MITCHELL HORUCY
Staff Writer
The men’s hockey team will have a new coach behind the boards this season, as Brian Rigali joins head coach Jeff Meredith as an assistant coach.
A graduate of the University of Connecticut (UConn), Rigali was a member of the men’s hockey team for all four years he was there.
During his senior year, he was named an assistant captain.
“It meant everything. I always wanted to be a leader,” said Rigali, on what it meant to be granted the “A.”
He was also named an assistant captain in his final year playing for Sioux City, a junior team in the United States Hockey League (USHL).
He finished his college career at American International College (AIC) after being granted a fifth year of eligibility due to COVID-19. He was a part of the AIC team that won the Atlantic Hockey Conference championship in the 2021-2022 season.
During the fall of his fifth year at AIC, he came to the realization that his time playing hockey was coming to an end.
He knew he wanted to stay involved in the sport, which led to him wanting to coach.
As an assistant coach, Rigali is in charge of running the defense as well as the team’s power play.
He is also heavily involved in recruiting.
In fact, he just recently went to Calgary, Alberta on a recruiting trip.
One of the things he’s stressed as a coach is the importance of using video and film.
“Seeing yourself in [the] game is huge,” said Rigali.
He said they use video and film a lot as a team, but he also loves to use it with individual players.
Having been around the game since the age of five, he’s learned a lot from a wide variety of people. When he was asked what he wanted to bring to Fredonia from what he learned in the past, he had one word: transparency.
He said it can be tough sometimes and not everyone wants to hear it, but it helps.
Rigali also mentioned that at UConn and AIC, everyone in the locker room didn’t just want or think they’d win, they expected to win.
He hopes he can bring that mentality here.
Besides winning, Rigali hopes to get a lot out of coaching. He said he likes being the young guy and helping players develop on and off the ice.
He also mentioned how the “little things” can lead to winning in the long run.
Because he is only one year removed from being a collegiate hockey player himself, he says he is finding a lot of differences between being a player and coach.
He’s watching film all day, everyday, and he is also helping the team find their identity, which is different from what he experienced as a player.
Before becoming the assistant coach, he said he didn’t know much about Fredonia at all.
He heard about the opening through his coach at AIC, Eric Lang, who has a connection with Meredith, the head hockey coach here.
Rigali says he is still new, but he’s liking the area so far.
He says he’s made a ton of memories playing college hockey. He’s met a lot of lifelong friends at both UConn and AIC, and he even met his girlfriend at UConn, who he’s still with.
He said his favorite memory playing was when AIC won the Atlantic Hockey Conference championship which led to them getting a berth in the national tournament.
They lost to the top-ranked Michigan Wolverines in a close game, 5-3.
Rigali said he’s extremely excited for the season to get underway. “I think we’re gonna surprise a lot of people in our conference,” he said.
The team kicks off their season against the Eastern Hockey League (EHL) All-Stars Friday, October 20 at 7 p.m. The game will be played in Steele Hall.