Head Coach for Women's Ice Hockey
Selected to guide the Minnesota State men's hockey program in the summer of 2000, Troy Jutting is recognized as one of the top young college coaches in the nation.
The recipient of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's Coach of the Year award following the 2002-03 season, Jutting also garnered USA Hockey's 2003 National Coach of the Year award after piloting the country's entry to the gold medal at the Under-18 Junior World Cup.
When Jutting was named head coach of the Mavericks prior to the start of the 2000-01 season, he was somewhat of an unproven commodity. A fine college player, Jutting had served as an assistant coach at MSU for ten years prior to being selected as the third head coach in the history of the program. But head coaching experience at any level was one thing not on Jutting's resume at the time.
Five years later, any lingering doubts about Jutting's ability have been laid to rest. During the course of the past five campaigns, the Richfield, Minn., native has led the Mavericks to respectability while competing in arguably the toughest NCAA Division I men's hockey league in the nation.
Named head coach of the Mavericks in March of 2000, he led his squad to a winning record in his first year, with the Mavericks sporting a 19-18-11 mark for the 2000-01 campaign. The Mavericks then went 16-20-2 and finished sixth in the WCHA with an 11-15-2 mark in 2001-02. Ultimately Jutting's sophomore coaching year served as a precursor for an extremely successful 2002-03 campaign. The Mavericks owned a 20-11-10 record, a school-record 17-game unbeaten streak, a second-place finish in the WCHA standings, a first-round WCHA home playoff berth, a pair of first-round playoff victories and MSU's first-ever bid to the NCAA Division I national tournament. MSU hit the 20-win mark for the 12th time in the program's history in 2003-04 and two players (forwards Grant Stevenson and Shane Joseph) were not only First Team All-WCHA, but also Jofa All-Americans. Additionally, nine members of the team earned Academic All-WCHA honors. In recognition of his work, Jutting was named the 2002-03 WCHA Coach of the Year. His fourth and fifth years will be characterized as part of the rebuilding phase that all programs go through, but with a trio of strong recruiting classes in the bank, there is no doubt that Jutting and his staff have brought the program to a higher level throughout his tenure.
Wins, postseason appearances, strong recruiting classes and a national profile are program hallmarks and Jutting, along with assistant coaches Eric Means, Darren Blue and Des Christopher, have laid the foundation for continued success.
Since arriving on campus in 1982, Jutting's name has become synonymous with Minnesota State University Hockey. Jutting initially made his mark with the Mavericks as a player and since then has worked his way up the ranks as a graduate assistant coach, a full-time assistant coach, and in the last four years, as MSU's head coach.
Jutting has played a role in the program's ascension from the NCAA Division II ranks to Division I and membership in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Mavericks went 21-14-4 in 1999-2000, finished fourth in the WCHA regular season standings with a 15-10-3 mark and following a first-round series win over Alaska-Anchorage, gained its first-ever berth in the WCHA Final Five.
The personable head coach, who has worked at numerous hockey camps throughout the country, has also been involved with USA Hockey, most recently serving as the head coach with the USA National Under-18 Team that travelled to the Czech Republic and Slovakia in the summer of 2003. With Jutting at the helm, the American squad claimed its first-ever championship at the Under-18 Junior World Cup and he was named USA Hockey's 2003 National Coach of the Year.
A 1987 graduate of MSU, Jutting played four seasons for the Mavericks (1982-86) and finished his career with 145 points in 136 games. He still ranks among the school's all-time leaders in career games played, goals, assists, points and single-season goals. In 1985-86, Jutting's senior year, he finished sixth in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association scoring race while earning all-conference honors. His efforts helped lead the Mavericks to the NCAA Division III Final Four. MSU also advanced to the NCAA tournament two other times during his career (1983 and 1985).
The 41-year old is one of three brothers to have played hockey for the Mavericks. He owns an undergraduate degree in business from MSU and earned a master's degree in sports administration from MSU in 1996.
Jutting and his wife, Carol Ann, have two sons, Ryan and Tyler.
When he came on board as head coach five years ago, Jeff Vizenor inherited a team that did not post a Western Collegiate Hockey Association victory the previous season. He has raised the bar considerably for his team since then, with a stated goal of contending for a WCHA championship and NCAA postseason action.
The Mavericks took a huge step forward in 2003-04, turning in the first winning season in team history at 16-14-4 and making their first appearance in the WCHA Final Five. Over the course of the season, Minnesota State posted upsets of Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota, both the top-ranked teams in the country at the time, to make an appearance in the NCAA Division I national rankings. Vizenor also mentored the program's first Jofa Division I All-American and Patty Kazmaier finalist in goaltender Shari Vogt that season. His efforts were recognized by his peers with 2003-04 WCHA Coach of the Year distinction. In 2004-05, the Mavericks posted a mark of 9-20-6 and finished fifth in the WCHA with a record of 8-17-3 in circuit play. Following the season, defenseman Kerri Wallace became the program's first WCHA All-Rookie Team honoree. Vizenor's career record now stands at 73-94-20 overall, 39-81-15 at Minnesota State.
Vizenor came to Minnesota State following a one-year assignment as an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin. The Badgers posted a 21-9-5 record and finished third in the WCHA that season. Prior to his stint in Madison, Vizenor served as the head coach at St. Mary's University on Winona, Minn., for two seasons. In that time, the Cardinals compiled a 34-13-5 mark and captured co-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season titles both years. The 1998-99 MIAC Coach of the Year, Vizenor tutored nine All-MIAC players and took his 1999-00 team as high as second in the NCAA Division III national rankings.
The Rogers, Minn., native began his coaching career in 1990 as an assistant coach at St. Cloud Apollo High School in St. Cloud, Minn., serving in that capacity until 1993. From there, Vizenor completed a three-year stint as the assistant coach at Mora High School in Mora, Minn., earning Section 2 Assistant Coach of the Year honors in 1996. He would return to St. Cloud to coach one season at St. Cloud Tech High School and another season as the head coach of the St. Cloud Icebreakers Girl's team before tackling his first collegiate assignment.
In addition to his hockey coaching experience, Vizenor helped coach girls fastpitch softball at both Mora and Apollo High Schools as well as teaching secondary social studies courses at both South Junior High in St. Cloud and at Mora.
Vizenor is very active in the national hockey community as well. He is currently serving as president of the American Women's Hockey Association and is a member of the NCAA rules committee. Vizenor has also had coaching stints with USA Hockey, including coaching the Red Team at the 2004 USA Hockey Women's National Festival this past summer in Lake Placid, N.Y, and Burlington, Vt.
Vizenor earned his bachelor of science degree in social studies education from St. Cloud State in 1992. He and his wife, Amy, reside in Eagle Lake with their daughter, Abby.
