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On Monday, the American Hockey Coaches Association named Syracuse head coach Paul Flanagan as one of the seven finalists for the Coach of the Year award. He won the award once before in 2001 as head coach of St. Lawrence. This season, Flanagan earned College Hockey America’s Coach of the Year honor following SU’s CHA Tournament victory.

Flanagan has been the head coach of the Orange since the inception of the ice hockey program. He’s led them to two NCAA Tournament appearances, including this season and in 2019.

The Orange started the 2021-22 season with a sub .500 record in their first 10 games. But SU rebounded with a 9-2-2 record in its final 13 games to clinch the top seed in the CHA. The win streak in the latter half of the season also helped Flanagan secure his 200th career victory at Syracuse in a 4-3 win over Lindenwood. Four SU seniors (Arielle DeSmet, Jessica DiGirolamo, Lauren Bellefontaine and Abby Moloughney) finished with end of season conference honors along with Flanagan.

In the CHA Tournament, Syracuse won back-to-back overtime games to secure the program’s second-ever NCAA Tournament berth. But in Columbus, Ohio, the Orange lost their regional semifinal matchup to Quinnipiac 4-0.

“Our group accomplished a lot this year,” Flanagan said. “They went to two NCAA Tournaments and won two CHA Championships. And that’s the first group that’s done that at our program.”