Duquesne will field a second ACHA men’s hockey team, the program announced Wednesday via a press release.
The new team will play at the ACHA Division 3 level as a member of the College Hockey East and play home games out of Alpha Ice Complex with the Division 1 Dukes. They will compete with regional rivals Cal U, IUP, Kent State, Penn State Altoona, Pitt Johnstown, and Robert Morris. Duquesne previously fielded a Men’s Division 4 team for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons that played an independent schedule against regional opponents. Division 4 and Division 5 are not sanctioned by the ACHA.
Duquesne alumnus Kyle Clar was named head coach of the Division 3 team. Clar graduated from Duquesne in 2017 and has been coaching with the Chicago Jets organization of the Central States Development Hockey League.
Division 1 head coach Conrad Waite had high praise for his former defenseman taking on a new role.
“We are tremendously lucky to have a coach of this caliber lead our D3 team,” Waite said via the press release. “He embodies the best of our program and is going to be a big part of developing and recruiting future Dukes.”
Clar was initially brought back to Duquesne to join the Division 1 team as an assistant coach for the 2020-21 season, but those plans never materialized as the team did not play the season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Joining Clar will be assistant coach Tyler Perhac, a Pittsburgh native who played four years at NCAA Division III Lebanon Valley College. Perhac will act as the Division 3 assistant as well as an assistant goaltending coach with Sean Moloney for the entire program.
“We recognize the value in having dedicated coaches available to work 1 on 1 with our goalies,” Waite stated. “Sean Moloney has been a fantastic part of our team for the past 3 seasons, and he will continue to lead the way as our Goaltending Director. But to have the opportunity to bring in Tyler to help was a no brainer.”
