Women's Hockey
- Title:
- Assistant Women's Hockey Coach
- Email:
- jlgiesen@stcloudstate.edu
- Phone:
- 320-308-4806
- Office:
- NHC 23
Jeff Giesen will begin his eighth season as head coach of the St. Cloud State University women's hockey program in 2013-14.
A native of Blaine, Minn., Giesen is the third head coach since the inception of the women's program in 1998 and has accumulated an all-time record of 75-151-30 in seven seasons along with a 50-127-21 mark in the rugged Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Last season, Giesen led the Huskies to a 9-24-3 overall record and a seventh place finish in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with a 5-21-2 record.
Giesen became SCSU's all-time winningest women’s hockey coach during the 2009-10 season, garnering his 46th career victory on Friday, Oct. 2, 2009, against Niagara in the NHEC. The Huskies completed the 2009-10 stint with a 15-14-8 overall record and an 11-11-6 mark in the WCHA, good for third place.
In the fall of 2009, Giesen was named the head coach of the 2009 Western Collegiate Hockey Association All-Star team. The Huskies also had four players land on the All-Star roster. Those Husky All-Star players included senior forwards Holly Roberts (St. Cloud) and Caitlin Hogan (Oakdale), senior defender Danielle Hirsch (Bloomington) and junior goaltender Ashley Nixon (Blaine).
Giesen also coached two more players to the elite 100 Point Club during the 2009-10 season in Holly Roberts and Caitlin Hogan. Hogan left SCSU as the school's all-time leading scorer with 127 points (50g, 77a) in 149 games played. Teammate Holly Roberts left St. Cloud State ranked second all-time with 126 points (54g, 72a).
The icing on the cake in 2009-10 was the production of Felicia Nelson (St. Paul), who completed the regular season as the nation's goal scoring leader with 30. Her 30 goals led both men and women hockey players at the Division I level. For her efforts, the team captain became the first women's hockey player at SCSU to be named an All-American (Second Team), the leagues Co-Player of the Year and a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Top-10 Finalist.
The Huskies completed their 11th season in school history in 2008-09 with a 15-18-4 overall record and a fourth xplace finish in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association after sporting an 11-14-3 mark in Coach Giesen’s third season at the helm.
During the 2008-09 season, Coach Giesen had the opportunity to serve as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women’s National Under-18 Team that won the gold medal at the 2009 International Ice Hockey Federation World U18 Championship in January at the Fussen Arena in Germany. Giesen was one of 10 coaches in five international events that represented the United States and its five teams.
He was also invited to the fourth annual 2009 NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge in April to represent St. Cloud State women’s hockey and serve as one of the coaches for the West Division skills team.
In his second season as head coach, Coach Giesen led the Huskies to an 18-15-5 overall record, which tied the school record for most wins in a season. He also led the Huskies to the WCHA Final Face-off for the second time in school history. The 2007-08 St. Cloud State squad became the first team to take three-of-four points from the Minnesota Gophers in a home-and-home series, notching just the second win in school history over the Gophers on Oct. 13, 2007, by a score of 2-1 in the National Hockey Center.
The stellar Husky play during the season resulted in two of the best stretches of hockey in the program's history. SCSU went on a 12-1-2 tear from Nov. 3-Jan. 19, with an eight-game unbeaten run (7-0-1) at the end of that stretch. The unbeaten streak marked the longest ever in Husky history, resulting in the best 15-game run for the program.
The St. Cloud State women's hockey program has also stayed active in the community under the leadership of Coach Giesen. For eight straight seasons, SCSU has toured local area elementary schools over its winter break to spark community interest in women's hockey and help teach basic hockey skills to the students.
The SCSU women's hockey student-athletes introduced hockey fundamentals to local elementary students, covering passing, puck-handling, goaltending, shooting and a combination station. At the end of each session, women's hockey home game tickets were distributed amongst the elementary students, as well as autographed posters and schedules of the team and coaches.
The Huskies have also offered a free youth hockey clinic the past four seasons, and over 300 youth hockey girls from Central Minnesota have attended the clinic at the National Hockey Center during that time frame. During the clinic, the youth received instruction from the Husky women's hockey players and coaches. At the end of the clinic, all participants received a free gift and a ticket to a Husky women's hockey game. SCSU has also been involved with fund-raising efforts for the Heart Association and the St. Cloud Hospital Breast Cancer Center.
During his first year at the helm of the SCSU women's hockey program, Giesen led the Huskies to a 12-18-7 overall record and a seventh place finish in the WCHA with a mark of 7-16-5. The 2006-07 Husky squad led the nation with seven ties on the season and tied the NCAA Division I women's hockey record, playing in 10 overtime games. Ohio State set the original record of 10 overtime games in a season during the 2002 season, and then tied their own initial record during the 2006 season.
Prior to being named the head coach at SCSU in June of 2006, Giesen served as the SCSU assistant women's hockey coach from 2003-2006, working with the Huskies' defensive players and recruiting.
He came to SCSU from Saint John's University, where he was an assistant coach from 1992-98 and an associate head coach from 1998-2003. The Johnnies prospered during Giesen's tenure, winning Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles in 1996, 1997 and 2003, as well as playoff titles and NCAA Division III national tournament appearances in 1996, 1997, 2001 and 2003. The Johnnies, whose former head coach is John Harrington (also a former St. Cloud State assistant coach), finished third in the national tournament in 1997.
In addition to his experience at Saint John's, Giesen has worked extensively with the USA Hockey Development program. His most recent work was at the 2011 girls’ 16 camp in St. Cloud, and in 2010 he worked with the girls’ 17/18 camp in Lake Placid. Giesen has also worked with the girls’ 15/16 camp in Lake Placid in the past, along with numerous USA Hockey boys' programs.
In 2005, Giesen served as the assistant coach for the women's WCHA All-Stars who played against the U.S. Women's National Hockey Team. He assisted Wisconsin women's head hockey coach Mark Johnson at the Xcel Center on Sept. 30th, and in Duluth at the DECC on Oct. 1st. Of note, Giesen has now has had the opportunity to coach under two 1980 Olympic Hockey Gold Medalists, Harrington at Saint John's and Johnson with the WCHA All-Stars and the 2009 U.S. Women’s National Under-18 Team.
A 1993 and 2010 graduate of St. Cloud State University, Coach Giesen and his wife Karla reside in St. Cloud, Minn., with their daughters Delaney and Maleah.
