Northern Michigan University's Phil Fox, 11, and Western Michigan University's Kyle O'Kane, 19, race to gain possession of the puck in the second period of their game at the Berry Events Center on Saturday. (Journal photo by Andy Nelson-Zaleski)

By Journal Sports Staff

MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University head hockey coach Dave Shyiak is surrounding himself with fellow Wildcats who have tasted national success on the hockey rink.

Shyiak had previously named former NMU player and Marquette native Andy Contois as an assistant coach and Jeff Cornock as director of hockey operations.

Now the new coach, named to the position on June 26 after the departure of seven-year veteran coach Grant Potulny, has named Phil Fox as another assistant coach.

Fox not only played for the Wildcats, but was on the NMU squad for its most recent NCAA Tournament appearance in March 2010.

“We are excited that Phil, his wife Ricci, and two kids Levi and Bode are coming back home to Marquette,” Shyiak said in an NMU Sports Information news release annoucing the hire. “Phil was on the last NMU hockey team that made it to the NCAA Tournament, and his passion for the program and community will be valuable for our current players and future recruits.

“He understands the type of players that fit our program which is important in attaining the success we are all aiming toward.”

Shyiak has already been noted on many occasions since his recent hire that he was an important cog in Northern’s national championship it won in April 1991 after a crazy 8-7 triple-overtime victory over Boston University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Fox, 38, brings a wealth of coaching experience, along with multiple years of playing in the professional ranks.

The Stillwater, Minnesota, native plays at Northern from 2007 to 2011, including wearing the captain’s “C” in 2011. He played 155 games for NMU, accumulating 65 points, including scoring 40 goals.

In his four years, Northern had consecutive third-place finishes in the CCHA Tournament in 2008 and 2009, while its NCAA tourney appearance happened on March 26, 2010, in a 4-3 double-overtime heartbreaking loss to St. Cloud State. Just previous to that in March 2010, the Wildcats fell to Michigan 2-1 in the CCHA tourney finals.

Most recently, Fox spent the last five seasons as general manager and head coach of the New Mexico Ice Wolves in the North American Hockey League, one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States. The Ice Wolves joined the NAHL as an expansion team in the 2019-20 season, with Fox named the team’s first head coach.

In five seasons at New Mexico, Fox had a 137-123-16-12 record, registering three straight 30-plus win seasons, making the playoffs in two of them, and was named 2021-22 NAHL Coach of the Year after leading the Ice Wolves to a franchise-record 38 wins in the regular season and a second-place finish in the South Division.

Fox was also the head coach of the South Division team at the 2022 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament.

Before coaching, Fox played four years of pro hockey, first with the Central Hockey League’s Texas Brahmas. As a rookie in 2011, he scored 43 points (19 goals and 24 assists) and posted a plus-11 rating in 59 games.

The next year, he played 44 games and notched 34 points (21-13). The Brahmas made the playoffs in 2012 and Fox scored three goals in nine postseason games.

After spending a bit of time with the American Hockey League’s Houston Aeros, Fox returned to the CHL and played 39 games for the Allen Americans, scoring 24 points (12-12). The Americans won the Ray Miron President’s Cup two years in a row, marking just the third time in CHL history that a team had won back-to-back league titles.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.