
Hometown: | New York City, NY |
Previous College: | SUNY-Buffalo |
Position: | Head Coach |
Last season Anzalone came back to LSSU after 10 years of professional coaching. He built Laker Hockey into a national powerhouse in the 1980s and led the program to its first NCAA Division I National Championship in 1988. During his first tenure Anzalone's Lakers also made four NCAA Tournament appearances in five seasons.
The 2001-02 Lakers started phase one of the rebuilding process under Anzalone's direction. LSSU became the first 12th-seeded team to win a game against a No. 1 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association Playoffs. The Lakers also secured their first playoff victory in six seasons.
Anzalone started his career with the Lakers in 1982 as an assistant to Bill Selman. He took over the team midway through that season when Selman returned to his native St. Louis. It took Anzalone just two seasons to move LSSU from an 11th-place finish to second in the CCHA. The Lakers advanced to the conference championship at Joe Louis Arena and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time in 1984-85. They continued their improvement under Anzalone's tutelage, culminating in their 1988 national championship win in Lake Placid, N.Y. In 1989 and '90, the Lakers finished second in the CCHA and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinal before losing out, at Harvard and Colgate, respectively.
Prior to his return to LSSU, Anzalone coached the Pee Dee Pride of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) where his team won the Palmetto Cup and he was named the ECHL All-Star coach. His 1998-99 Lowell (Massachusetts) Lock Monsters won the Atlantic Division in the American Hockey League (AHL).
In 1997-98, Anzalone's Roanoke Express finished atop the Northwest Division of the ECHL. It was the culmination of five seasons of building an expansion franchise.
He is the first repeat coach in 35 years of Laker hockey, both the fifth and eighth coach at LSSU. Anzalone and his wife Theresa have a son -- Francis.
Year | Overall | Pct. | CCHA | Pct. | CCHA Finish | NCAA Finish |
1982-83 | 5-10-1 | .313 | 5-10-1 | .313 | 11th | DNP |
1983-84 | 18-20-2 | .475 | 12-17-1 | .417 | 8th | DNP |
1984-85 | 27-16-1 | .625 | 21-11-0 | .656 | 2nd | Quarter-Finals |
1985-86 | 24-18-1 | .570 | 17-14-1 | .547 | 4th | DNP |
1986-87 | 22-16-2 | .575 | 19-11-2 | .625 | 3rd | DNP |
1987-88 | 33-7-6 | .783 | 22-4-6 | .781 | 1st | CHAMPIONS |
1988-89 | 29-11-6 | .696 | 19-7-6 | .687 | 2nd | Quarter-Finals |
1989-90 | 33-10-3 | .750 | 24-6-2 | .781 | 2nd | Quarter-Finals |
2001-02 | 8-27-2 | .243 | 4-22-2 | .179 | 12th | DNP |
2002-03 | 6-28-4 | .211 | 3-24-1 | .125 | 12th | DNP |
Totals | 214-183-35 | .553 | 153-142-27 | .534 |
Year | Accomplishment |
1988 | NCAA Coach of the Year |
1988 | NCAA Champion |
1988 | CCHA Coach of the Year |
1993 | New Jersey Coach of the Year |
1999 | Roanoke Valley Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee |
2000 | Palmetto Cup Champions |
2001 | LSSU Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee |
WINNINGEST COACH IN LAKER HOCKEY HISTORY