Mark Morris has been named the new head coach at the Northwood School, located in Lake Placid, N.Y. Morris is a 1977 grad of the school; this will be Morris’ first head coaching job since he was fired by St. Lawrence in 2019.
Morris takes over for Chad Cassidy, who left the program to become the head coach of the Omaha Lancers in the USHL.
This will be Morris’ second stint with Northwood. He was at the helm of the program from 2004-06 before he was hired by the Manchester Monarchs (AHL at the time).
“As a former student-athlete and coach at Northwood School, I am very fortunate to have first-hand experience with the school’s unwavering commitment to both personal growth and the creation of cohesive teams,” said Morris. “Northwood’s focus on integrity and a commitment to excellence are among the many reasons the school holds a special place in my heart, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as a hockey coach and mentor to further grow its rich tradition.”
Morris had a hugely successful run as the head coach at Clarkson from 1988-03, advancing to the NCAA Tournament nine times and winning five ECAC regular-season titles and three ECAC tournament titles. Morris led Clarkson to the Frozen Four in 1991.
His run at St. Lawrence was largely the opposite. After a 17-win season in his first season after taking over for Greg Carvel, Morris went 14-56-4 over his final two seasons. In 2017-18, the St. Lawrence Board of Trustees retained Bond, Schoeneck and King’s Collegiate Sports Practice to run an investigation after allegations were made via email against Morris and the coaching staff. Ultimately, the investigation found just one minor infraction, in which players were required to attend a video session on what should have been an off day under NCAA rules.
Northwood is set to take part in the inaugural season of the newly formed Prep Hockey Conference along with Culver Academy (Indiana), Mount St. Charles (Rhode Island), Shattuck St. Mary’s (Minnesota), South Kent (Connecticut) and St. Andrew’s College (Aurora, Ont.).
