June 17, 2009
Jerry Forton, a former assistant and associate head coach at Niagara University for 13 years, was named to the UMass Lowell hockey staff Wednesday, announced Head Coach Blaise MacDonald.
Forton, who was an assistant with MacDonald at Niagara from 1996-2001, replaces former assistant Chris MacKenzie, who recently accepted the head post of the Niagara women’s program after eight years at UMass Lowell.
“Jerry is very familiar with my coaching philosophy and style,” said MacDonald, who will enter his ninth season this fall. “He compliments my strengths and weaknesses.
“Most importantly, Jerry brings a tremendous wealth of experience, having coached at the Division I level for 13 years,” MacDonald added. “He has coached in three NCAA Tournaments. He has coached and recruited players who have been Hobey Baker candidates and has done a tremendous job without some of the resources we provide student-athletes here at UMass Lowell.”
UMass Lowell returns all but three players from the 2008-09 team which posted a 20-16-2 overall record and a 14-11-2 clip in Hockey East.
The River Hawks advanced to the 2009 Hockey East championship game with a 4-3/4-2 sweep at Vermont and a 3-2 overtime thriller over Northeastern in the semifinal before falling to eventual NCAA champion Boston University (1-0).
“The biggest things regarding my interest in UMass Lowell were the opportunity to work with Blaise and the staff he’s put together and the opportunity to coach in Hockey East, which I consider to be the best conference in college hockey,” Forton said.
“Obviously Blaise, Chris and Shawn (McEachern, assistant) have done a great job here. With most of the team coming back from nearly winning the Hockey East championship, it is a very exciting time,” he added. “I have complete faith that there is no one in the country that is going to be more prepared to play than Blaise, the staff and the team.”
A former soccer/hockey standout at the University of Buffalo, Forton began his hockey coaching career with the inception of the program at Niagara in 1996 where he remained until last season.
During his tenure, he helped guide the Purple Eagles to NCAA Tournament bids and College Hockey America (CHA) Tournament titles in 2000, 2004 and 2008, as well as CHA regular season championships in 1999-2000, 2005-06 and 2006-07.
A 1986 graduate, Forton was a member of the UB hockey team from 1882-86, serving as an assistant captain his junior and senior years. Simultaneously he was a four-year goalkeeper on the Bulls soccer team and ranks third among all-time leaders in career goals against average (1.39) and wins (19).
Forton was also a three-time SUNY Center Conference standout and the Most Valuable Player of the conference tournament as a junior. He was also named to the National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA) All-America Team as a junior and senior.
Forton earned his law degree from UB in 1989 and opened a law practice in Buffalo. He also spent six years (1990-96) as an assistant with the Bulls men’s soccer team and was inducted into the UB Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.
A fitness enthusiast, Forton has twice competed in the National Ironman Triathlon Championship.
A native of Buffalo, he has served on the board of directors for two charities: the Early Childhood Foundation and Sea Fever, Inc., which provide funding and craftsman opportunities to disadvantaged children in inner city Buffalo.
Forton and his wife Laura, a schoolteacher, live in Buffalo with their daughter, Madison (4) and will soon be relocating to the Greater Boston area.
