Coaching Staff

 

M.F. Schurman - Head Coach, ACHA DI Team
A native of Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada, M.F. Played Junior “A” in his home town, going on to Mount Allison University for 2 years before embarking on an 8 year professional career that included a stop in Hartford of the NHL.

The highlights of M.F’s pro career include playing on a line with boyhood idol Gordie Howe with the Hartford Whalers in the 1979-80 season. He also played on championship teams with the AHL Maine Mariners in 1978-79 and 1983-84, and the WIHL Spokane Flyers in 1977-78. M.F. was a midseason all star selection in the IHL in 1978-79, scoring the winning goal for the North team in the all-star game and the CHL in 1982-83. M.F. began his coaching career as an assistant Coach at the University of Prince Edward Island. After moving to San Diego, Coach Schurman was instrumental in starting Tier hockey in the San Diego area, taking the Midget Tier II team to the USA Hockey National Championship Tournament in 1995. M.F. was Director of Coaches for the San Diego Gulls Amateur Hockey Club and filled in as Interim Coach of the Pro San Diego Gulls of the WCHL on a number of occasions. In 2001 Schurman founded the San Diego Surf Junior “A” hockey team and was its owner, General Manager and head Coach from the 2001-02 season through the 2007-08 season.  During the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons Schurman coached the Philadelphia Little Flyers Junior “A” team in the Atlantic Junior Hockey League.M.F. has been teaching hockey skills and power skating for more than 30 years. During this time he has worked with all levels from beginners through professional players

   
Vince Falkowski – Head Coach, ACHA DII Team
udhockey.falkowski@gmail.com
Coach Falkowski has been named the first men’s hockey coach for the newly formed University of Delaware ACHA Division II team.

Vince has served the past two seasons on the coaching staff at Salesianum for both their in-season and summer program.  Vince has also served the University of Delaware community as both a coach and mentor for the Learn to Play Hockey and Cross-Ice youth programs in the Newark community.

Vince will take over a Division II program entering its inaugural season as a team and will compete in the North division of the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association (MACHA.)  The UD ACHA-DII program will play a 25-game schedule this season, and will play its home games at the University of Delaware’s Gold Ice Arena.

Coach Falkowski graduated from the University of Delaware in 199 with a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science and was also a member of the University of Delaware Division I hockey team from 1997 to 1999 as a Defenseman. Coach lives in the Newark, Delaware area with his wife Jen, and their two sons.




Nick Matarese – Assistant Coach, ACHA DI Team

Former Blue Hen goalie Nick Matarese returns for his fifth season as the University of Delaware’s goalie coach along with other assistant duties.

Nick played four years for Delaware and was one of the netminders in both the ’07 and ’08 ACHA final four appearances posted by the Blue Hens.  During high school and college he trained with, and was an instructor at the Tim Ondra Elite Goaltending Training Center and brings this knowledge and experience of both on and off ice training to the goalies. 

Nick is currently a self-employed graphic designer.  He and his wife, Jenn, reside in Hockessin, Delaware.





Jesse McNulty – Assistant Coach, ACHA DI Team and DII Team
UDicehockey.mcnulty@gmail.com

Jesse McNulty returns for his third year as Assistant Coach for the Blue Hen men’s hockey program.  

McNulty, a 2005 University of Delaware graduate with a B.S. in Engineering was previously an Assistant Coach at Salesianum School (Del.) from 2008-2010 and at Caravel Academy (Del.) for the 2007-2008 season.  McNulty also head coached Salesianum in the Delaware High School hockey summer program as well as other youth camps and training programs throughout Delaware. In addition to his Assistant Coaching responsibilities, Coach McNulty is responsible for overseeing the off-ice training program, player recruiting, and coordinating the team’s season in-game data analysis.  

McNulty is a USA Hockey Level 5 Certified Coach.  He and his wife Angela reside in Newark, Delaware.

 

John O’Connor - Assistant Coach, ACHA DI Team

Coach O’Connor is in his 16^h season as an Assistant Coach for the University of Delaware Men’s Ice Hockey team.  He has held various positions on the coaching staff including Head Coach for the Blue Hens in 2003.  Coach O’Connor was inducted into the University of Delaware Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008.  A Pennsylvania native who graduated from Penn State with a degree in business management, Coach O’Connor was an integral part of the PSU hockey team’s 1989 ICHL Championship and 1990 National Championship.

He is a Vice President at JPMorgan Chase in Wilmington and resides in Newark with his wife Elizabeth and children Jack, Garrett, and Lindsey.




Bob Stroik- Assistant Coach, ACHA DII Team
udhockey.stroik@gmail.com

Bob has been a member of the Delaware ice hockey community since taking “learn to skate” lessons at the University of Delaware in 1981. A Newark native, he played several years of youth hockey for the predecessor to the Junior Blue Hens organization, before moving on to play Junior hockey where he and Coach Falkowski were teammates.

Bob was a member of the University of Delaware Division 1 Ice Hockey Team from 1993 to 1997 as a Forward, where he and Coach Falkowski re-united again for the 1996 - 1997 season.

Bob graduated from the University of Delaware in 1998 with a major in Geophysics and a minor in Civil Engineering. He works at Aberdeen Proving Ground for the Army Institute of Public Health in the Environmental Health Engineering Portfolio.  

Bob lives in Elkton, Maryland with his wife, Noelle, his son, and daughter.