COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Two National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) head coaches have been named finalists for the 2025 Spencer Penrose Award, as the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) revealed the names Monday. Denver head coach David Carle and Western Michigan head coach Pat Ferschweiler are among 10 up for CCM/AHCA Men’s Hockey Division I Coach of the Year.
 
The 10 finalists represent any coach who won or shared Coach of the Year honors in his conference this past season, as well as coaches whose teams have advanced to the 2025 NCAA Frozen Four. Ferschweiler is the only coach to achieve both accolades this season, earning NCHC Herb Brooks Coach of the Year, while also leading the Broncos to their first-ever Frozen Four. None of the 10 finalists have previously won the Spencer Penrose Award.
 
Carle is a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award for the fourth time since taking over the helm at Denver in 2018 (2019, 2022, 2024, 2025). The native of Anchorage, Alaska led the defending National Champion Pioneers back to the Frozen Four by winning the Manchester Regional on Sunday. Carle guided DU to a third-place finish in the NCHC (15-8-1) and a runner-up finish at the 2025 Frozen Faceoff. Denver’s 31 wins (31-11-1) this season are second-most in the country behind only Western Michigan, while the Pioneers have ranked in the top-10 nationally in the polls all season, including as high as No. 1. DU is going for its third NCAA Championship under Carle’s tutelage in St. Louis. Along with his Denver duties, Carle also coached the U.S. National Junior Team to a second straight gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship this past January.
 
Ferschweiler is a finalist for the Penrose Award for the second time in the last three seasons, after winning his second NCHC Herb Brooks Coach of the Year Award (2023, 2025). The native of Rochester, Minn. has overseen a historic season at Western Michigan, leading the Broncos to their first-ever Penrose Cup and Frozen Faceoff championship. WMU became only the second NCHC team to win both the regular-season and postseason titles in the same year, while tying the NCHC record for conference wins with 19 (19-4-1). This past weekend, Western Michigan added another first by earning its first Frozen Four berth after winning the Fargo Regional. In addition, Ferschweiler has seen the Broncos amass 32 wins (32-7-1) under his watch this season, the most in the country and tying the school record.

Carle and Ferschweiler will meet in the Frozen Four semifinals on April 10 in St. Louis in the fourth meeting between their teams this season.
 
Selected by the nation's 64 NCAA Division I men’s head coaches, the winner of the Penrose Award will be announced on Tuesday, April 8. The award will be presented in person on Sunday, May 4 at the 2025 AHCA Convention at the Hyatt Coconut Point Resort in Bonita Springs, Fla.
 
The Spencer Penrose Award is named in memory of the Colorado Springs benefactor who built the Broadmoor Hotel Complex, site of the first 10 NCAA championship hockey tournaments. The NCHC’s regular-season trophy, the Julie and Spencer Penrose Memorial Cup, is named after the same benefactor and was won by Ferschweiler’s Broncos for the first time this year.
 
Carle and Ferschweiler are looking to become the third NCHC head coach to win the Spencer Penrose Award. North Dakota’s Brad Berry shared the honor in 2020, while Jim Montgomery won the award with Denver in 2017.
 
The CCM AHCA Coach of the Year Award is sponsored by CCM Hockey and chosen by members of the AHCA. CCM is the legendary hockey brand dedicated to the endless pursuit of performance by delivering game-changing, head-to-toe innovative hockey equipment to players worldwide.
 
2024-25 AHCA Spencer Penrose Award Finalists

• David Carle, Denver, NCAA Semifinalist
• Mike Cavanaugh, UConn, Hockey East Coach of the Year
• Pat Ferschweiler, Western Michigan, NCHC Coach of the Year, NCAA Semifinalist
• Guy Gadowsky, Penn State, NCAA Semifinalist
• JF Houle, Clarkson, ECAC Coach of the Year
• Jay Pandolfo, Boston University, NCAA Semifinalist
• Bill Riga, Holy Cross, AHA Coach of the Year
• Brett Riley, Long Island University, Independent Coach of the Year
• Steve Rohlik, Ohio State, Big Ten Coach of the Year
• Luke Strand, Minnesota State University, CCHA Coach of the Year