Chris Frederickson has announced that he will be stepping down as the head coach of the Marian University ACHA D2 hockey program.

Frederickson spent seven seasons at the helm of the Sabre ACHA D2 program leading Marian to the ACHA National Tournament twice, ACHA Regionals six times, and three NCHL Championships.  Marian went 123-52-7 (.701) under the guidance of Frederickson including a 57-15-1 (.788) mark in NCHL play.

“I want to thank Jason Bartelt for believing in me taking this program over,” said Frederickson.  “I want to thank current Director of Athletics Tony Draves and my Marian family for everything they did not only for me, but especially for this program.  My biggest thank you is to my student-athletes.  I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to have led these talented student-athletes, and I am proud of all that we have accomplished together. You made these past seven years fun to come to work every day and will always remember those great times. Being an alumni of Marian, this was the best seven years of my life getting to coach at my alma mater and I am super excited for the future of the program and become their No. 1 fan.”

Entering as just the second head coach in program history, Frederickson immediately made an impact leading Marian to a 19-6-1 record with a 14-2-0 NCHL mark.  This earned Marian a spot in the ACHA Regionals for the second straight season.  The next two seasons would prove to be the winningest seasons in program history opening with a 2018-19 campaign that saw Marian qualify for the ACHA National Tournament for the first time in program history. 

The Sabres would finish 29-6-2 that season, single-season record for victories, and went unbeaten in NCHL play going 15-0-1.  Marian would hoist the NCHL Hap Cup for the second time in program history before beating No. 11 Minnesota and No. 5 McKendree to qualify for the ACHA National Tournament.  The following season Marian had its winningest campaign in terms of winning percentage going 27-3-1 (.870) and hosted the Hap Cup for a second straight season.  Marian would earn a victory in its first match-up of the ACHA Regionals but came one game short of a second straight trip to the National Tournament.  In a CoVID-shortened season, Marian was able to quickly make a return to the ACHA National Tournament after going 14-3-0 (.824).  The Sabres would also earn its first victory at the National Tournament that season defeating Jamestown 8-3 in pool play.

During his tenure, he would earn NCHL Coach of the Year recognition following the 2019-20 season.  He also helped with the development of Paul Kinder who earned two ACHA All-American awards, Connor Martin who was a Second Team All-American in 2019-20, and Justin Davidson who was the NCHL Player of the Year in the 2018-19 campaign.

“We would like to thank Chris for his years in our department and wish him well in his next endeavor,” commented Director of Athletics Tony Draves.  “Freddy will always be an integral part of the Marian University Athletics family.  Good luck, Freddy!”

A national search will be conducted immediately to hire the next head coach for the Marian ACHA D2 program.