You could almost hear Navy ice hockey coach Rick Randazzo exhale this past Sunday when the scoreboard clock at Villanova’s Ice Works rink finally read 0:00.  When the final horn sounded, Randazzo had his career 100^th coaching victory behind the Navy bench safely tucked away.  But it didn’t come easy. 

            Against a much-improved Villanova squad, the Midshipmen scored early in the first period when Kevin Krmpotich took a pass from linemate Jay Alspach, then executed a perfect wraparound and tucked the puck past Nova netminder Sean Moran at the 8:14 mark of the first period. 

            Little did Randazzo and the rest of the Navy coaching staff know that Krmpotich’s tally would be the game’s only goal, even though the Mids peppered Moran with 52 total shots -- 51 of which were saved. But at the other end of the rink, Navy goalie Sean Ublacker stopped all 25 Nova shots sent his way, allowing Navy to secure its sixth overall win of the season (6-0-0-1) and fourth in the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association (4-0-0-1). 

            For Randazzo, a 1993 U.S. Military Academy grad, the win was even sweeter in that it allowed him to reach the century mark relatively early in his coaching career.  Randazzo earned the prestigious milestone after just six full years plus seven games of coaching the Midshipmen.  Going into the current season, he had already surpassed Steve Gordon (92 wins in seven seasons) as the winningest coach in Navy Hockey history. 

            “I didn’t earn these 100 wins by myself,” Randazzo said in the victorious Navy locker room following Sunday’s victory.  “I’ve had great coaches, including my first team captain, Pat Eliason, who is back helping us this year, Mike Fox, and many others. And we’ve had great players, including this year’s team, which is off to the best start since I’ve been here.  I am grateful for my coaches, my players, and everyone else who has worked hard for this team who made these 100 wins possible.” 

            A four-year letter winner and leading scorer with Army’s NCAA Division I team from 1989 to 1993, Randazzo earlier this year successfully spearheaded the drive to bring the NCAA’s “Frozen Four” post-season tournament to Washington, D.C.’s MCI Center in 2009. The Naval Academy will be the official host team for this national showcase event. 

            Last year, Rick was selected to be an assistant coach for “Team USA” in the Winter World University Games that were held in Innsbruck, Austria in January 2005.  The USA team beat the Ukraine, 4-2, in its final game of the 2005 Winter World University Games to finish in ninth place with a 3-3-0 record. Since returning to the Games in 2001 with players from the American Collegiate Hockey Association, Team USA had recorded only one win in the 2001 and 2003 tournaments combined.  
            Randazzo graduated from West Point in 1993 and served six years in the U.S. Army as an Armor and Cavalry officer.  He is Airborne and Ranger qualified, and has earned the Meritorious Service Medal for his outstanding service to the Army. 

            He holds a Masters degree in Business from Southern Illinois University, and is Mid Atlantic Sales Manager for Maxamine, a worldwide web site analytics software firm. Randazzo is married to the former Shannon Sterling; the couple has a daughter, Allie, who will be three years old in January, and three sons: Alex (8), Aaron (4), and Addison (born earlier this year). 

Rick Randazzo’s Navy Career Year-by-Year Coaching Record: 

         Wins     Losses    Ties

1999-2000                  8          15          2

2000-2001                 17         16          1

2001-2002                 23           8          2

2002-2003                 16         13          1

2003-2004                 12         18          3

2004-2005                 18         15          3

2005-2006*                6            1          0

TOTAL                    100         86         12

* Through seven games this season