Longtime hockey coach Cory McCracken reflects on success at Green Bay Notre Dame, looks ahead to next challenge
GREEN BAY – After guiding the Green Bay Notre Dame boys hockey team to one of the best seasons in WIAA history, longtime coach Cory McCracken was set to depart for Minnesota on Wednesday to start the next chapter of his career.
It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks for McCracken after he accepted an assistant job at Minnesota State Mankato, an NCAA Division I program that hired former St. Norbert College and Green Bay Gamblers assistant Luke Strand as its head coach in April.
McCracken was set to return to Notre Dame for an 18th season. But Strand and McCracken started talking and exchanging text messages in June before McCracken took part in the USA Hockey-BioSteel Boys 17 National Festival in Amherst, New York.
Strand asked if he’d have interest in a spot on his staff.
“I sat on it for a bit,” McCracken said. “Just focused on going out to the Select 17s, having some fun as a coach out there. When I got back, 10, 11 days after that, we talked one more time.
“That was basically it. It was good. Not expected, but it’s a group I really enjoy being around. It’s a fun staff to be around. I think we are going to have a lot of fun together and get things done.”
The Mavericks went 25-13-1 last season and hope to continue their winning ways under Strand. McCracken is familiar with fellow Minnesota State assistants Troy G. Ward and Keith Paulsen, which should make the transition even smoother for him.
Although his role has not been defined, McCracken likely will help develop the forwards, assist on power-play responsibilities and take part in recruiting.
“Cory brings experience as a head coach as well as a tremendous background in player development and recruiting," Strand said in a statement. “His knowledge base of the player pool is second to none and he is familiar with our teaching and methods. I am excited for Cory to get on board and help our program continue to move forward.”
No place like home for McCracken
McCracken, 49, was born and raised here, attended West De Pere High School and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1998.
He was the club coach for the De Pere Voyageurs from 2000 to 2003 before leaving for Illinois because of a job transfer.
McCracken and his young family returned to Green Bay in 2005, and he was named Notre Dame’s coach in 2006.
The Tritons won just two games in McCracken’s first season but soon became one of the best teams in the state under his tutelage.
McCracken won more than 300 games at Notre Dame and lost fewer than 100. He led the Tritons to the state tournament 10 times since 2010, when they became the first local team to reach the big stage.
Notre Dame won its first state title in 2012 with a thrilling 3-2 double-overtime victory against Wausau West — there was only one division at the time — but its second championship might have been even more epic.
The Tritons capped the first perfect season in program history in March with a dominating 8-0 win over Verona in the Division 1 state title game at Bob Suter’s Capitol Ice Arena in Middleton, tying the record for most goals scored in a championship game since the tournament began in 1971.
They finished 28-0 to become just the second team this century and the first since Eau Claire Memorial in 2008 to go undefeated.
McCracken became the third coach in state history to have an undefeated campaign, joining Eau Claire Memorial’s Mike Schwengler and Madison Memorial’s Vic Levine.
Tritons developed stars under McCracken
Notre Dame has had four players selected in the NHL draft during McCracken’s tenure.
They include Max McCormick (2011, Ottawa), Mason Appleton (2015, Winnipeg), Michael Karow (2017, Arizona) and Daniel Laatsch (2021, Pittsburgh).
The program also has produced 42 junior hockey players and 17 NCAA Division I commits.
“I think we accomplished a lot of the things we wanted to do in 17 years,” McCracken said. “Coach (Silverio) Mirao is my assistant coach and we started at the same time together in the program.
“We wanted to build a program that when club high school hockey in Wisconsin transitioned over to WIAA hockey, we wanted to be a part of the state that was recognized for being competitive. As time grew, we had more time around our program and had a chance to build our culture and the way we wanted to do things inside our program.”
McCracken stayed busy even while at Notre Dame. He has served as the director of hockey operations for Team Wisconsin since 2007, the assistant director of player development with USA Hockey’s Central District since 2014 and the director of player development for the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League since 2022.
“It certainly was a hard decision,” McCracken said of leaving. “I have all kinds of love and time for the players at Notre Dame Academy and what we accomplished the last 17 years. That made the decision challenging, to say the least.”
McCracken said he informed his team during a meeting at the school three weeks ago. It was emotional during that moment and stayed that way in the following days, but McCracken believes the players have adjusted.
With success often comes opportunity, and McCracken finally was presented one he felt was right for him and his family after declining offers in the past.
“I’m confident the program can stay successful,” McCracken said. “Whoever gets it next is going to have a team that has a lot of pieces back from last year’s group. Their identity as a team and how that coach decides to do things may be different than how I did things in the past, and that’s perfectly fine.
“The core nucleus of the players returning that didn’t graduate is a special group. We spent a lot of time in 10 years on player development focus, and I think that wins out in high school hockey. You win based off that along with the culture and the work ethic. I think it can sustain itself. I will be a big fan, and I’ll be watching from a distance.”
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Longtime hockey coach Cory McCracken leaves Green Bay Notre Dame
