Mark Dennehy
Biographical details
Born (1967-10-18) October 18, 1967
Dorchester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Playing career
1987–1991Boston College
1991–1992Ayr Raiders
Position(s)Defenceman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1994–1999Princeton (Assistant)
1999–2000Fairfield
2000–2005Massachusetts (Assistant)
2005–2018Merrimack
2018–2021Binghamton Devils
Head coaching record
Overall171–278–62 (.395) [college]
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
2010 Bob Kullen Coach of the Year Award

Mark Dennehy (born October 18, 1967) is an American ice hockey head coach who most recently led the former Binghamton Devils of the American Hockey League.

Career

Dennehy debuted for the Boston College Eagles in the fall of 1987, playing four years with the team that included three first place finishes, three NCAA tournament appearances and a Frozen Four appearance in 1990. After graduating, he played for the Ayr Raiders of the now-defunct British Hockey League in their final season of existence, finishing third in scoring for his team.[1] Dennehy earned a tryout with the IHL's Fort Wayne Komets the following season but retired from playing soon thereafter.

After nearly a year away from hockey, Dennehy returned to his home state and was brought on by his former BC assistant coach Joe Mallen to help out with team practices for Massachusetts. Dennehy then became a full time coach, joining the staff at Princeton under Don Cahoon. After five years with the Tigers, which saw the program's first ever NCAA tournament appearance in 1998, Dennehy became the head coach for Fairfield. Dennehy took over the program after it posted one of the worst records in NCAA history the year prior of 1–31. His first season was only slightly better with only three wins in the 1999–00 season. After the poor season, Dennehy resigned and rejoined Cahoon as an assistant, this time with the Massachusetts Minutemen.[2] He remained as an assistant for an additional five seasons before starting his second stint as a head coach with Merrimack.

Prior to Dennehy arriving at Merrimack, the Warriors had not had a winning season since they had joined Hockey East in 1989. His first two seasons saw little success, including a school-worst three-win campaign in his second year, but the college stuck with him and allowed Dennehy to slowly build the program. By year five, the Warriors had risen to 16-wins, their best record since 1994. Dennehy was honored as the 2010 Bob Kullen Coach of the Year, the first Merrimack coach to receive the award. The following season, the team posted 25 wins and recorded their first winning season in over 20 years. The team reached the Hockey East tournament final and made only their second NCAA tournament appearance. After another winning season in 2010–11, Merrimack returned to sub-.500 records.[3] Dennehy was fired by Merrimack following the 2017–18 season.[4][5]

He was hired as the head coach of the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL on May 29, 2018.[6] However, prior to coaching a game for the Nailers, he took the head coaching position with the American Hockey League's Binghamton Devils.[7] In August, 2021, he was promoted by the Devils to become their Chief Scout of Amateur Scouting, which remains his current position with the organization. Under his leadership, in July, 2022, New Jersey selected Slovakian defenseman Simon Nemec with the 2nd overall pick in the NHL amateur draft in Montreal.

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Fairfield Stags (MAAC) (1999–2000)
1999–00 Fairfield 3–28–33–22–210th
Fairfield: 3–28–33–22–2
Merrimack Warriors (Hockey East) (2005–2018)
2005–06 Merrimack 6–23–53–19–510th
2006–07 Merrimack 3–27–43–22–210th
2007–08 Merrimack 12–18–46–18–310th
2008–09 Merrimack 9–21–45–19–3t-9th
2009–10 Merrimack 16–19–212–13–2t-6thHockey East Quarterfinals
2010–11 Merrimack 25–10–416–8–34thNCAA Northeast Regional semifinals
2011–12 Merrimack 18–12–713–9–55thHockey East Quarterfinals
2012–13 Merrimack 15–17–613–11–36thHockey East Quarterfinals
2013–14 Merrimack 8–22–33–15–211thHockey East Opening Round
2014–15 Merrimack 16–18–45–14–311thHockey East Quarterfinals
2015–16 Merrimack 13–19–75–10–77thHockey East Quarterfinals
2016–17 Merrimack 15–16–68–8–67thHockey East Opening Round
2017–18 Merrimack 12–21–47–15–210thHockey East Quarterfinals
Merrimack: 168–243–6099–166–44
Total:171–278–62

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ↑ "Career journey has given Dennehy recipe for success at Merrimack". USCHO.com. 2011-11-01. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
  2. ↑ "Dennehy To Depart Fairfield For Post As UMass Ass't". College Hockey News. May 2, 2000. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Merrimack Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
  4. ↑ "Commentary: Merrimack Stumbles With Dennehy Move". College Hockey News. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  5. ↑ "Mark Dennehy". Merrimack Warriors. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
  6. ↑ "Nailers Name Mark Dennehy as Head Coach". Wheeling Nailers. May 29, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Dennehy Resigns as Head Coach of Nailers". The Intelligencer and Wheeling News Register. August 2, 2018.
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