Former Williams College Assistant Sorenson joins the men’s hockey division Division I Holy Cross | Sport

Seven months ago, former Williams College men’s hockey assistant coach Eric Sorenson began his adventure to build the Division III program from scratch.

However, things can change quickly in university athletics.

Sorenson, who spent two seasons with Bill Kangas at Williams, had taken a job last November as Rivier College’s first head coach. Now, in a sudden change, Sorenson has left the Riviera before preparing for the first game to receive an assistant in the Division’s Holy Cross.

The new coach of the Holy Cross, Bill Riga, hired Sorenson and Caston Sommer in July. They are both on campus in Worcester and have started recruiting.

The former Eph assistant, who was in the goalkeeper division in West New England, said the decision to leave the Riviera was very difficult.

“I had recruited when I left, we had 35 guys who were committed to the Riviera program and committed to the vision I talked to them about. Everything went very well in the school itself and in the Riviera education itself,” Sorenson said. “I was very pleased with the progress. We had built a balanced schedule. Making the decision was not easy.”

Riga came to the Holy Cross after 13 seasons as an assistant to Rand Pecknold at Quinnipiac. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach at Union College. Riga played at UMass Lowell.

According to Sorenson, things related to the pandemic got him on the radar screen in Riga.

“In COVID times, everyone was doing a lot of professional development. One of the things I did was hosting a weekly Zoom last summer for about 10 weeks with Steve Needham (Bentley) and Rand Pecknold,” Sorenson said. “Coach Riga, apparently from Quinnipiac, had such a connection and how he got my information and how he knew about me. He apparently also called Coach Kangas.”

The new crusader assistant said it was a school combination with somewhat similar academic status to Williams and the Division I hockey that attracted him to it.

“It was the first thing I listened to from Coach Riga and what he said about his view of the program as the new head coach. The school itself, like Williams, is a huge college, so it was important to me,” Sorenson said. “Certainly Division I is a good thing. I’ve known a few Aluminum who have played here and heard good things about it.”

Kangas, meanwhile, said Riga has hired a quality assistant.

“He’s thorough. He has sharp hockey. He’s also a really good guy,” Kangas said. “He did a great job here and everywhere he’s been. He was a great recruiter in Nazareth and came here and brought us phenomenal children and phenomenal players. I know that when Billy Riga met him, I’m sure he felt the same way.”

Sorenson is not the only former Williams assistant to get a new job.

Dana Borges, who precedes Sorenson at Williams, has been promoted to head coach of the Colgate division. Borges has been the head coach on Don Vaughan’s staff for the past three seasons.

“We talk about trust in our program on a daily basis,” Borges said in a statement. “We have earned the trust of Coach Vaughan, the trust of our management and players to take on a broader role. Coach Vaughan has provided me with the incredible leadership and independence I need to grow while at Colgate. Together we have renewed our recruitment philosophy and

“Colgate has become my home and I’m excited to see continued growth in the program.”

Ryan Hardy, who worked at Kangas in Williams for the 2010-11 season, is now head of the Minor League Operations unit at the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League.

“Over the past several seasons, I have had a strong relationship with Ryan, as his Chicago Steel team was successful on the ice as well as in player and staff development,” Toronto Maple Leafs CEO Kyle Dubas said in a statement. “In assessing how best to maximize the potential of all of our opportunities, we felt that adding Ryan to our management team and his role in handling the Marlies and hockey side of our relationship with Newfoundland Growlers would be of great benefit to the organization.”

Hardy will be in Toronto after being president of the Chicago Hockey League Chicago Steel since 2018.

Pat Duquette’s UMass Lowell men’s basketball team has not had a fully fledged schedule for the 2021-22 season. However, the Hawks River will play at the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase on November 16 and 17 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.

The Hawks River, along with Bryce Daley of Pittsfield, joins the state of North Carolina, the state of Oklahoma and the state of Central Connecticut on schedule.

“The early season Hall of Fame tournament is the perfect opportunity for our program,” Duquette said in a statement from Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame magazine: “Very little distance, great venue, first class event and top notch competition. It should be an exciting couple of days for our players and fans. “

On Nov. 16, Central Connecticut will play North Carolina State in one match, while Lowell will play Oklahoma State in another. On Day 17, Duquette’s River Hawks play Central Connecticut in one match, NC State and Oklahoma State in another.

Game times and television programs have not yet been determined.