Pat Ferschweiler is the best coach in college hockey. His John Marshall teammates tell us why.

ROCHESTER Shjon Podein played in 826 games across 11 seasons in the NHL.He won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001, when he was teammates with some of the sports all-time greats, including Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Patrick Roy.But when Podein looks back on the entirety of his playing career from the time he started playing in the Rochester Youth Hockey Association, through high school hockey at John Marshall, followed by Division I college hockey at Minnesota Duluth, then more than a decade in the NHL two players jump to the front of his mind.I was kind of known for my work ethic, mainly because of a strong lack of talent, Podein said with a laugh, but I can think of two people who worked harder than me or, worked at the same level.

One is Rod BrindAmour, whos now the head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, and the other is Patrick Ferschweiler.

Seeing the amount of effort he put into his game ...

hes one of the very, very few who Ill say worked at that same level.Podein recalls first meeting Ferschweiler at a sleepover at a friends house when Podein was 10 and Ferschweiler was 8.

The friendship formed that day carried on through the one season they played together at John Marshall (1985-86, Podeins senior season) and has grown stronger to this day.Oh my goodness, I couldnt even tell you, Podein said.

The bond between us Rochester boys who grew up together, our biggest hope was to one day play for the John Marshall Rockets varsity team.

That was our goal, all we wanted to do, when we were young.So it was with great pride that Podein learned the news about his friend and former teammate on Tuesday: Ferschweiler, the floppy-haired diligent worker whom Podein had mentored at some summer camps at Graham Arena in the early 1980s, was named the best coach in Division I college hockey.

Ferschweiler is the winner of the 2025 Spencer Penrose Award, given annually to the top coach in the sport.Now minus the floppy hair, Ferschweiler has the same intensity, the same work ethic and the same success.

In his fourth season as the mens hockey head coach at his alma mater, Western Michigan University, he has the Broncos in the Frozen Four for the first time in program history.

Theyll play Boston University or Penn State for a national championship Saturday in St.

Louis (6:30 p.m., ESPN2) after beating NCHC rival Denver 3-2 in double-overtime Thursday night in a national semifinal.I still joke; I remember when he got the job at Western, Podein said.

I got mad at him because I said Patrick, youll have that team in the top 10 (in the national rankings) by Christmastime, and he did it by Thanksgiving.To me it was just a no-brainer that hed get the best out of them.The Hockey Gods will bring things full-circle in two years, when Podeins son Junior heads to Kalamazoo, Mich., where hell play for the Broncos and Ferschweiler, who could have more than one Penrose Award in his trophy case by then.This is a really big deal for Patrick to accomplish something like this at what youd call a smaller school, Podein said of Ferschweiler winning the Penrose.

Its remarkable, it really is.

I hope people understand the job hes done there.The Post Bulletin spoke with five of Ferschweilers John Marshall teammates from the late 1980s Podein, Doug Zmolek, Mike Aikens, Eric Means and Chris Ratzloff to find out who he was as a high school player and team leader, and what has made him so successful as a coach.Heres their analysis of their friend and high school teammate:A turning pointIn the fall of 1988, Ferschweiler enrolled at Minnesota Duluth and walked on to the hockey team guided by legendary coach Mike Sertich.

Ferschweilers time in Duluth lasted exactly one semester, before being cut.He returned home at the end of that semester to play for the Rochester Mustangs in the USHL.

That was his first experience playing for coach Mark Kaufman.I think that was the moment in his life where there was a before and an after, said Aikens, a 1989 JM graduate who played with Ferschweiler in youth hockey, at JM and again with the Mustangs.

Before that, he was a good player who worked decently hard and always had a good hockey sense.

When he joined us with the Mustangs, he was coachedextremelyhard, to the point where Mark Kaufman was so hard on him that he was either going to do things exactly how Kaufman wanted or hed have forced him to quit.(Kaufman) was hard on him.

To Ferschs credit, he bought in, he changed the way he played and he became areallygood player.That led to Ferschweilers opportunity to play at Western Michigan, where he excelled, scoring 30 goals and recording 95 points in three seasons, including being named a captain in his final season as a Bronco, 1992-93.

He then played eight seasons of professional hockey, including six with the Kansas City Blades of the IHL.

The assistant coach in K.C.

who brought him there: Mark Kaufman.Fersch went from being kind of kicked around, to gaining Marks respect and having him bring him to Kansas City, said Aikens, who was an assistant coach at Division I St.

Lawrence University the past three seasons.Aikens has followed closely, from afar, as Ferschweiler has led Western Michigan to a nation-best 33 wins (so far) and a No.

1 seed in the NCAA Tournament this season.

Hes done so with six transfers on the roster and just one player who was selected in the first three rounds of the NHL Draft (forward Zach Nehring, a third-round pick by Winnipeg in 2023).Its been fun to watch his journey, Aikens said.

I think everyone is proud of him and everyone in Rochester should know what hes doing (at WMU) and what theyve done.

To make it to the Frozen Four and build that program like he has is awesome.Now, you see guys wanting to go play for them.

Its not just Fersch, its his whole staff, but he just has that something special.

An under the radar guyBy all accounts Ferschweiler was a playmaker on the ice, a puck distributor who could score goals.

He was also a grinder, and as Podein said, a player whose success came from a natural work ethic.From his senior season at JM on, Ferschweiler never had more goals than assists in a season.

And he had more penalty minutes than points in all three of his seasons at Western Michigan, and five of his six seasons in the IHL.That mindset and attitude have served him well in his coaching career, which started with six seasons as the head coach/GM of the Russell Stover U18 AAA program in Kansas City in the 2000s and has included stints as an assistant coach and/or associate head coach with Western Michigan, Grand Rapids (Mich.) of the American Hockey League and the NHLs Detroit Red Wings.Those who know him best say they wouldnt be surprised if he gets a chance to be an NHL head coach if he can be pulled away from Western Michigan.Its been awesome to watch him be so successful and have a chance to win a national championship, said Means, a 1989 JM graduate who coached Division I mens or womens hockey at Minnesota State, Mankato for 20 years, from 1995-2015.

Hes always kind of been an under-the-radar guy, whether it was in high school or juniors, his college playing days or when he was at Russell Stover.Hes always had to work for everything hes earned.Ferschweilers long-time friends say they can see a lot of his influence in the way his team at Western Michigan plays.Ive known Fersch for a long, long time; he gave me a ride to school every day, Means said with a laugh.

Fersch is Fersch.

Hes relatively quiet but he just has a self-confidence about him, in a good way.

Hes extremely honest, tells you what hes thinking.

Theres no behind-the-scenes end game with him.

You can take him at face value.Consistency the keyFerschweilers best attribute as a head coach seems to be his ability to adjust his style and systems to meet the talent on the roster.Two years ago, the Broncos had the highest-scoring line in the country, when Ryan McAllister, Jason Polin and Max Sasson combined for 138 points.

That trio left after the 2022-23 season, but Western Michigan managed five 30-point scorers and three players with 43 or more points a year ago.Two of those five came to WMU out of the transfer portal and another, star forward Alex Bump, chose the Broncos after de-committing from Vermont.

This season has been more balanced, with seven double-digit goal-scorers, led by Bumps 24, tied for eighth-most in the country.I think Fersch just knows what type of player he wants, guys who can help him build, and then he goes and gets them, said 1989 JM grad Doug Zmolek, who was a first-round draft pick and played nearly 500 games in the NHL.

That might not always be the greatest player on Earth, but he has a vision of the type of player he wants.And those players always seem to be molded to excel in Western Michigans system.Fersch was a very smart hockey player.

He probably wasnt a guy who wouldve brought you out of your seat if you only saw him once, but over time ..., Zmolek said.

He was really smart and consistent, never really had lows, sometimes had some big highs, but never any lows.Its like his team is playing this year, thats the type of player he was.

He was someone you could always count on.

A Rochester boy at heartFor all the big-time players Ferschweiler has coached, for all the benches hes stood on in NHL and Division I college hockey arenas, he hasnt forgotten where it all started.Chris Ratzloff, a classmate, teammate and linemate of Ferschweilers at JM, was walking through Midway Airport in Chicago a little more than a year ago when he saw a handful of Western Michigan hockey players walking by.

Ratzloff stopped the players and asked if Ferschweiler was with them.

Indeed, he was.Ratzloff waited by his gate until Ferschweiler came into view.He was off getting something to eat, so I waited by the gate then ran up to him and surprised him, Ratzloff said.

He was smiling and joking, and taking selfies to send to our friends.

...

Thats how he was growing up, a good, loyal friend who could be kind of goofy and silly sometimes.In that 1987-88 season that ended at the state tournament for the Rockets, Ferschweiler centered one of JMs top lines, with the Ratzloff brothers Chris and Corey on his wings.

Also on that team were Zmolek, Means, Aikens, goalie Jeff Kruesel (St.

Cloud State, L.A.

Kings draft pick), Eric Monsrud (Bemidji State) and Michael Curry (Notre Dame), among others.

Its a collection of talent on one team not often seen in southern Minnesota.We were a competitive group, said Chris Ratzloff, who coached the Rochester Grizzlies to the NA3HL national championship in 2022.

Everything turned into a game or a competition.

When we would do summer workouts and practices, we had an old basketball that didnt hold air, so wed play a game in the gym before practice where we couldnt dribble.

It was guys just beating on one another and we loved it.

...

The basketball players would be getting ready to practice and theyd just shake their heads at us.It was a pretty special group.

We were all driven similarly.

We played hard and played for each other.Now, Ferschweiler is a win away from being a national champion as a coach.Its the one bullet point missing from Ferschweiler and Western Michigans resume this season.

They won an NCHC regular-season conference title, a postseason conference championship and Ferschweiler won the Penrose Award.Its ...

I feel blessed to have grown up with the group of guys we grew up with, Ratzloff said.

To see your friends ...

Podes won the Stanley Cup, now Ferschy wins the Penrose and is in the (national championship game).

Its really not that surprising, to be honest, just because hes a great person, a great guy and has worked extremely hard for everything.The best in the businessRochester native Pat Ferschweiler is the 2025 Spencer Penrose Award winner, as the best coach in Division I men's college hockey.

Here's a look at the coaching path that led to the 55-year-old being named the country's top coach: YEARS TEAM/PROGRAM ROLE 2004-10 Russell Stover U18 AAA Head coach/GM 2010-13 Western Michigan University Assistant coach 2013-14 Western Michigan University Associate H.C.

2014-15 Grand Rapids (AHL) Assistant coach 2015-19 Detroit Red Wings (NHL) Assistant coach 2019-21 Western Michigan University Associate H.C.

2021-pres.

Western Michigan University Head coach ]]>.

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