Utah’s Club Hockey Teams Ready To Start Fresh With New Men’s, Women’s Coaches

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – It’s hard to look at missing an entire season as a plus, but for the University of Utah club hockey teams, they made the most of their downtime.

Nationally, the ACHA tried to push for an 11-week season, but varying COVID-19 restrictions throughout the country made it hard for teams to play out of government-owned rinks. The Utes were not going to be able to get home ice, so they turned their focus to rebuilding both the men’s and women’s teams and recruiting players for the 2021-22 season.

“We opened up both coaching positions nationally and had dozens of applications from the US and Canada,” men’s team General Manager AJ Boldan told KSL Sports.

Utah Hockey announces 2021 Women's Recruiting Weekend and Tryout Dates: https://t.co/0IABIFIbZ1 #UtahHockey #ImagineU #BuildtheFuture pic.twitter.com/brFv8meUMj

— Utah Women's Hockey (@UtahWHockey) February 1, 2021

The men’s team knew they had a coaching opening. The women’s team found themselves needing to replace head coach Morgan Marietti when she stepped down to deal with health concerns. Coach Marietti is well-loved and respected and had taken on the task of building the women’s team that was just finishing its first season.

The women’s team was able to promote from within.

“We are absolutely honored to have Braeden Yeo and Morgan Feenie helming our W1 and M1 programs. They exemplify the exact qualities our players, staff and board are looking for,” said Boldan.

Utah Hockey releases 2021 Men's Recruiting Weekend and Tryout Dates: https://t.co/qtZRYmrySY #UtahHockey #ImagineU #BuildtheFuture pic.twitter.com/2VMHWqC8GM

— Utah Hockey (@skatinutes) February 1, 2021

Women’s coach Braeden Yeo brings a wealth of hockey experience and a deep coaching pedigree to the program. Her father is currently the assistant coach of the Philadelphia Flyers and was the head coach of the Minnesota Wild for several years.

Coach Yeo played her college hockey at Colorado College and served as captain. Yeo also had a successful youth career playing in major programs in Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Texas.

The new men’s coach, Morgan Feenie, is a Grand Rapids Michigan native and has grown up playing and coaching hockey in several organizations.

The Utes have been busy recruiting to build both programs into solid ACHA D1 competitors. The men’s program has seen the interest increase enough that they are possibly going to field a D1 and D2 team for the next season.

Tryout information for both programs is available on the team website.

Utah Puck Report is a podcast all about Utah hockey, from interviews with NHL stars to which Grizzlies players are about to take the next step, Utah Puck Report has everything for a Utah hockey fan. Find it wherever you find podcasts or on KSLSports.com. The show is hosted by KSL Sports’ hockey insider, Jay Stevens.