Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Erickson takes over as new head boys’ hockey coach

By Tyler Julson

tyler.julson@albertleatribune.com

After spending seven years coaching youth hockey and as an assistant on varsity teams, Matt Erickson will begin the 2021-22 season as the head coach of the Albert Lea boys’ varsity team. 

Erickson, an Albert Lea graduate, played hockey for the Tigers under the legendary coach Roy Nystrom, and has been in love with the game since a young age.

He said he wanted to get into coaching when his daughter, Keira, was learning to skate around age 3, when Erickson and his family lived in Eden Prairie.

“The Mite coordinator at the time was Mike Terwilliger (now the head coach of the Bloomington Jefferson boys’ hockey team) ,and I saw the way he interacted with the kids,” Erickson said. “Coach Terwilliger made a big impression on me at that time. I felt the obligation to give kids in Mites the same experience he was giving kids.”

Erickson and his family moved back to Albert Lea in 2013, and he quickly became involved in the Albert Lea Hockey Association and started coaching at the Mites level.

Erickson described his coaching style as very hands-on, while also stressing the importance of teamwork and work ethic.

Erickson spent a number of years as an assistant on the boys’ hockey team before being named the new head coach. Despite being around the program, Erickson said there are going to be some challenges in the move from assistant to head coach, but he’s looking forward to them nonetheless.

“I think the biggest challenge will be the day-to-day planning,” Erickson said. “I think overcoming this challenge happens by putting the work in and believing in the vision that has been established within the program.”

Last season, the Tigers went 9-10 with a second round loss to Dodge County in the Section 1A tournament. Despite losing a number of key players from last season, there are a host of players returning who saw a significant amount of time on the varsity lineup.

While there are goals the team will set at the beginning of the season, Erickson said competing for a Big Nine Conference championship, a section title and ultimately a berth at the Minnesota state tournament is always a goal.

“I want players to enjoy the experience of playing high school hockey in the state of Minnesota and representing Albert Lea,” Erickson said. “I am looking forward to coaching these players and instilling them with life lessons that they can use in the future after graduating high school.”

The team is currently participating in some offseason skate arounds. Their official season will not begin until Nov. 15.