as head coach in 1997. He served as head coach until 2003 when he stepped down to assist with the men’s ACHA Division 1 program. During his first tenure with the Ice Lions, he amassed a 131- 62-12 record and took the team to the National Tournament four times. In 2007, Mo took over the women's club hockey team, leading the team to a fifth-place finish at the 2010 national tournament and an appearance in the 2011 Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League Final Four. He also served

as head coach of the 2011 U.S. Women’s University Team at the World University Games in Turkey, finishing fifth. From 2011- 2013 Mo helped with the transition of women’s hockey to the NCAA, acting first as Associate Head Coach and then as Director of Hockey Operations. He helped to standardize and codify hockey operations and provided his template to the men’s varsity program as well. During his tenure with the NCAA team in 2013, he was again named head coach of the U.S. Women’s University Team in Italy. The team stunned Russia in the first game and went on to win a bronze medal and the first U.S World University Games Hockey Medal in modern records. Mo returned as the head coach of the Penn State Ice Lions, PSU’s ACHA Division 2 men’s team in 2014. The team won 3 regular season MACH championships, made three regional appearances and one National Tournament appearance. Mo stepped down as head coach in April 2017 with 250 ACHA head coaching wins through two divisions. Mo is a nationally recognized Theatre Technical Director who taught at Penn State for 24 years and is an ETCP Certified Theatre Rigger. Mo graduated from Penn State in 1980 with a B.A. in advertising and earned his M.F.A. Theatre degree from Penn State in 2002. Also a performing songwriter, Mo has been seen performing in State College, Nashville, Philadelphia, London, Toronto and more. He now resides in Nashville, TN with his wife, Joan, and has two adult children, Sarah and Tom.

Dave Kurtz

ASSISTANT DIR OF HOCKEY OPERATIONS

dkurtz@achahockey.org

252-801-3539

Dave Kurtz

- ASSISTANT DIR OF HOCKEY OPERATIONS

Dave Kurtz has been involved in the ACHA in various capacities since 1997.

While attending Liberty University, Dave served as Equipment Manager and then as Assistant Coach during the 2002-03 season.

Dave’s involvement in the ACHA also includes coaching positions at University of North Carolina, North Carolina State, and University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC).

In 2003, Dave accepted the position of President of the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey, a member league of the ACHA M2 Division, a role he served in for three years.Between 2006 and 2011, Dave served on several regional ranking committee in the southeast and central regions.

Dave was named M3 Division Commissioner in 2014 and then became M2 Division Commissioner in 2016 until being named ACHA Assistant Director of Hockey Operations prior to the 2019-20 season. Dave is married to his high school sweetheart, Sarah since 2001. They have two girls, Julie and Evie.

Brian Moran

MEN’S DIVISION 1 COMMISSIONER

bmoran4@achahockey.org

248-762-0865

Brian Moran

- MEN’S DIVISION 1 COMMISSIONER

Brian Moran serves the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) as the Men’s Division 1 Commissioner, having just completed his 20th season in that capacity.

Brian’s initial role with the ACHA was founding the website in 1996 and becoming its first webmaster, a role he held for 17 seasons until 2013. In 1999, Brian was elected to the position of Treasurer and held that responsibility for 14 seasons until 2013.

Brian was awarded the inaugural 2000-2001 Don Spencer Award for outstanding service and leadership to the ACHA. He was responsible for expanding the Men’s Division 1 National Tournament to 16 teams in 2004-2005 and later to 20 teams in 2011-2012, and founded the Men’s Division 1 Showcase (2003-2014) and All-Star Game (2007-2014). Brian also served as the Video Coordinator for the United States Men’s National University Team in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019.

Brian’s involvement with the ACHA started with the 1992-1993 season as a defenseman at Eastern Michigan University. After finishing his career in 1996, Brian graduated with a B.A. in Parks and Recreation Management.

Jon Eccles

MEN’S DIVISION 2 COMMISSIONER

jeccles@achahockey.org

435-512-9250

Jon Eccles

- MEN’S DIVISION 2 COMMISSIONER

Jon Eccles was named Men’s Division 2 Commissioner in the summer of 2019 however he was no stranger to the ACHA. Eccles served as both an assistant coach and head coach at Utah State for a combined 15 years, posting an overall record of 264-87-16, with six seasons of 25-plus wins in his 10 years as head coach, including seven bids to the national tournament, making it to the semi-finals in 2012-13 season. In the postseason, Eccles compiled a record of 14-16-1.

Eccles’ individual accolades included winning the ACHA West Coach of the Year three times (2010-11, 2014-15 and 2017-18), and being selected as an assistant coach for the ACHA D2 Select Team in 2013 and 2017, traveling with said team to Europe.

Along with coaching his team to success, Eccles also helped influenced the growth of hockey in the western part of the United States. He was on the West Region ranking committee for a number of years and later became the West Regional Coordinator. He started the Beehive Showcase which, according to USA Hockey, is the longest running and premier showcases in the West. Eccles was also integral in the creation of the Mountain West Collegiate Hockey League conference. The Utah State team won four straight championship titles under Eccles.

Jon has been married to his wife, Rhonda, for 38 years. They have two children, Christopher and Liani, and a granddaughter, Sterling.

Derek Conner

MEN’S DIVISION 3 COMMISSIONER

dconner@achahockey.org

252-801-3539

Derek Conner

- MEN’S DIVISION 3 COMMISSIONER

Derek Conner has been part of the ACHA for over 22 years as a Player, Coach and General Manager. In fact, Conner was part of the ACHA from day one as a player at IUP in 1990 and graduated in 1994 with a Business Management degree.

Conner was named ACHA Men’s Division 3 Commissioner in June of 2020 and is anxious to lead the M3 membership into the 2020-21 season.

Following his playing career, Conner served as an Assistant Coach at IUP for 4 years until 1998 and then returned to his alma mater again in 2006 as the General Manager and Assistant Coach. In 2011, Conner ascended to the Head Coach position at IUP while continuing in his capacity as General Manager of the program.

In 2013, Conner left the IUP program to become the Commissioner of the Tri-State Collegiate Hockey League (ACHA M2) during which he managed the regular season and playoff TSCHL operations of the nine-team conference until 2015 before returning once again to IUP as the General Manager for their M3 and M1 Crimson Hawks’ programs.

Conner played for the late and former ACHA M3 Commissioner Sam Kelly in the early 1990’s and will continue to provide a focused direction for its M3 members.

Molly Mahoney

WOMEN'S DIVISION 1 COMMISSIONER

mmahoney@achahockey.org

269-267-5153

Molly Mahoney

- WOMEN'S DIVISION 1 COMMISSIONER

Molly started playing hockey when she was 11 years old on the first all-girls teams in her hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Molly attended Grand Valley State University where she started the women's hockey team in 2007. In August 2008, Molly became the Assistant Commissioner of the Central Collegiate Women's Hockey Association (CCWHA) and was named Commissioner in 2011, a capacity she served in for 8 years.

In addition to ACHA Division I Commissioner, Molly works as the Programming and Event Coordinator at Compton Family Ice Arena at the University of Notre Dame.

Taylor Hadley

WOMEN'S DIVISION 2 COMMISSIONER

thadley@achahockey.org

978-877-2113

Taylor Hadley

- WOMEN'S DIVISION 2 COMMISSIONER

ACHA Women’s D2 Commissioner Taylor Hadley is a Massachusetts native now Maryland transplant.

Not wanting her hockey career to end after four years competing in the NHIAA in high school, Hadley embarked on a three-year journey to co-found the Loyola University Maryland women’s club ice hockey team, for which she played one season.

Today, Hadley also leads the Women’s DVCHC as Commissioner, is an assistant coach for the Loyola Maryland women’s team, and works full time at a Public Relations firm based in Baltimore, MD.

Ed Giacomucci

ACHA REFEREE IN CHIEF

referee@achahockey.org

610-505-9330

Ed Giacomucci

- ACHA REFEREE IN CHIEF

Ed offers forty-plus years of ice hockey experience to the ACHA Referee-in-Chief position. He has been involved with the ACHA and USA Hockey for many years as an official, scheduler, and supervisor in the Philadelphia area.

Ed is one of the founding members of the Philadelphia based Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Officials Association (MAHOA). Serving asMAHOA President, Ed helps organize the scheduling of officials in the greater Philadelphia area and surrounding states.

As a player, Ed was a goaltender and completed his playing career at the USA Hockey Junior level. When not spending time in a hockey rink, his activities include fishing, boating, softball, and golfing.

Chris Van Timmeren

USA HOCKEY REPRESENTIVE

chrisvt@achahockey.org

616-292-7787

Chris Van Timmeren

- USA HOCKEY REPRESENTIVE

Chris Van Timmeren has been the Head Coach at Hope College since 1999.

In his time at Hope, the team qualified for the National tournament 17 of his 20 years and his overall coaching record is 470-142-21. Chris also served as the ACHA M3 Regional Coordinator from 2002-17 and was the Head Coach on the first ACHA Division 3 Select team that traveled to Europe in 2011.

He is the current Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference President and has been since 2002. Chris also serves as the USA Hockey Representative/USA Hockey Board of Director from 2010 to present.

Eric Ballard

USA HOCKEY REPRESENTIVE

yjacketsus@yahoo.com

970-324-0463

Eric Ballard

- USA HOCKEY REPRESENTIVE

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Chris Perry

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

cperry@achahockey.org

405-488-4048

Chris Perry

- COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Christopher Perry is the Communications Manager for the ACHA.

Perry is also the Commissioner for two conferences in Men’s Division 1: the Western Collegiate Hockey League and Midwest College Hockey. He has previously served the ACHA in other minor capacities and was also intimately involved with the University of Oklahoma ACHA program for a number of years. One of the hosts of the wildly popular WCHL Podcast (available on iTunes), Perry lives in Norman, Oklahoma with his incredibly patient and tolerant wife, Giovanni. Empty nesters, they enjoy visiting their son in Houston and their daughter in Fort Collins as much as possible. Perry enjoys talking all things ACHA, real bands with loud guitars, two spaces after every period, live musical theatre, and all things Red Sox, Sooners, Bruins, and Thunder.

Mike Lichtenberger

COACH-IN-CHIEF

mlichtenberger@achahockey.org

610-216-1442

Mike Lichtenberger

- COACH-IN-CHIEF

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Stu Grimson

LEGAL COUNSEL

Stu Grimson

- LEGAL COUNSEL

Stu Grimson retired from the NHL as a Nashville Predator after a 17-year professional hockey career. Stu amassed 2,113 penalty minutes over 729 games while at the NHL level as a member of the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings and finally the Nashville Predators from 1987-2003.

After retiring from the NHL in 2002-03, Grimson completed his undergraduate degree and later earned a law degree from the University of Memphis. The Kamloops, British Columbia native went to work as a labor lawyer for the NHLPA for two years before returning to Nashville to work as a defense attorney with Kay, Griffin, Enkema & Colbert, PLLC. Today, Stu is proud to serve as General Counsel to the ACHA and the VP of Business Development at ThirdHome Ltd. based in Brentwood TN.

In addition to his other professional duties, Mr. Grimson is a senior analyst on NHL Network - a national platform covering the NHL 24/7. Stu and his wife Jennifer reside in Nashville Tennessee.

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