AHCA Major Award Winners for 2026 Are Announced

Eight Honorees to be Recognized by Nation’s Coaches

Click here to view all past winners of these awards

he American Hockey Coaches Asociation has announced an impressive slate of recipients of its most prestigious awards for 2026. Seven of the eight individuals being recognized will be honored at the 2026 AHCA Convention in Naples, FL, scheduled for April 29 to May 1, 2026. The recipient of the John Mariucci Award, presented to a secondary school coach, will be presented at separate event to be announced. This year’s slate of honorees follows here.

JOHN MACINNES AWARD: Established by AHCA in 1982 to honor former MTU coach, John MacInnes. This award recognizes those people who have shown a great concern for amateur hockey. The recipients have had high winning percentages, as well as outstanding graduating percentages among their former players. The winners of this award have helped young men grow not only as hockey players, but also more importantly, as men.

photo2026 Recipient: Jeff Jackson, Lake Superior State and Notre Dame.

Jeff Jackson forged one of the most successful careers in college hockey history, establishing a level of excellence at two separate institutions, Lake Superior State University and the University of Notre Dame. In between those assignments, he launched the fledgling U.S. National Development Program, coached in Major Junior hockey in Canada, and worked as an assistant coach in the National Hockey League.

His overall college record was 601-343-99 (.624) in 26 seasons as an NCAA head coach. That journey began with a phenomenal six-year stretch at LSSU where his Lakers went 182-52-25 from 1990-96, winning two NCAA titles and enjoying five 30-win seasons in six years. He also served as an assistant coach to Frank Anzalone in 1988 when the Lakers won their first NCAA championship. Jackson was inducted into the Lake Superior State University athletics hall of fame on July 23, 2009.

His second stint as an NCAA coach began in 2005 at Notre Dame and lasted two decades. His record with the Fighting Irish was 419-291-74 (.582), making him the winningest ND hockey coach in school history. In all, Jackson took 18 teams into the NCAA Tournament, seven to the NCAA Frozen Four, making five appearances in the title game, and winning those two titles at LSSU. He was named the winner of the AHCA’s Spencer Penrose Award as Division I Men’s Coach of the Year twice, times at Notre Dame (2007 and 2018.)

On June 7, 1996, Jackson was named the national coach and senior director of the newly founded U.S. National Team Development program based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In his first season putting the program in place, he served as the head coach for the United States Junior National Team that captured the silver medal at the 1997 World Junior Championships, at the time the best-ever finish for the U.S. team. The following year Jackson served as an assistant coach for Team USA at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

In 2000, Jackson left the U.S. program and took over as coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Guelph Storm where he turned a losing franchise around, finishing in second place in his first season with a 34-23-9-2 record. In the 2001-02 season the Storm went 37-23-7-1 and hosted the Memori- al Cup, advancing to the tiebreaker game where they lost to Victoriaville. In two-and-a-half seasons in Guelph, Jackson had an 87-67-24-4 record.

From Guelph, Jackson moved on to the NHL’s New York Islanders, where he served as an assistant coach on Steve Stirling’s staff from 2003-05. In 2003-04, the Islanders finished third in the NHL’s Atlantic Division with a 38-29-11-4 record, good for 91 points.

A native of Roseville, Michigan, Jackson graduated from Michigan State University in 1978 with a degree in communications, Jackson followed with an education degree from Michigan State in 1979.


JOHN “SNOOKS” KELLEY FOUNDERS AWARD: Named after the famed Boston College coach, this award honors those people in the coaching profession who have contributed to the overall growth and development of the sport of ice hockey in the United States.

photo2026 Recipient: Brian Riley, Army West Point

Brian Riley retired at the end of the 2024-25 season, having served as Army’s head coach for 21 seasons. His retirement ended a streak of 75 seasons that the Cadets were coached by a Riley. His father Jack, who led the United States to Olympic gold at Squaw Valley in 1960, coached Army from 1950-1986. He was succeeded by Brian’s brother Rob, who was head coach for 18 seasons, with Brian serving as his assistant for 14 of those.

A four-time Atlantic Hockey Association Coach of the Year, more than any other coach in the conference’s history, he has also led the program to its first regular season championship in program history. Aside from his standard coaching responsibilities, Riley served as the President of the American Hockey Coaches Association from 2014-17. He has also served on the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee from 2013-18, which is responsible for the management of the NCAA Championship.

Riley has coached an AHA Player of the Year, an AHA Goalie of the Year, multiple AHA Rookie of the Years and two AHA Best Defenseman. Eleven of his players have been First Team Atlantic Hockey All-Conference, while 13 were named to the second team and three to the third. Riley has also mentored 14 to the All-Rookie Team and six who received the Atlantic Hockey Sportsmanship Award.

In his first campaign behind the Black Knights’ bench, Riley earned his first-career win when Army stunned Colgate, 3-2, in Hamilton, NY. Riley reached 100 wins at Tate Rink on November 30, 2018 with a 5-4 win over Canisius. Riley led his team to 11 wins during that initial season, setting the Academy record for most victories by a rookie head coach. He broke the record established by his brother, Rob, in 1986-87. In addition, the younger Riley also piloted the Black Knights to their first postseason win in more than a quarter century when Army defeated American International College, 5-3, in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey tournament.

Riley’s brother, Rob, took the reins from his father in the fall of 1986 and racked up 306 victories of his own over 18 winters. When Rob officially stepped down in the summer of 2004, he passed the torch (and family tradition) on to his younger brother. In his 21 seasons at West Point, Riley won 258 games, giving the Rileys 1,106 wins in just over seven decades of coaching at Army.

Riley recruited Zach McKelvie, a defenseman who was signed by the Boston Bruins organization after his senior season in 2009. He then served two years of active duty as an Infantry Officer before officially starting his professional career in the Calgary Flames organization in 2011. McKel- vie is now in his first year as Riley’s successor.

A 1983 graduate of Brown, Riley began his coaching career in 1984 with a three-year stint as an assistant coach at SUNY Plattsburgh. During that period, the Cardinals advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament three times, reaching the championship game twice. In 1988, Riley moved to the Division I ranks at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. There, he teamed with his cousin, Bill Riley, for one season, directing the River Hawks to the NCAA Tournament, giving him his fourth straight postseason appearance.

The following winter, Riley joined his brother’s staff at West Point for the first time where he spent the next seven seasons. In 1996, the West Point native left the comfort and familiarity of the Academy, where he grew up, for the great Midwest and a head coaching position at Shattuck St. Mary’s Prep School in Faribault, MN. There, Riley carved out a stellar two-year coaching career in which his teams compiled an impressive 94-19-10 record. In 1999, Riley returned to West Point, where he served at his brother’s side until assuming the head coaching position in 2004.

During his collegiate playing days, Riley co-captained Brown’s hockey squad his senior season, earning honorable mention All-Ivy League. He was presented the Class of ’36 Trophy for his outstanding contributions over his four-year career and the Patrick Jones Trophy for most team spirit.

Prior to starring at Brown, Riley attended New Hampton Prep and led the hockey team to a No. 1 national ranking among prep schools. He was chosen as the school’s most outstanding athlete while captaining both the soccer and hockey teams. Riley completed course work on his master’s, earning a graduate degree in Education from Boston University, in May 2003.

Riley is married to the former Marybeth Feldman of Highland Falls, NY. The couple has three children: Jack, Danielle and Brendan. Brendan is now head coach at Long Island University and Jack is an assistant coach at Army.


TERRY FLANAGAN AWARD: Named in honor of the former UNH player and Bowling Green Assistant, this award honors an assistant coach’s career body of work.

photo2026 Recipient: Jason Tapp, Union and Dartmouth

Jason Tapp joined the Dartmouth men’s hockey staff as the associate head coach in July of 2020, joining head coach Reid Cashman’s first staff. Now in his fifth season in Hanover, Tapp was part of a staff that led the Big Green to the Ivy League title in 2024-25, its first since 1980. He has also played a key role in elevating Dartmouth to a lofty national ranking in the 2025-26 season. The Big Green entered the new year at 12-2-0, fourth in the NPI rankings.

During his time in Hanover, Tapp has helped develop four players who signed NHL contracts: Cooper Black, Luke Haymes, Cooper Flinton, and Clay Stevenson.

Tapp came to Hanover after 11 seasons at Union where he helped elevate the Dutchmen to a national power that included three ECAC Hockey postseason titles (2012, ’13 and ’14) and the 2014 Division I National Championship. He began his tenure in Schenectady as the goaltending coach for two seasons under Nate Leaman before being hired as a full-time assistant following Rick Bennett’s promotion to head coach in 2011.

The British Columbia native was then promoted to Union’s associate head coach in 2016. He was instrumental in the program’s recruiting of top-tier talent that took the program to the height of college hockey. Under his guidance, Union produced three ECAC Hockey Goaltenders of the Year, two Best Defensive Defenseman and ranked first (2011-12), fourth (2013-14) and seventh (2012-13) nationally in scoring defense.

Tapp worked with numerous players in Schenectady who would go on to take their game to the NHL, including Nick Desimone, Troy Grosenick, Keith Kinkaid, and Shayne Gostisbehere. He also helped groom and develop five All-Americans on either defense (Mat Bodie and Gostisbehere) or in goal (Grosenick, Kinkaid and Colin Stevens) as well as a pair of Hobey Baker Finalists (Grosenick and Gostisbehere).

Tapp played four seasons at Boston University as a goaltender, graduating in 2002 with a degree in US History. Following his career with the Terriers, he would play in Europe with Nijmegen Tigers of the Dutch Superliga before returning to North America to play with Columbus Cotton- mouths (ECHL), Quad City Mallards (UHL), Corpus Christi Rayz (CHL), Knoxville Ice Bears (SEHL/ACHL) and Kalamazoo Wings (IHL).

Tapp is married to Nicol Tapp. The couple have two daughters, Ella and Avery, and a son, Kellen.


JIM FULLERTON AWARD: Named in honor of the former Brown University hockey coach and ACHA spiritual leader, this award recognizes an individual who loves the purity of our sport. Whether a coach, administrator, trainer, official, journalist or simply a fan, the recipient exemplifies Jim Fullerton, who gave as much as he received and never stopped caring about the direction in which our game was heading.

photo2026 Recipient: Joe Bertagna, Harvard, ECAC Hockey, Hockey East and the AHCA

Joe Bertagna has enjoyed a unique career in ice hockey. A 1973 graduate of Harvard University, where he played goal for Hall of Fame coaches Ralph “Cooney” Weiland and Bill Cleary, Bertagna, upon graduation, began a six-decade career that combined playing professionally, coaching goalies of all ages, and serving as a college hockey administrator.

After Harvard, he played three seasons professionally, including a year in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where Bertagna led his club to the Italian championship. In 1974, with the help of his mentor, Tim Taylor, he started a summer goalie school that he directed for 50 years. During that period, Bertagna spent six years as goalie coach for the Boston Bruins and also served in that same capacity with Team USA in the 1991 Canada Cup and at the 1994 Olympics.

His coaching resume also includes one year with the Harvard University men’s JV team (1976-77) and two seasons launching Harvard’s women’s hockey program (1977-79.)

But his primary calling was to serve college hockey as an administrator. He spent 38 seasons directing two conferences: ECAC Hockey from 1983-97 and Hockey East from 1997-2020. Overlapping these duties was his tenure with the American Hockey Coaches Association. He was named the AHCA’s first Executive Director in 1991, a position he held through the 2023-24 season. When he stepped down from that role, he was given duties as the AHCA’s Media Director, a position he still holds.

He is a member of a number of Halls of Fame and in 2023, was presented the Lester Patrick Award by the National Hockey League for “outstanding service to hockey in the United States.” Bertagna received the AHCA’s Joe Burke Award for service to women’s hockey in 1997 and with this award, becomes the first person to receive both a men’s and women’s AHCA major award.

Joe is married to Kathy Leonard Bertagna, a multi-sport athlete at Bates College, who serves the AHCA as membership administrator. They have three children: Bobby, Joey and Grace.


JOHN MARIUCCI AWARD: John Mariucci, the former coach of the University of Minnesota, was not only an outstanding college coach, but also a driving force behind the growth of hockey in the United States. In 1987, the AHCA created this award to honor a secondary school association coach who best exemplifies the spirit, dedication and enthusiasm of the “Godfather of U.S. Hockey,” John Mariucci.

photo2026 Recipient: Frank Colabufo, West Genessee (NY) HS

Frank Colabufo has served as Head Hockey Coach at West Genesee High School, in Camillus, New York, since the 1994-95 season. His career record is 539-174-49. His teams have won 15 Sectional Championships, appeared in ten New York State Frozen Fours, and won three New York State Championships in 2023, 2010, and 2001. He was named the NFHS National Hockey Coach of the Year in 2024. He was inducted into the New York State Hockey Hall of Fame in 2024 and the Town of Camillus/West Genesee Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.

The former West Genesee player joined the coaching staff in the 1991-92 season as an assistant coach. He began his varsity coaching career as an assistant coach at Liverpool High School from 1988-1991. During his tenure, Colabufo has seen many former Wildcats move on to play and coach in prep school, junior, NCAA, and professional hockey. Colabufo holds USA Hockey Level 5 certification and has served as a USA Hockey Coaching Education Program instructor.

Additionally, Colabufo has been very involved in the growth and development of youth players in his hometown. He has served as a member of the Camillus Youth Hockey Association Board of Directors since 1986 and has coached at every level from Mites to Midgets. He is the Director of the West Genesee Summer Hockey Camp and serves as a skills coach for Salt City Prospects.

In addition to coaching the Wildcats, Colabufo is a special education teacher at West Genesee High School. He has a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Syracuse University and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Le Moyne College. Frank and his wife, Ann, have five children, Nathan, Meghan, Sammy, Daniel, and Julia.


THE WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY FOUNDERS AWARD: This award honors a member of the hockey community or college coaching profession who has contributed to the overall growth and development of the sport of women’s ice hockey in the United States through their enthusiasm, passion and selflessness

photo2026 Recipient: Linda Lundrigan, Northeastern and the Women’s Beanpot

Linda Lundrigan is a lifelong champion of women’s hockey whose impact spans decades as a player, coach, mentor, and advocate. A native of Melrose, Massachusetts, Lundrigan’s connection to the game—and to the Beanpot—has helped shape both her career and the growth of women’s hockey in New England and beyond.

A proud alumna of Northeastern University, Lundrigan participated in an extraordinary 14 Beanpot tournaments—four seasons as a Huskies student-athlete from 1989–93 and 10 additional seasons behind the bench as a member of the coaching staff. As a player, she helped lead Northeastern to consecutive Beanpot championships in 1990 and 1991. She later added two more titles as a coach in 2012 and 2013, underscoring her lasting influence on one of college hockey’s most iconic events.

Lundrigan served Northeastern in multiple coaching roles, including assistant coach, associate head coach, and interim co-head coach. During the 2009–10 season, she stepped into the interim co-head coach role while the Dave Flint served with the U.S. Women’s National Team at the Winter Olympics. During her time at Northeastern, she helped welcome and develop some of the game’s elite talent, including Kendall Coyne-Schofield, Florence Schelling, Denisa Krišová, and Hayley Scamurra, among others.

Beyond Northeastern, Lundrigan played a key role in building the women’s hockey program at UMass Boston, helping guide it to varsity status and an ECAC East semifinal appearance in its first varsity season. She also coached at Newton Country Day School and the Brooks School, winning league championships and developing young athletes at the prep level.

At the national and international levels, Lundrigan has served as an assistant coach for the USA Hockey U-22 Select Team, coached the Women’s Hockey East All-Stars, worked with USA Hockey National Development camps, and served as an IIHF Coach Mentor. She is widely respected for her leadership, mentorship, and ability to build meaningful relationships across the women’s hockey community.

A Beanpot Hall of Famer and member of the Melrose High School Hall of Fame, Lundrigan remains deeply involved in preserving and promot- ing the legacy of the Women’s Beanpot, now held at TD Garden, with a focus on honoring its history and driving future growth. She continues to contribute to the sport through the Breaking The Glass Hockey Podcast, staying actively connected to women’s hockey and advancing the visibility of women’s voices across the game.


ASSISTANT WOMEN’S COACH AWARD: This award honors an assistant coach’s career body of work.

photo2026 Recipient: Craig Dakins, UW-Stevens Point

Craig Dakins is in his 25th season as the assistant coach for the women’s hockey team at the Universityof Wisconsin– Stevens Point, a milestone that speaks to both his loyalty and lasting impact on the program. Through December 1, 2025, the UWSP record with Craig behind the bench is 367-226-61. He worked with Brian Idalski starting in 2001, when neither had seen nor been a part of the women’s game at that time but coached the team to a 26-1-0 record in their first season behind the bench.

Current UWSP head coach Ann Ninnemann said this upon nominating Dakins: “When Coach Idalski left after the 2006 season, to pursue a Division 1 opportunity, I stepped into the interim head coaching position, with very little actual coaching experience. Craig was a phenomenal mentor and wholeheartedly supported me as a head coach even while he had been coaching for longer than I had been alive. He worked relentlessly to ensure our program remained strong during the transition, while simultaneously lifting me up as a new head coach.”

What makes Craig’s dedication even more remarkable is that, during the first 20 years with the program, he was also working full time (and a lot of overtime) at a papermill in Wisconsin Rapids. Many days he would often come to practice after a shift at the mill, and many times had to return to the mill after practice (with little to no sleep). Most of his sleep during the hockey season was in the coach’s office at the rink or on the bus rides to and from games, and many times he would have to get off the bus after the weekend and head right to the mill for his shift. His commitment was extraordinary, especially with two kids of his own at the time.

“What separates Craig most is his consistency and exceptional work ethic,” says Ninnemann “He shows up early, stays late, builds meaningful relationships, and always puts student-athletes first. He has been assisting in all aspects of our team on and off the ice and has provided great mentor- ship to the student-athletes to grow into resilient young women. His ability to teach the game with creativity is unmatched.

“Whether he is guiding players through confidence- building moments off the ice or pushing them to improve their game on the ice, Craig looks to connect with each player individually. He also is the person everyone turns to when something needs to be fixed. Whether that is changing a tire on a car, jump starting a car, sewing a pair of breezers or gloves, or secretly caulking the bleachers to stop hot chocolate from dripping into our office. His saying from day one is ‘I can fix anything but a broken heart.’”

In the past five years, Craig’s retirement from the papermill has given him the opportunity to embrace two of his greatest joys: being a grandpa to his three grandchildren and devoting even more time to coaching. With this additional time, he spends a lot of time reading, researching, and learning more about how to effectively teach and support today’s student-athletes. Even after 25 seasons as a college coach, he is still committed to evolving his craft.


JOE BURKE AWARD: The Joe Burke Award was established in 1994 to honor those individuals who have shown great support and dedication to Girls/Women’s hockey. Joe Burke has been an avid fan of Girls/Women’s hockey since the late 70’s. Joe Burke, a Dedham resident is a life-long hockey fan, who never actu- ally played the game himself. He became hooked on the women’s game when he attended the game vs. the University of New Hampshire and Boston College in 1978 at McHugh Forum. Since this game, Joe was seen at every major Girls/Women’s hockey event in the New England area. He is a true friend of the women’s game and the people associated with it.

photo2026 Recipient: Kevin “Moe” Tarrant

Moe Tarrant is a highly respected hockey coach whose career spans more than 40 years, with experience at every level from mites through college. Tarrant grew up playing hockey on the factory pond in Georgetown, Connecticut. He played football, hockey, and lacrosse for Wilton High School before doing a post-graduate year at Berkshire School. He went on to play hockey and lacrosse at Nasson College in Springvale, Maine, graduating in 1983.

Moe stayed close to hockey in the following years, coaching with boys’ programs at the Winter Garden Ice Arena in Ridgefield, CT and the boys’ varsity team at Wilton High School. But his daughter, Shannon Tarrant Voulgaris, who would go on to become a three-time National Champion and four-time All-American at Middlebury College, had started to play with the boys in Ridgefield and Moe saw the need for girls’ hockey programs in the state.

In 1996, Moe became a founding member of the Southern Connecticut Stars (now the Mid-Fairfield Connecticut Stars) and led the U15 team to the 1999 National Championship in just their third season. The Stars quickly became a dominant girls’ program in Connecticut, with Moe serving as head coach of Tier I teams at the U14, U15, U16, and U19 levels over more than twenty years with the program.

In 2000, after three years as the assistant coach at The Hotchkiss School, Moe became the head coach of the Greenwich Academy girls’ team, a position he would hold for 18 years. Moe led Greenwich Academy to three consecutive Division II NEPSAC Championships in 2005, 2006, and 2007. He was named Hockey Night in Boston’s Coach of the Year for each of those years, as well as the National Ice Hockey Officials Association’s Vincent J. Riley Sportsmanship Award recipient in 2007.


Click here to view all past winners of these awards