NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Paul Kirtland, a former Ohio State player and college assistant coach, has joined the Yale Men's Hockey Staff as an assistant coach

Kirtland spent the last two years at Sacred Heart University where he helped the Pioneers produce two of the best seasons in program history while earning their first listing in the national polls. The 2019-20 squad was also No. 3 in the country in offense and No. 2 in shorthanded goals before finishing second in the Atlantic Hockey standings. The year before, they had their highest (fourth) conference finish in eight years.

"We are excited to add Paul Kirtland to our coaching staff. He has been extremely successful wherever he has coached and is one of the brightest young minds in college hockey," said Keith Allain '80, Yale's Malcolm G. Chase Head Coach. "Paul will spend lots of time developing our defensemen and working on the penalty kill, but his contributions won't stop there. He is an excellent skills coach and has experience working in all facets of the game.  Each one of our players will benefit from his presence on our staff.  His hiring represents our deep commitment to the development of our people as we relentlessly pursue championships."

The young mentor's responsibilities included recruiting, implementing the penalty kill, assisting with practice and game planning as well as video operations, among other things in the daily operations of the program.He helped produce seven all-conference players during his time with former Yale assistant and current Sacred Heart head coach C.J. Marottolo.

"I am excited about the opportunity afforded to me by Coach Allain and the Yale University Men's Hockey program," said Kirtland. "I look forward to being part of a program with such prestigious history and am eager to work with the players and staff in order to contribute to the attainment of our goals, both individually and collectively."

Kirtland was the assistant coach for the 2017-18 Dubuque Fighting Saints, who qualified for the USHL playoffs. He designed and implemented the penalty kill, which had an 80.2 percent success rate.

The Vernon, Connecticut, native broke into the coaching ranks with the NAHL Fairbanks Ice Dogs as an assistant in 2013 on the way to a 2014 USA Hockey Tier II National Championship. Two years later Kirtland was an assistant coach at Trinity College, where he helped lead the team to back-to-back NESCAC Tournament championships and a runner-up finish in the 2017 NCAA Division III Tournament. In 2016-17, Kirtland coached the penalty kill unit to a 89.4 percent success rate, which was No. 3 in the country.

A 2013 graduate of The Ohio State University, Kirtland skated in 50 collegiate games before playing in the ECHL

Kirtland, and his wife, Colleen, reside in East Berlin, Conn.