Glenn Stewart and the Associate Coach Job at UNH

Glenn Stewart Seen Here as the Merrimack
College Associate Coach (Photo: The Mack Report)

U.S. Hockey Report has just tweeted that:

"Word around the rinks indicates Merrimack assoc. head coach Glenn Stewart will be taking the vacant UNH position. Stewart is a '94 UNH grad."

Glenn Stewart was the UNH Alternate Captain in the 1993-94 season. The UNH Associate Head Coach position recently became available when Jim Tortorella decided to leave behind (at least for now) a long and distinguished coaching career. Tortorella spent 9 years coaching high school hockey in Maine and was the Head Coach of Colby College for 10 years before coming to UNH for the 2011-12 season. He will become the COO at the Foundation House in Portland, Maine, an extended care program for individuals with alcohol and/or drug addiction.

Stewart's Coaching Experience

44-year-old Glenn Stewart (DOB: 7/30/1970), a native of Scarborough, Ontario, has been the Associate Coach, under Mark Dennehy, at Merrimack College for the last 5 years. The major highlight of Stewart's stint with Merrimack was the 2010-11 season. The Warriors advanced to the Hockey East Championship Game, where they lost by 2 to Boston College, and earned a berth in the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time since they joined Hockey East in 1989. Merrimack lost in overtime to Notre Dame in the opening round of the Northeast Regionals.

The 2010-11 Merrimack squad (Overall Record: 25-10-4) was lead by the scoring of future NHLer Stephane Da Costa and the goaltending of Joe Cannata. Just prior to the NCAA Tournament game, Head Coach Mark Dennehy praised Glenn Stewart, along with Assistant Coach Phil Roy, for their level of commitment to recruiting and coaching:

"(Recruiting's) a huge sacrific. My first thanks need to go to Phil’s wife Sonia and Glenn’s wife Bridget. It can put a lot of strain on a relationship and they both have young kids. It’s not easy. As a coach, it’s in your blood to want to get better and as a recruiter you want to be on the road recruiting the best talent you can. They probably don’t travel as much as they would like because I like to have them here for our games. Our commitment is always to the guys we have here. The level of commitment both of these guys have for our program … we wouldn’t be where we are now without them, I can tell you that.”

In his 5 seasons at Merrimack, Stewart worked primarily with the forwards. During his first 3 seasons, he also coached the Warriors penalty kill. He has been in charge of the power play for the last 2 seasons.

In the late summer of 2009, Stewart left his assistant coaching position at the University of Connecticut to join Coach Dennehy at Merrimack College. Stewart worked with Huskies' Head Coach Bruce Marshall for 5 years beginning in the 2004-05 season. At the time, UConn was still in the Atlantic Hockey Conference - they join Hockey East this season. Stewart was the recruiting coordinator during his last three years.

Stewart began his college coaching career at American International College which also is in the AHC. He was an Assistant Coach under Head Coach Gary Wright for one season (2003-04). Stewart was the recruiting coordinator and goalie coach.

Stewart's Playing Career

Long-time UNH fans fondly remember Glenn Stewart's playing days at UNH. Stewart played four full seasons which coincided with the last four years the Wildcats played at beloved Snively Arena. He played for Coach Dick Umile who had become the Head Coach at the beginning of the 1989-90 season. As a sophomore in the 1991-92 season, Stewart scored 15 goals and 11 assists in 37 games and earned the Most Improved Player Award. UNH advanced to the Hockey East Championship game that season but lost to Maine.

In his senior season at UNH (1993-94), Stewart was the Alternate Captain and boosted his scoring totals with 14 goals and 18 assists in 40 games. His UNH career totals of 51 goals and 51 assists earned him a place in the UNH Century Club.

Stewart a Prolific Scorer in Minor Pro Hockey
(Photo: Jeff Cook/Quad City Times)

Glenn Stewart's reputation as a prolific scorer was solidified during his 9-year professional career. In his first two years after UNH, he scored 74 goals with two different teams in the East Coast Hockey League.

In 1996, Stewart began a triumphant 4-year run with the Quad City Mallards in the old United Hockey League (UHL). "Stewie" - as the fans on the Iowa-Illinois border area called him - lead the Mallards to the UHL Championship in 1997 and 1998. They finished runner-up in 1999 and 2000.

In 251 games over four seasons with Quad City, Stewart posted an astonishing 218 goals and 211 assists. In January, 2013, the Mallards' organization invited Stewart to the iWireless Center on the bank of the Mississippi River to retire his #18 to the rafters.

Stewart was called up to the American Hockey League for 10 games in the 2000-01 season and 2 games in the 2001-02 campaign. He scored a couple goals and assists but his AHL career was short-lived. Interestingly, in his next-to-last season, Stewart was the Player Assistant Coach with the New Haven Knights. Stewart played his final season in 2002-03 with the Elmira Jackals of the UHL. In 7 UHL seasons, he compiled 312 goals and 338 assists in 428 games.

One last bit of trivia - From 1996 through 1999, Glenn Stewart played professionally in the Roller Hockey International League. He glided on inline skates in arenas from Anaheim to Vancouver to Long Island to Oklahoma and points in between. And yes, he was proficient at finding the back of the roller hockey net.