LOWELL, Mass. -- UMass Lowell Hockey Head Coach Norm Bazin announced the hiring of Troy Thibodeau (Danvers, Mass.) as the River Hawks' Director of Hockey Operations. He joins UMass Lowell after serving one year at Merrimack College as Video Coordinator and Director of Analytics.

His main responsibilities include breaking down team video, coordinating team travel, as well as overseeing team compliance and camps.

"Throughout the interview process, he displayed great organizational skills coupled with strong communication skills," said Bazin. "We feel he will help our organization improve as he accepts the Hockey Operations position. We feel his eagerness stood out during the interview process."

While at Merrimack, Thibodeau was in charge of the day-to-day breakdown of video and statistical analysis. He also kept advanced statistics such as Corsi for and against, along with Corsi/60 to assist in evaluating players and team performance.

Prior to Merrimack, he served as Assistant Coach for the men's hockey program at Wentworth Institute of Technology for one season. He also worked as a Strength and Conditioning Volunteer Intern at University of Denver and University of Florida in 2014.

"I am extremely excited to be joining the UMass Lowell Hockey program," stated Thibodeau. "Coach Bazin and his staff have done a tremendous job creating a winning culture here and I am thrilled to become a part of it."

Thibodeau graduated from Southern Maine in 2014 with a Bachelor's Degree in exercise science. He was a member of the Huskies' hockey team and baseball team.

He replaces Sean Flanagan in the position, who took an assistant coaching position in the spring with Cornell University. Dan Darrow also held the same position with the River Hawks from 2011 to 2015.