Miami names new hockey coach

Noreen, 41, has been the head coach of the Tri-City Storm in the United States Hockey League since 2017 and has been involved in USA Hockey for close to a decade.

“I am honored and humbled to be the next head hockey coach at Miami University,” Noreen said in a release. “I would like to thank David Sayler and (Associate AD) Brad Okel for their belief in me, and the alumni of this storied program for creating something special to build upon. I look forward to being a part of the next chapter of Miami Hockey and establishing a standard that all of our supporters can be proud of.”

Noreen had a 236-126-24 record with Tri-City, making him the winningest coach in franchise history. He led Tri-City to the playoffs in all seven seasons (except the 2019-20 postseason, which was canceled due to COVID). Noreen led the Storm to two Anderson Cups (2019 and 2022). He was named coach of the year in both seasons.

“I am excited to introduce Anthony Noreen as the next Head Coach of the Miami University Hockey program. All of us here at Miami are committed to getting our hockey program back to being nationally competitive within the NCHC and building on our proud history of NCAA tournament appearances,” Sayler said in a release.

Noreen takes over for Chris Bergeron, who was let go last month after five seasons leading the RedHawks. Miami’s last winning season was 2014-2015.

Noreen has coached 34 NHL draft picks in seven years with the Storm. Tri-City has produced more than 100 Division I hockey players during that time. He was the U-18 coach of team USA for the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and coached the 2018 USA Junior Select Team for a gold medal in the World Junior A Challenge.

Before Tri-City, he was the head coach of the Orlando Solar Bears in the ECHL after four seasons with Youngstown (USHL).

Noreen, a Chicago native, began his coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater — Wisconsin Stevens-Point. He played four seasons for the Pointers and was a team captain in his junior and senior seasons.

Noreen will coach the Storm through the rest of the USHL regular season and playoffs before officially taking over at Miami. He’ll be introduced in Oxford on Tuesday, April 9.