St. Olaf College Athletics

Eddie Effinger is in his fifth season as the head men's hockey coach at St. Olaf in 2024-25 after being named to the position on April 14, 2020.

Through five seasons, Effinger led St. Olaf to an overall record of 54-49-11 (.522) and a pair of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoff titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. St. Olaf won the MIAC Playoffs as the No. 7 seed in 2021-22 and the No. 5 seed in 2023-24 by winning three consecutive road games to earn its spot in the NCAA Tournament.

During his time at St. Olaf, Effinger coached one two-time USCHO.com First Team West All-American, one two-time All-USCHO honoree, one USCHO All-Rookie selection, eight All-MIAC honorees, six MIAC All-Playoff Team choices, and the program's first-ever MIAC Defensive Player of the Year.

His teams also excelled academically, producing 65 Academic All-MIAC honorees, 32 American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) All-American Scholars, 10 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honorees, and one two-time MIAC Elite 22 Award recipient.

After the COVID-19 pandemic reduced his first season to two games in 2020-21, Effinger led the Oles to MIAC Playoff appearances in each of his four full seasons, including two MIAC Playoff titles (2021-22, 2023-24) and one runner-up finish (2024-25). The 2021-22 and 2023-24 MIAC Playoff titles led to two of the three NCAA Tournament appearances in program history.

In 2023-24, St. Olaf got into the MIAC Playoffs on the final weekend of the regular season before winning three consecutive road games by a combined score of 11-1 to claim its second MIAC Playoff title in three seasons. After blanking Saint Mary's and Augsburg on the road, the Oles topped No. 15-ranked Bethel by a 4-1 score in Blaine to claim their third MIAC Playoff title and return to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons. St. Olaf fell 5-2 at fifth-ranked St. Norbert in the opening round.

In Effinger's first full season at St. Olaf, Effinger led the Oles to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history after St. Olaf won the MIAC Playoffs for the second time. As the tournament's No. 7 seed, St. Olaf knocked off the top-three seeds on their home ice to win the title, culminating in a 5-2 win at top-seeded and fourth-ranked Augsburg in the championship game. In their second-ever NCAA Tournament game, the Oles led sixth-ranked St. Norbert through two periods before the Green Knights rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory in the opening round.

The remarkable postseason run came with a young roster that saw student-athletes in their first full season of college hockey score 87.8 percent (72-of-82) of St. Olaf's goals, hand out 81.9 percent (104-of-127) of the team's assists, and record 84.2 percent (176-of-209) of the team's points this season. The 2021-22 team compiled one of the top offensive seasons in program history, ranking tied for sixth in points (209) and assists (127) while tying for eighth in goals (82).

Effinger came to St. Olaf after spending the past season as the director of hockey operations at NCAA Division I Boston University. A former NCAA Division III student-athlete at Amherst College, Effinger also spent six seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater prior to BU.

At BU, Effinger managed all operational aspects of the men’s hockey program, including travel logistics, video breakdowns, and athletic development. He also assisted head coach Albie O’Connell with fundraising development, alumni relations, recruiting coordination with players across the world, and oversaw academic support, leadership programming, and community outreach. The Terriers finished the season 13-13-9 overall and 10-9-5 in the highly-competitive Hockey East and earned the No. 6 seed in the Hockey East Tournament before it was canceled.

Prior to BU, Effinger spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Amherst under long-time head coach Jack Arena from 2013-14 through 2018-19. During his six seasons on staff, the Mammoths went 89-48-21 (.630) overall and 60-31-17 (.634) in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC).

Amherst made the NESCAC Tournament in each of Effinger’s six seasons as an assistant coach, including winning the tournament in 2014-15 and finishing as the runner-up three times. The 2014-15 team also advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.

As a student-athlete at Amherst, Effinger was a two-time captain and recorded 77 points on 38 goals and 39 assists in 97 games. His play helped the program capture NESCAC titles in 2009 and 2012 and post a 74-23-10 (.738) record, resulting in the highest winning percentage over a four-year period in program history. Effinger was part of two NCAA Tournament teams, including captaining the 2011-12 team that set a program record with 24 wins and advanced to the national semifinals for the first time in school history.

After graduating from Amherst with a bachelor of arts in economics and environmental studies in 2012, Effinger, an Illinois native, played professionally for one season for the Quad City Mallards of the Central Hockey League in Moline, Ill.
 

THE OLES UNDER EDDIE EFFINGER
SEASON	OVERALL	PCT.	MIAC	PCT.	MIAC / MIAC PLAYOFFS / NCAA TOURNAMENT / NOTES
2020-21	1-1-0	.500	--	--	Season limited to two games due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021-22	11-15-3	.431	5-8-1	.393	7th / MIAC Playoff Champions / NCAA First Round
2022-23	14-11-2	.556	7-8-1	.469	5th / Semifinals of MIAC Playoffs
2023-24	14-12-3	.517	7-7-2	.500	5th / MIAC Playoff Champions / NCAA First Round
2024-25	14-10-3	.543	8-7-1	.542	t-3rd / MIAC Playoff Runner-Up
TOTAL	54-49-11	.522	27-30-5	.476	-