CORTLAND, N.Y. – Former Cortland men's ice hockey goalie Derek Lalonde '95 was named head coach of the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League (AHL) on June 18.
The Wild are the top minor-league affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild, and have been located in Des Moines, Iowa, since 2013 after previously being known as the Houston Aeros from 1994-2013.
For the past two seasons, Lalonde has served as head coach of the ECHL's Toledo Walleye. He posted a combined record of 97-35-12 (.715) and was named the league's Coach of the Year in 2015. Lalonde was the head coach of the Green Bay Gamblers for three seasons from 2011-14 and led the organization to the 2012 United States Hockey League (USHL) Clark Cup.
A native of Brasher Falls, N.Y., Lalonde served as head coach in 2013 and as an assistant in 2012 for United States World Junior U-19 teams that won gold medals at the World Junior "A" Challenge. He was an assistant coach from 2006-11 at the University of Denver, with the program making four straight NCAA appearances from 2007-11, and he began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Ferris State University from 2003-06.
