Red Wing native named college hockey national Coach of the Year
Apr. 8—Reid Cashman wasn't born the last time the Dartmouth men's hockey team qualified for the NCAA Division I national tournament. That is, the last time until this season.
Cashman, a 43-year-old Red Wing native, has turned the Big Green around in a short time. In just his fifth season as Dartmouth's head coach, Cashman led it to the ECAC Hockey playoff championship and its first national tournament berth in 46 years. Cashman's work at Dartmouth has been widely noticed.
On Tuesday, he was named the winner of the 2026 Spencer Penrose Award as the top coach in men's college hockey. Cashman is the second consecutive southeastern Minnesota native to win the award, following Rochester John Marshall grad Pat Ferschweiler, who won it in 2025 en route to coaching Western Michigan to the program's first national championship. The winner is selected by the American Hockey Coaches Association.
"I am honored to be recognized as the Spencer Penrose award winner," Cashman said. "This honor represents everyone at Dartmouth who has been a part of the growth and progress over the last six years. It starts with tremendous student-athletes that have made an incredible commitment to getting better every day.
" Dartmouth went a combined 12-46-4 in Cashman's first two seasons as head coach. But he quickly built the program up through his ability to recruit and develop talented players who fly under the radar of bigger programs. Over the past three years, the Big Green have a 54-31-15 record and three consecutive winning seasons.