Niagara assistant coach Lidgett moves to Colorado College for similar role with Tigers

LIDGETT

John Lidgett, an assistant hockey coach at Niagara and a former Division I player at Colgate, has been named an assistant coach at Colorado College.

Lidgett, who will replace Mark Stuart, spent the last two seasons on the Niagara bench working for former CC assistant Jason Lammers. Prior to that, he was an assistant under current Tigers assistant coach Peter Mannino with the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers during the 2019-20 campaign.

“We are excited to add one of the brightest young coaches in hockey to our staff,” Colorado College head coach Kris Mayotte said in a statement. “John is a high-level person and an excellent communicator. A relentless recruiter, he will open new possibilities for our program. I am excited to have him as a Tiger.”

Lidgett played at Colgate from 2011 to 2015, amassing 51 points (19 goals, 32 assists) in 149 career games. He helped the Raiders advance to a pair of ECAC Tournament final appearances (2014, ’15) and a berth in the 2014 NCAA tournament.

He graduated from Colgate in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in English.

“I am thankful for this opportunity given by (director of athletics) Lesley Irvine and Kris Mayotte to become a part of one of the nation’s most elite institutions and hockey programs,” Lidgett said. “The administration, professors, coaches, and student-athletes that make up Colorado College are exceptional, and I am thrilled to learn and work alongside them every day.”

Following his four years at Colgate, he began his coaching career as an assistant and received an MBA with a leadership concentration at Aurora.

Lidgett has been very successful coaching penalty-kill units, leading both Aurora (89%) and Niagara (85%, 10th nationally) to conference-best percentages during his tenure.

He also played for Team Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge prior to enrolling at Colgate.