Northern Michigan has hired Ben Russell and Andy Contois as assistant coaches beginning with the 2024-25 season.
Russell has spent the past few seasons with Cornell, which included one season as an assistant coach and two seasons as the director of hockey operations.
“We are really excited about Ben joining our staff and community,” said NMU head coach Dave Shyiak in a statement. “He grew up in the U.P. and understands the history and tradition of Wildcat hockey. Ben is an up and coming young coach bringing a unique set of skills to our group. He’s organized, detailed, and has a tireless work ethic that will help in our recruiting efforts. Ben did an outstanding job working with the goaltenders at Cornell, and that will be one of his roles here at NMU.”
Russell graduated from Cornell in 2020, where he spent all four years of his undergraduate as an assistant director of hockey operations, where he helped coordinate video, analyze film, prepare scouting reports, and incorporate advanced analytics into game preparation.
A Northern Michigan graduate with a degree in Finance, Contois has spent the past three seasons as associate head coach of the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms.
“Andy is ready for this opportunity,” said Shyiak. “He’s an alum from Marquette that has developed into a great coach and recruiter. He will be an important asset to our program and community moving forward. I can’t wait for Andy and his wife Taylor to get back up to the U.P. and carry on the tradition of Wildcat hockey.”
Before his coaching career, Contois was a four-year player for the Wildcats (2002-2006), where in three of those seasons, Shyiak was his coach. Contois had a 10-year professional playing career after Northern, spending three seasons in North America in the AHL and ECHL and seven seasons in Europe.
Russell and Contois join Phil Fox as assistant coaches with the Wildcats.
