St. Lawrence’s candidates to replace Mark Morris

Mark Morris was fired from his post as the St. Lawrence hockey coach on Friday. (St. Lawrence Athletics)

Word began to circulate late last week that there would be a coaching change at St. Lawrence. The school made the announcement official Friday afternoon that it was firing head coach Mark Morris and assistant coaches Mike Hurlbut and Matt Deschamps.

Morris was fired after just three seasons. He went 17-13-7 in his first season, but concluded the three years with a record of 31-69-11. He didn’t enjoy the same level of success as he did in his first stint as a college head coach at Clarkson. Morris guided the Golden Knights to nine NCAA Tournaments from 1988-2003.

While St. Lawrence has suffered through two consecutive down seasons, winning just six games in 2018-19 and eight in 2017-18, this is a job that will draw considerable interest.

St. Lawrence has tradition and history of success and the school is investing money to renovate the iconic Appleton Arena on the Canton, N.Y., campus. It’s a good school near the Canadian border that should be able to attract quality recruits, especially from north of the border.