Jared DeMichiel - Hockey Coach - University of Massachusetts Athletics

Jared DeMichiel

Title:
Associate Head Coach
Email:
demichiel@umass.edu
Phone:
545-5175

Jared DeMichiel joined the Massachusetts hockey staff as assistant coach in April 2016 after spending two seasons with head coach Greg Carvel at St. Lawrence University. He was promoted to associate head coach in May 2019. DeMichiel is involved in all aspects of recruiting, while overseeing the development of the Minutemen’s goaltenders, penalty kill unit, and forwards player development/individual video analysis.

DeMichiel was part of a staff that led UMass to its first-ever NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship in 2021 and first-ever Hockey East Tournament Championship. On his watch, the Minutemen finished second in the nation in scoring defense at 1.66 goals per-game and ranked in the top-10 in the country in that category for a third straight season.

Goaltender Filip Lindberg tied for the third lowest goals-against average and posted the fourth-best save percentage in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey history in 2020-21 at 1.24 and .949, respectively and was tabbed a Hockey East Second-Team All-Star and Frozen Four All-Tournament Team and All-Region Team honoree and Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA East Regional. Lindberg also set the NCAA record for career shutouts in the NCAA tournament (4) and goaltender Matthew Murray became UMass’ all-time wins leader under DeMichiel’s guidance.

In 2018-19, DeMichiel helped UMass to its winningest season in program history with a program-record 31 victories and included the school's first-ever Hockey East Regular Season Championship along with a National Runner-Up finish. The Minutemen followed up in 2019-20 with second-highest wins total in program history with 21 victories and were poised to make their second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance before the season was cut short. UMass finished eighth in the PairWise rankings and spent 22 straight weeks in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls in 2019-20, while securing the No. 2 seed in the Hockey East Tournament.

Under his direction, Murray and Lindberg became one of the top goaltending tandems in the nation in 2018-19. Murray broke Jonathan Quick's record for most wins by a UMass goaltender in a single season and was the NCAA statistical champion for goaltender winning percentage at 20-5-0 (.800).

DeMichiel coached the Minutemen's penalty kill to an 86.9 success rate in 2018-19, which ranked fifth nationally. UMass' stellar PK also helped the squad finish as the national leader in combined special teams (57.9%). In 2019-20, the squad followed up by once again ranking in the top-10 nationally in penalty kill (86.6%, ninth) and scoring defense (1.97, sixth). En route to a National Championship in 2020-21, the Minutemen led the nation with a program-record 91.7% penalty kill percentage and a boasted the nation’s best combined special teams (57.9%), while allowing just 48 goals in 29 games, a new program record.

DeMichiel helped recruit UMass' 2017-18 freshman class that earned national recognition as one of the top recruiting classes in Division I hockey. The class lived up to its billing, leading the nation in virtually every offensive category for freshman scoring in 2017-18 and ultimately included a Hobey Baker winner, a second Hobey Baker finalist, three All-Americans and the 2018-19 Hockey East Player of the Year. Eleven Minutemen have been drafted since DeMichiel arrived at UMass: Cale Makar (4th overall, Colorado) and Mario Ferraro (49th overall, San Jose) in 2017, John Leonard (182nd overall, San Jose) in 2018, Zac Jones (68th overall, New York Rangers), Marc Del Gaizo (109th overall, Nashville) and Lindberg (197th overall, Minnesota) in 2019, Matthew Kessel (150th overall, St. Louis) and Lucas Mercuri (159th overall, Carolina) in 2020 and Scott Morrow (40^th overall, Carolina), Josh Lopina (98^th overall, Anaheim), Ryan Ufko (115^th overall, Nashville) and Taylor Makar (220^th overall, Colorado).

While at St. Lawrence, DeMichiel was the Saints’ primary recruiter and he played a pivotal role in bringing Ben Finkelstein, Florida Panthers 2016 Draft Pick, to the North Country as he was the Saints’ first NHL draft pick since 2005. The Saints put together 20- and 19-win seasons with second- and fourth-place ECAC finishes, respectively, during his time in Canton. In his first season at St. Lawrence, DeMichiel took a penalty kill that was ranked second to last in the country at 73.7% prior to his arrival, to eighth in the country at 87.6% and first in ECAC play with six shorthanded goals. The following year, the Saints’ penalty kill unit was tied for 13th nationally at 84.9%. St. Lawrence goaltender Kyle Hayton was among the national leaders in save percentage (.935, 4th) in 2015-16 and save percentage (.939, 3rd) and goals-against average (1.81, 5th) in 2014-15 under DeMichiel’s guidance.

DeMichiel got his start in coaching working under George Roll starting the hockey program at Nazareth College (2011-14). In three seasons of recruiting for Nazareth, his recruits collected one second team All-America honor, one ECAC West Rookie of the Year, five all-conference and four all-rookie honors for the Golden Flyers. In the program's first season of existence, DeMichiel oversaw the team’s power play unit that finished the season at 20.7%. Since the summer of 2012, DeMichiel has worked the USA Hockey National Select Festival, as well.

A former Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) goaltender, DeMichiel won three Atlantic Hockey Association regular season titles and one postseason AHA Championship in his four-year career. In his senior season he led all of Division I with 27 victories, was second in shutouts (six), seventh in goals against average and eighth in save percentage. He paced RIT to the 2010 Frozen Four and holds RIT's Division I record for career victories and wins in a season by a goaltender. In 2010, DeMichiel led the AHA in every major statistical category and was a first-team AHA all-star selection. He also was named Goaltender of the Year and made the AHA all-tournament team. DeMichiel was tabbed the Most Outstanding Player at the 2010 East Regional and was honored as the Rochester Press-Radio Club's 2010 Paychex Male College Athlete of the Year.

Following graduation, DeMichiel signed with the American Hockey League's Hersey Bears. He attended NHL training camps with the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins. In addition to Hershey, DeMichiel played with Providence in the AHL as well as South Carolina Stingrays, Elmira Jackals, Kalamazoo Wings and Chicago Express of the East Coast Hockey League.

DeMichiel graduated from RIT in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in business management and he received his master’s degree in management from Nazareth in 2014. He currently lives in Amherst with his wife Kara, daughter Paige and son Jordan.