Greg Carvel

St. Lawrence University has announced the appointment of Greg Carvel to the position of Charles W. Appleton II Head Men's Ice Hockey Coach, following the retirement of 26-year head coach Joe Marsh in March 2012.

Carvel, a 1993 graduate of St. Lawrence and a former Saint hockey captain, joined the staff in the fall of 2011 and with Mike Hurlbut coached the team during the 2011-12 season while Marsh was on a medical leave.

Carvel came to the Saints after a 15-year professional hockey coaching career that included assisting coach duties with the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League, helping both teams reach the Stanley Cup finals.  He began his professional career as director of hockey operations for the Lowell Lock Monsters of the American Hockey League and joined Anaheim as scouting coordinator in 1999. He added video coaching duties to his title in Anaheim in 2002 and was promoted to assistant coach in 2003. He joined the Senators in 2004.

The winner of the ECAC's Best Defensive Forward Award as a senior at St. Lawrence, Carvel graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science and mathematics. He was an Academic All America and a three-time winner of the Brian McFarlane Award for academic and athletic accomplishments. A Canton native, he earned ECAC all rookie team honors as a freshman and captained the 1992-93 team. He was the winner of the Brian P. Doyle Memorial Trophy as a senior and the Kevin Dougherty Memorial Scholarship. He averaged a point per game for his career as a Saint center with 37 goals and 87 assists for 124 points in 124 career games.

"It is a tremendous honor as well as extremely humbling to be chosen as Joe Marsh's successor as head coach of the St. Lawrence University Men's Ice Hockey program," said Carvel. "Joe has been the most influential person in my hockey career and has served as a friend and a mentor for almost 30 years. He is one of the last true icons of college hockey because he has embodied all that is right and honorable about college sports and, more importantly, St. Lawrence University. He developed and nurtured a culture, built upon a foundation of passion and compassion that lead to unprecedented success both on and off the ice for this hockey program for the past 26 years. His contributions to both the University and its hockey program cannot be measured and will never be exceeded. On behalf of hundreds of proud and loyal former Skating Saints I want to thank Joe for what he gave to all of us and for making St. Lawrence Hockey what it is today.

"It is my intention to carry on Joe's legacy, to continue to strengthen the St. Lawrence hockey tradition while at the same time making my own personal imprint," Carvel added. "Having played for Joe and being a proud alumnus, I thoroughly understand how special the experience of playing hockey at St. Lawrence can be. With Mike Hurlbut serving as our associate head coach, the program will be guided by two former Saints hockey players who are both from the North Country and who both benefited exponentially in their professional careers from having the experience of playing for Joe. I have the highest regard for Mike as a person and as a former professional hockey player. Mike is the consummate ambassador for the hockey program and his years of experience as both a professional hockey player and a collegiate coach will continue to be important assets as we move forward.

"St. Lawrence hockey is a diamond in the rough in today's college hockey landscape. St. Lawrence's academic and national reputation has really taken off over the past decade. We play our games in Appleton Arena, the "Fenway Park" of college hockey rinks. We play in the prestigious ECAC, a conference with a tremendous hockey history as well as a reputation for strong academics. We are a small University and that allows everyone to truly feel like part of a family and that is why our alumni are so loyal. We have a lot to offer young men who want to acquire a first rate education while receiving advanced coaching in a high level division I hockey program at a classic college setting, while experiencing the extraordinary tradition of Saints Hockey.

"I want to thank my family, President Fox, Athletics Director Margie Strait and Joe for entrusting me with the endeavor of guiding the hockey program to its next chapter," Carvel said. "Although I cherish my time in the NHL, I am very excited about the challenge and the opportunity at hand. I am honored to take over a program that is so close to my heart, further inspiring me to take the program to new heights."

Carvel becomes the 13^th head coach in St. Lawrence hockey history and the second as Charles W. Appleton II Head Men's Ice Hockey Coach, an endowed position established in 1997. Carvel is the second St. Lawrence graduate to be head coach of the Saints, joining the late Bernie McKinnon '59, who coached the team in 1967-68 and from 1971 to 1976. He is the second Canton native to be head coach of the Saints, joining Paul Patten, who coached from 1947 to 1950.