Hawks pick McGill grad Nobes as new hockey coach Jul 06, 06 Ice Hockey (M)

By Earl Zukerman

WATERLOO -- Kelly Nobes is the new coach of the Wilfrid Laurier University men's hockey team. Nobes, a former McGill hockey star and assistant coach, had been head coach for the past five years at Royal Military College in Kingston.

Nobes replaces Steve Martell who left the Golden Hawk program last month for a teaching opportunity at Cape Breton University.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to lead the Laurier men's hockey team", said Nobes. "It is quite evident to me that Laurier takes its athletics seriously and the recent success of several Golden Hawk teams, including hockey verifies that. I look forward to building on a strong hockey tradition and plan to set the bar high for the years to come."

A native of West Hill, Ont., Nobes earned a bachelor of education and a master's degree from McGill in 1997 and 2001, respectively. He played four seasons for the hockey Redmen and graduated as the ninth-leading scorer in school history with 181 career points. After playing pro in Europe, he returned to McGill and served for two years as an assistant to head coach Martin Raymond.

"Taking over a national championship contending team required an individual with seasoned head coaching experience," said Peter Baxter, director of athletics and recreation. "Kelly Nobes has the full package: experience as university athlete at McGill and head coaching experience at RMC."

Laurier opens their season on October 13, 2006 at the University of Toronto.

McGill swept their two games against WLU last year, winning 13-4 in pre-season play and 4-3 in double overtime at the CIS hockey championship tournament in Edmonton.

The Redmen are slated to play Laurier only once this season, at McConnell Arena on Nov. 17, 2006.