Alaska Aces coach Brent Thompson is moving up – the ECHL’s 2011 Coach of the Year has accepted a job with the American Hockey League’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, according to the Alaska Aces.
The Aces say a search for Thompson’s replacement has already begun.
This season, Thompson led the Aces to their second ECHL Kelly Cup championship. He spent two years as the team’s head coach, with a record of 86-50-11.
"We're pleased and proud that another of our head coaches has been promoted to the next level, three out of three is a great record" said Aces managing member Terry Parks said in a release. "Because we've been through this process before, our organization knew that good things happen to winning coaches at this level of pro hockey. We know that we can continue to build on the firm foundation that has been laid over the past eight years."
"Well you have to give credit to the players, they bought into the system and they made it possible for me to move on because they were so coachable, they were such a good group of guys and to have that special group, you know its bittersweet. I'm definitely excited for the move on, because ultimately I wanted to move on to the highest level like Davis Payne and Keith McCambridge that always your goal to move on to the highest possible level and this was an opportunity, you know, that I didn't think I couldn't turn down," Thompson said in a phone interview.
The Tigers, of Connecticut, are an affiliate of theNew York Islanders of theNational Hockey League.
Channel 2 Sports' Lauren Magiera contributed to this report.
