Athletic Insider Interview Series: Chris Schultz
The Geneseo Ice Knights have been incredibly lucky throughout their storied history to have only been led by four head coaches since their inception in the 1975-76 season. Coach Chris Schultz has held the position since the 2006-07 season and has seen both incredible regular season and playoff successes over the past 18 years.
While making the playoffs in every season of his tenure, it took until the 2013-14 campaign for Schultz’s Ice Knights to work their way to a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championship appearance. However, it has mostly been all uphill from there. Over the past ten seasons, Geneseo has taken home the SUNYAC title five times, been to the NCAA Frozen Four on four separate occasions, and were NCAA National Runner-Up in 2022. Coach Schultz has also guided 14 individual Ice Knights to 19 All-American honors, including Devin McDonald, who was named Division III Player of the Year honoree in 2019.
Before becoming head coach of the Ice Knights, Schultz was a player for the Rochester Monarchs junior hockey team before coming to play at Geneseo and serving as a two-time captain before graduating in 1997. He later worked under Geneseo’s head coach Brian Hills as an assistant from 2000-03 before returning to his high-school alma mater, Aquinas Institute, and coaching there for three seasons from 2003-06.
Since his promotion to head coach for Geneseo, Schultz has become a two-time winner of the Edward Jeremiah Award as the NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year, while being named at least a finalist on four more occasions. Along with his national awards, he has been awarded the SUNYAC Coach of the Year Award five times.
When speaking to Coach Schultz, however, he made it very clear that his tenure has not always been easy, and it’s the help of both his fellow staff members and players who have aided him and the team in achieving these accolades. Schultz was quick to mention his current assistant coaches; Kris Heeres, who has been with him his entire tenure and is “one of the most exceptional recruiters in all of Division III [hockey]”, Mitch Stephens who recently made his return to the program and is “playing chess… when the other team is playing checkers”, and Dan Bosio, a recent graduate who is the only player for Geneseo ice hockey to ever win four SUNYAC championships. On top of that, Schultz rattled off several past assistants including Len Perno, Craig Dahl, and David Arduin who have all been influential throughout his coaching career.
Moving on to this season, Coach Schultz credits last year’s assistant captains and fifth-year players defenseman Alex Wilkins and forward Tyson Gilmour who “really, really stepped up” while trying to “make things right… both for themselves and the team” after last year’s playoff loss to Plattsburgh. They “became leaders in the locker room” and “come to the rink like it's a destination and not a chore” while spreading their positive outlooks of Geneseo’s program and culture to their teammates. Senior forwards Greg Koutsomitis (captain) and Zach Rehbaum (assistant captain) have also played a large role in making the 2023-24 squad’s goal of playing a “harder, grittier style than in the past.”
Heading into the playoffs, Coach Schultz believes that if the team plays “with a 100% buy-in, there is no doubt… [they] will win the SUNYAC [title]” and later on, fight to win in the NCAA Tournament. However, while the team’s current record is good, he expects more and believes that their losses to Plattsburgh show that the team “needs to play the right way” and “have a commitment to the process” to win later in the season.
The largest boost for this year’s squad in the playoffs, however, will be playing at home in front of Geneseo’s fans. After the team’s 2-1 victory over Buffalo State on Saturday, Feb. 10, the Ice Knights claimed the top spot in the SUNYAC bracket and will therefore have a first-round bye in the tournament before returning to Geneseo for the second round. Coach Schultz was adamant that home-ice advantage is “the biggest thing” for the team and that Geneseo has “great fans and a history of a ridiculous home record.” As a first step in their playoff journey, make sure to “Pack the Ira” and create an intimidating environment for whoever ends up playing in Geneseo on Saturday, Feb. 24.