# Matt Loen

Matt Loen is an American ice hockey coach and former player who was the NCAA Division III coach of the year.

## Career

Loen attended the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire from 1991 and joined the ice hockey program. After his freshman campaign, he became one of the top scorers for the Blugolds and helped to lead the team in scoring as a senior. He earned a professional contract after graduating and continued his career in the minor leagues. In 1997, a 100-point season helped promote him to the top level of the minor leagues. Loen stayed at the AAA level for half a season around 2000. Afterwards, he returned to the lower level and finished playing in 2003.
A few years later, Loen returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach. He spent two years in the position before replacing Luke Strand as head coach. In his sixth season, Wisconsin–Eau Claire won 20 games for the first time in program history and reached the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in 36 years. The Blugolds stunned tournament favorite St. Norbert in the quarter final round and then won the National Championship. Loen was named as the national coach of the year for this turnaround.
The following year, Wisconsin–Eau Claire was a founding member of the WIAC's ice hockey division. The Blugolds continued to perform well under Loen and recorded at least 15 wins in each of the next seven seasons. Despite a pair of conference titles, UWEC was unable to return to the national tournament until 2020. The championship was cancelled before a game could be played due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Loen continued to coach the team and the Blugolds won a league title in 2022.

## Statistics
### Regular season and playoffs

| | | | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1991–92 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | NCHA | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1992–93 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | NCHA | 26 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1993–94 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | NCHA | 27 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1994–95 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | NCHA | 27 | 19 | 37 | 56 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1995–96 | Madison Monsters | CoHL | 68 | 36 | 39 | 75 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
| 1996–97 | Madison Monsters | CoHL | 73 | 47 | 59 | 106 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| 1997–98 | Madison Monsters | UHL | 50 | 34 | 53 | 87 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| 1997–98 | Milwaukee Admirals | IHL | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | Madison Monsters | UHL | 47 | 26 | 35 | 61 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998–99 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 21 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999–00 | Madison Kodiaks | UHL | 35 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999–00 | Milwaukee Admirals | IHL | 45 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 2000–01 | Kalamazoo Wings | UHL | 72 | 21 | 36 | 57 | 68 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2000–01 | Milwaukee Admirals | IHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2001–02 | Tacoma Sabercats | WCHL | 52 | 17 | 34 | 51 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2002–03 | Rockford IceHogs | UHL | 76 | 22 | 52 | 74 | 48 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| NCAA totals | NCAA totals | NCAA totals | 97 | 43 | 77 | 120 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — |
| UHL/CoHL totals | UHL/CoHL totals | UHL/CoHL totals | 421 | 205 | 301 | 506 | 238 | 20 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 16 |
| IHL totals | IHL totals | IHL totals | 55 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |

## Head coaching record

Statistics overview :
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Wisconsin–Eau Claire Blugolds (NCHA) (2007–2013) ||||||
| 2007–08 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 11–16–1 | 6–7–1 | T–5th | NCHA Semifinals |
| 2008–09 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 13–13–1 | 3–10–1 | 7th | NCHA Quarterfinals |
| 2009–10 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 8–15–4 | 4–10–4 | 6th | NCHA Quarterfinals |
| 2010–11 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 15–11–1 | 8–9–1 | T–4th | NCHA Quarterfinals |
| 2011–12 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 13–12–3 | 5–11–2 | 6th | NCHA Semifinals |
| 2012–13 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 24–5–2 | 14–3–1 | 1st | NCAA National Champion |
| Wisconsin–Eau Claire: | Wisconsin–Eau Claire: | 84–72–12 | 40–50–10 | | |
| Wisconsin–Eau Claire (WIAC) (2013–present) ||||||
| 2013–14 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 19–8–1 | 6–5–1 | 3rd | WIAC Champion |
| 2014–15 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 18–7–1 | 9–3–0 | 2nd | WIAC Semifinals |
| 2015–16 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 15–6–6 | 5–2–1 | T–1st | WIAC Semifinals |
| 2016–17 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 18–7–3 | 5–3–0 | 2nd | WIAC Runner-up |
| 2017–18 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 17–10–1 | 5–2–1 | 2nd | WIAC Champion |
| 2018–19 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 19–7–2 | 4–3–1 | 2nd | WIAC Runner-up |
| 2019–20 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 22–4–2 | 11–3–1 | T–1st | NCAA tournament cancelled |
| 2020–21 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 5–3–1 | 5–2–1 | 2nd | WIAC Semifinals |
| 2021–22 | Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 18–11–1 | 9–6–0 | 3rd | WIAC Champion |
| Wisconsin–Eau Claire: | Wisconsin–Eau Claire: | 151–63–18 | 59–29–6 | | |
| Total: | Total: | 235–135–30 | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||