Pittsburgh, Pa. - The RMU men's hockey team has added Mike Corbett to the coaching staff ahead of the upcoming 2020-21 season, it was announced Thursday.
Corbett joins head coach Derek Schooley's staff as an assistant coach after spending seven seasons behind the bench as the head coach of the University of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers.
"I called Mike immediately when this position opened, and I wanted to make sure that he knew we were interested in having him be a part of the Colonial program," Schooley said. "We are ecstatic that he has decided to join us in Pittsburgh."
Corbett took the helm of UAH at the onset of the 2013-14 campaign, their first as a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. His seven years as head coach saw the Chargers improve both their overall and conference winning percentage almost every season during his tenure following three years as an independent where they won just a combined nine games.
He helped guide UAH to their first ever WCHA Tournament in 2015 following an eighth-place finish during the regular season, at that point their most conference wins in a season since 2007.
"I am extremely excited for the opportunity to be joining the RMU coaching staff this season," Corbett said. "Coach Schooley has done a very good job of building an RMU program that is in contention for a post season bid in Atlantic Hockey every season, and I look forward to working with Coach Durocher and Josh Johnson to continue that success. RMU has a strong tradition as well as a first-class athletic department, and together we want to continue that growth and put the program in position for success."
Under Corbett, UAH qualified for the WCHA Tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history during the 2017 and 2018 campaigns, including a berth as the seventh seed in 2017-18 that saw UAH force a third game in the quarterfinal round against Northern Michigan.
Prior to Huntsville, Corbett spent 10 years as an assistant at Air Force, including serving as the team's associate head coach in the 2012-13 season. During his tenure in Colorado Springs, the Falcons won five Atlantic Hockey Championships, and made appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012.
During his last seven years with the program, Air Force ranked in the top-ten nationally in winning percentage and added a pair of regular season AHA crowns to go along with its five tournament championships.
Before his coaching career, Corbett enjoyed a successful career as a player at the NCAA level as well, playing for the University of Denver as a defenseman from 1992-97 where he was an alternate captain for two seasons and a two-time WCHA All-Academic Team member.
In addition to Corbett, the Colonials also announced the addition of video coordinator Josh Johnson to the staff ahead of the 2020-21 campaign. A 2020 graduate of the University of Michigan, Johnson spent three years in a similar capacity as an analytics and video coordinator assistant for the Wolverines hockey team, and will look to bring that same experience and expertise to the Island.
"Anytime you can add a coach to your staff that has his experience, you jump at that opportunity," Schooley said. "He has been in every role in college and junior hockey, and our players will benefit from his experience both as a player and coach in college hockey. I have known Mike for more than 20 years and we are excited to get started on this journey together."
For more info on all things Colonials hockey, be sure to follow the Colonials on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
