Aaron Saul ’98 enters his 16th season as the head men’s ice hockey coach in 2024-25. Saul, a 1998 graduate of Elmira College, is the first alumnus in the 50-year history of the program to assume the role as head coach. Saul has been a head coach at the collegiate level for the past 16years and has nearly two decades of coaching experience.
In his 14years at the helm of the Purple and Gold, Saul has compiled a record of 215-149-29, twice capturing the ECAC West Tournament crown as well as the first-ever UCHC Tournament Championship. He has picked up three ECAC West Coach of the Year Awards and one UCHC Coach of the Year honor, while the EC alum guided the team to three consecutive NCAA Quarterfinal appearances from 2010-12 and has coached six All-Americans.
In 2023-24, Saul led the Soaring Eagles to the NCAA Division III Tournament after a 20-8-1 season. In the tournament, Elmira would defeat Endicott College 5-2 in the first round before falling to Trinity College in the quarterfinal matchup. Under Saul, the Soaring Eagles defeated seven nationally ranked opponents, including No. 3 Utica, No. 5 Geneseo, No. 6 Norwich, and No. 10 Skidmore. He guided three Soaring Eagles to All-NEHC honors, with Nicholas Domitrovic '24,Jordan Gonzalez '24, andShawn Kennedy '24, earning places on the Second Team.
In 2021-22, Saul earned his 200th career win as a head coach while the Soaring Eagles qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time since 2012. Elmira finished the season with a 18-7-2 overall record, and reached as high as No. 6 in the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) rankings, which was the highest for the program in the last decade. EC ranked 6th in the country for average attendance and went undefeated at the Murray Athletic Center. The Soaring Eagles knocked off five nationally ranked opponents that included No. 1 SUNY Geneseo on the road, No. 6 Babson College, No. 6 Hobart College, No. 8 Norwich University and No. 15 UMass Boston. Saul guided three Elmira players to New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) all conference honors. Chance Gorman ‘24 was selected to the Second Team while Chris Janzen ‘21 and Janis Vizbelis ‘24 earned Third-Team nods. Janzen’s .918 save percentage ranks 1st in program history and his 2.48 goals against average (GAA) over the course of his Soaring Eagle career ranks 2nd in program history. Janzen and teammate Adam Eby ‘21 both signed professional contracts after their final seasons with the Purple & Gold.
In 2020-21, Saul was named United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Coach of the Year after leading the Purple & Gold to their first-ever Pat Thompson ‘75 Trophy (UCHC Tournament Championship) during an abbreviated schedule due to COVID-19. After losing three 100-point career scorers from 2020 and featuring 13 first-year skaters, Elmira upset the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds on the road during the UCHC tournament. Saul mentored Chris Janzen ‘21 to UCHC Goaltender of the Year, UCHC Championship MVP and All-UCHC First Team honors. Other Soaring Eagles to receive awards included Amedeo Mastrangeli ‘24 to the First Team, Shawn Kennedy ‘24 and Daniel Dimon ‘24 made the Second Team, while Chance Gorman ‘24 and Ryan Reifler ‘24 joined the previous three on the 2021 UCHC All-Rookie Team.
In 2019-20, the Soaring Eagles posted a 17-8-1 overall record, including wins over No. 2 SUNY Geneseo, No. 10 Utica College and No. 15 Oswego State and clinched the fourth seed in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Tournament. For the first time in program history, Elmira was named the NCAA Division III Statistical Champion for power-play percentage with an outstanding 35.1% success rate, which was the 10th-best power-play percentage in NCAA history. Saul guided Connor Powell ‘20 to an All-UCHC First Team selection, while Nick Ford ‘20, and Christian Lloyd ‘20 Second Team selections. Ford became just the third Soaring Eagle in program history to lead the team in points for three consecutive seasons and was named to the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Third Team. Ford, Powell, Spencer Carter ‘20 and Andrew Pucci ‘20 would all ink contracts with professional teams after the culmination of the season.
In 2018-19, Elmira once again earned a postseason berth to the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC)Championships. The Purple and Gold polished of the regular season slate with a bye into the semifinal round, but the Soaring Eagles fell victim to eventual champion Manhattanvillein a decisive mini-game following two hard-fought overtime ties. Saul mentored an All-American for the second-straight season, as Connor Powell '20 was named to the CCM/AHCA All-America Second Team after earning Co-Player of the Year honors from the UCHC. Powell and line-mate Nick Ford '20 made history, becoming the first teammates to break into EC's prestigious 100-point club sinceDarcy Vaillancourt '12 and Kevin Willer '12 did so as seniors during the 2012 season.
The 2017-18 campaign marked Elmira’s return to the conference title game for the first time since winning it all in 2013-14, this time a member of the newly-minted United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC). As the fifth seed, the Soaring Eagles upset a pair of higher-seeded teams on the road, before finishing as runners-up against Utica in the inaugural UCHC Championship. An ultra-talented trio of first-line forwards - Nick Ford ’20, Connor Powell ’20, and Matthew Cuce ’20 - led EC with 50, 44 and 39 points, respectively. Ford’s 50-point campaign had the sophom*ore ranked second in the nation in both points and goals (25), which earned the All-UCHC First Teamer a spot on the CCM/AHCA All-America Second Team.
The 2016-17 season was the final campaign for another in a long line of successful goalies, Sal Magliocco ’17. In four seasons playing under Saul, Magliocco cracked multiple all-time leaderboards, as he ended his career ranked fourth in save percentage (.908), sixth in saves (1,827) and 10th in goals against average (3.41). The 2016-17 campaign also saw the emergence of a several of talented freshmen. Powell became just the second rookie in program history to pace the team in points (27), while fellow freshmen Cuce and Harry Kramer ‘20 were awarded ECAC West All-Rookie accolades.
Although the Soaring Eagles were unable to advance past the ECAC West Quarterfinals in 2015-16, Saul’s squad went on a midseason tear that saw the Elmira skaters topple some of the best competition in the nation. EC embarked on an 8-2 run, knocking off No. 11 Hobart, No. 6 Amherst, and No. 3 Babson and No. 4/8 SUNY Geneseo.
EC was unable to repeat with the ECAC West Conference title in 2014-15; however, Jarryd ten Vaanholt ’16 was honored as the 19th All-American in Elmira’s storied history. ten Vaanholt also became the fourth Soaring Eagle to win the ECAC West Player of the Year Award after leading Elmira with 35 points in his junior season.
Elmira rebounded from a subpar year in 2012-13 to claim the ECAC West Tournament Championship the following year, stunning the top-seeded and 13th-ranked Utica College Pioneers in the title game. Elmira’s win marked its 10th ECAC West Conference title, giving EC the most ECAC West Conference championships of any member institution. With a 16-10-1 overall record, Saul earned his third ECAC West Coach of the Year Award, while six players collected All-ECAC West recognition.
The 2011-12 season turned out to be another successful one, as EC went 15-9-3 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for a fifth consecutive year. Elmira also went 8-2-2 in conference play, which led Saul to the ECAC West Conference Coach of the Year Award for a second time in three years. The Purple and Gold also cleaned up the ECAC West Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Awards, as Kevin Miller ’12 and Martin Lee ’12 received the honors. Additionally, Miller, Lee, and goalie Darren MacDonald ’13 all picked up All-America recognition that same year.
In Saul‘s first season with the Soaring Eagles, he led Elmira to a 19-9-1 overall record and reached the finals of the ECAC West Conference Tournament. The team saw its impressive season come to a heart-breaking end with an overtime loss to Norwich University in the NCAA Quarterfinals. In his debut season as head coach of his alma mater, Saul was named the ECAC West Coach of the Year. In 2010-11, his second season, EC went 17-4-4 en route to its first ECAC West Tournament Championship under Saul’s direction.
Prior to Elmira, Saul spent two years as head coach at SUNY Potsdam. He led the Bears to 19-25-9 record, including appearances in the SUNYAC semifinal in 2008 and quarterfinal in 2009. Saul was named the SUNYAC Coach of the Year following the 2007-08 season. He began his coaching career as an assistant for the Bears from 1999-2001.
Saul was a member of the Soaring Eagles men’s ice hockey team from 1994-98. As a student-athlete, he participated in the 1997 NCAA Tournament, three ECAC West Tournaments, was a member of the 1997 ECAC West Championship team, and served as a captain for two seasons. He was named EC’sRookie of the Year in 1995 and Most Valuable Player as a senior in 1998. The Saul family is a legacy at Elmira College; Saul’s younger brother,Adrian ’00, played for the Soaring Eagles and was a captain during his final two seasons as well.
