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Apr. 8—Reid Cashman wasn't born the last time the Dartmouth men's hockey team qualified for the NCAA Division I national tournament.
That is, the last time until this season.
Cashman, a 43-year-old Red Wing native, has turned the Big Green around in a short time.
In just his fifth season as Dartmouth's head coach, Cashman led it to the ECAC Hockey playoff championship and its first national tournament berth in 46 years.
Cashman's work at Dartmouth has been widely noticed. On Tuesday, he was named the winner of the 2026 Spencer Penrose Award as the top coach in men's college hockey.
Cashman is the second consecutive southeastern Minnesota native to win the award, following Rochester John Marshall grad Pat Ferschweiler, who won it in 2025 en route to coaching Western Michigan to the program's first national championship.
The winner is selected by the American Hockey Coaches Association.
"I am honored to be recognized as the Spencer Penrose award winner," Cashman said. "This honor represents everyone at Dartmouth who has been a part of the growth and progress over the last six years. It starts with tremendous student-athletes that have made an incredible commitment to getting better every day."
Dartmouth went a combined 12-46-4 in Cashman's first two seasons as head coach.
But he quickly built the program up through his ability to recruit and develop talented players who fly under the radar of bigger programs.
Over the past three years, the Big Green have a 54-31-15 record and three consecutive winning seasons. They had just four winning seasons in the previous 15 years.
"From the beginning, we saw a leader building something real, grounded in intentional effort, continuous growth, and a team-first pursuit of excellence. Reid's leadership of the remarkable rise of the program and results this season are the byproduct of that vision."
Dartmouth went 23-8-4 this season and finished second in the ECAC regular season standings, behind perennial national power Quinnipiac.
The Big Green then beat Colgate, Clarkson and Princeton to win the ECAC Tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They then lost their tournament opener — Dartmouth's fist tournament game since 1980 — to Wisconsin, 5-1, on March 26.
The loss didn't dissuade Cashman from his idea of where the program and can and will go. The team's 23 victories are a program single-season record.
"Our staff strives daily to help develop and maximize (our players') potential," Cashman said. "I love our staff at Dartmouth and am amazed daily by their dedication."
Cashman was also named the ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons.
He is a 2002 Red Wing graduate. A 6-foot-2, 210-pound defenseman, Cashman played four seasons of Division I college hockey at Quinnipiac in Hamden, Conn., where he had 23 career goals and 246 penalty minutes. He was a two-year captain for the Bobcats, then played four seasons of pro hockey.
Cashman started his coaching career as an assistant at Quinnipiac in 2011-12. He spent five years at his alma mater, and was promoted to associate head coach under longtime head coach Rand Pecknold in 2015-16. He then spent two years as an assistant coach for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League before becoming an assistant for the NHL's Washington Capitals from 2018-20.
He accepted the Dartmouth job prior to the 2020-21 season, but the Big Green had that entire season wiped out due to COVID-19 (Ivy League schools shut down athletics that season).
Dartmouth finished sixth in the country this year in scoring margin and scoring defense, as well as third in penalty-killing percentage and fourth in winning percentage.
The Spencer Penrose award will be presented at the 2026 AHCA Convention in Bonita Springs, Fla., on Wednesday, April 29.
Continue reading...
That is, the last time until this season.
Cashman, a 43-year-old Red Wing native, has turned the Big Green around in a short time.
In just his fifth season as Dartmouth's head coach, Cashman led it to the ECAC Hockey playoff championship and its first national tournament berth in 46 years.
Cashman's work at Dartmouth has been widely noticed. On Tuesday, he was named the winner of the 2026 Spencer Penrose Award as the top coach in men's college hockey.
Cashman is the second consecutive southeastern Minnesota native to win the award, following Rochester John Marshall grad Pat Ferschweiler, who won it in 2025 en route to coaching Western Michigan to the program's first national championship.
The winner is selected by the American Hockey Coaches Association.
"I am honored to be recognized as the Spencer Penrose award winner," Cashman said. "This honor represents everyone at Dartmouth who has been a part of the growth and progress over the last six years. It starts with tremendous student-athletes that have made an incredible commitment to getting better every day."
Dartmouth went a combined 12-46-4 in Cashman's first two seasons as head coach.
But he quickly built the program up through his ability to recruit and develop talented players who fly under the radar of bigger programs.
Over the past three years, the Big Green have a 54-31-15 record and three consecutive winning seasons. They had just four winning seasons in the previous 15 years.
"From the beginning, we saw a leader building something real, grounded in intentional effort, continuous growth, and a team-first pursuit of excellence. Reid's leadership of the remarkable rise of the program and results this season are the byproduct of that vision."
Dartmouth went 23-8-4 this season and finished second in the ECAC regular season standings, behind perennial national power Quinnipiac.
The Big Green then beat Colgate, Clarkson and Princeton to win the ECAC Tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They then lost their tournament opener — Dartmouth's fist tournament game since 1980 — to Wisconsin, 5-1, on March 26.
The loss didn't dissuade Cashman from his idea of where the program and can and will go. The team's 23 victories are a program single-season record.
"Our staff strives daily to help develop and maximize (our players') potential," Cashman said. "I love our staff at Dartmouth and am amazed daily by their dedication."
Cashman was also named the ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons.
He is a 2002 Red Wing graduate. A 6-foot-2, 210-pound defenseman, Cashman played four seasons of Division I college hockey at Quinnipiac in Hamden, Conn., where he had 23 career goals and 246 penalty minutes. He was a two-year captain for the Bobcats, then played four seasons of pro hockey.
Cashman started his coaching career as an assistant at Quinnipiac in 2011-12. He spent five years at his alma mater, and was promoted to associate head coach under longtime head coach Rand Pecknold in 2015-16. He then spent two years as an assistant coach for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League before becoming an assistant for the NHL's Washington Capitals from 2018-20.
He accepted the Dartmouth job prior to the 2020-21 season, but the Big Green had that entire season wiped out due to COVID-19 (Ivy League schools shut down athletics that season).
Dartmouth finished sixth in the country this year in scoring margin and scoring defense, as well as third in penalty-killing percentage and fourth in winning percentage.
The Spencer Penrose award will be presented at the 2026 AHCA Convention in Bonita Springs, Fla., on Wednesday, April 29.
Continue reading...
