April 8, 2008, Clarkson University Women's Hockey ushered in a new era with the appointment of Shannon and Matt Desrosiers as the new co-head coaches of the Golden Knights Women’s Hockey team.
The first season for the co-head coaches was a success as the Desrosiers guided a young Green and Gold squad to a 16-14-6 record. The Knights, who played in 19 games decided by one-goal-or-less, just missed out on a return trip to the ECAC Hockey Championship Tournament. Clarkson closed out the 2008-09 campaign with a pair one-goal losses at nationally-ranked St. Lawrence in the playoffs.
"We are very fortunate to have two capable people in Shannon and Matt heading our program," stated Clarkson Athletic Director Steve Yianoukos. "Shannon and Matt are passionate about the game and coaching, and communicate very well with our players. I am confident Clarkson Women's Hockey will achieve great success under Shannon and Matt's guidance."
No stranger to ECAC Hockey or the North Country having played at St. Lawrence, Matt Desrosiers joined the college coaching ranks after playing professional hockey for several years. He has an exceptional hockey background, both in college and professionally, and is very familiar with ECAC Hockey. Matt Desrosiers will focus on on-ice systems and also be strongly involved with recruiting.
A four-year standout on defense at St. Lawrence University from 1997-2001, Matt Desrosiers helped the Saints reach the Frozen Four as a junior and gained ECAC and All-America honors as a senior. The Fort Erie, Ontario native was also named an ECAC Robbins Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2001.
Matt Desrosiers played five years of professional hockey after graduating from St. Lawrence in 2001. He played in two East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) All-Star games (2002, 2003) representing the Dayton Bombers and the South Carolina Stingrays. He played two seasons in the Central Hockey League (CHL) and helped lead the Colorado Eagles to the 2005 President’s Cup Championship.
