Sept. 3, 2003
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame hockey coach Dave Poulin has named Layne LeBel as the newest member of his coaching staff. He begins his duties with the Notre Dame hockey team immediately. LeBel replaces former assistant coach John Micheletto who accepted an assistant’s position at the University of Vermont earlier this August. He will be involved in all aspects of the job including on-ice instruction, recruiting, scouting opponents and video breakdowns.
In making the announcement, Poulin said, “I am proud and excited to have Layne LeBel joining our coaching staff. He is a great addition and brings with him the experience of working with some of the top young players in the United States Hockey League (USHL). Mark Osiecki has built a strong program in Green Bay and Layne has been a key part of that success over the last three seasons.”
A native of Val Marie, Saskatchewan, LeBel has spent the past two seasons with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers where he worked with incoming Irish defensemen Noah Babin and Wes O’Neill. During his two seasons in Green Bay, the Gamblers captured the Eastern Division title in his first year (2001-02). Prior to his stint in Green Bay, LeBel was the head coach for the Wisconsin Midget AAA hockey club.
A 1994 graduate of Michigan Tech University, LeBel, a defenseman, was a four-year regular with the Huskies and is sixth all-time among Huskies’ defensemen in scoring with 25 goals and 68 assists for 93 points in 149 career games. He also had 71 penalties for 156 minutes during his career. A two-time finalist for the WCHA defensive player of the year, LeBel was an honorable mention all-WCHA selection and a WCHA all-academic selection following the 1992-93 season. That year, he was also awarded Michigan Tech’s Harold Meese Sportsmanship Award. He was a key member of the 1994 Michigan Tech team that orchestrated one of the biggest upsets in college hockey when the 10th-place Huskies upset top-ranked Colorado College in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.
Following graduation, LeBel played one season in the Central Hockey League for the Memphis Riverkings where he finished seventh in scoring with 13 goals and 27 assists for 40 points in 45 games. He then moved on to Germany for five seasons with Duisburg EV and Regensburg EV in the German Division I and II.