Joe Cranston - Head Women's Hockey Coach
Oct. 19, 2006

Joe Cranston starts his eighth season as women's hockey coach at UW-River Falls.

He is the only coach in the sport's history and has led the Falcons to national and regional prominence. His teams have finished no lower than third place in the highly competitive Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. Cranston needs just one win to reach 100 career victories. He enters the 2006-07 season with a 99-71-11 collegiate coaching record.

Cranston has led the Falcons to more overall and NCHA wins than any other current coach in the league. His teams have won more NCHA and more NCAA playoff games than any other active NCHA coach.

He has coached the Falcons to six straight winning seasons. Six times players he has coached have been named All-Americans. Thirty-three of his players have earned All-NCHA recognition and thirty-two players have earned NCHA All-Academic honors.

In 2005 the Falcons reached the NCHA playoff championship game for the fourth time in the league's five-year history. UWRF beat Superior, 5-4, in overtime to reach the finals.

The Falcons had another banner year in 2004 finishing 17-9-1 overall and 11-4-1 in the NCHA. The Falcons advanced to the NCHA playoffs and won the third place game.

UWRF had its best season ever in the school's seven-year history in 2003. They finished 20-6-4 overall and won the NCHA regular season title with a 12-1-3 record. They went on to win the NCHA playoff championship for the second time. The Falcons then got the team's first ever berth into the NCAA Div. III playoffs. In a first round game the Falcons beat St. Thomas, 5-1, and advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four. In Elmira, N.Y., the Falcons lost to the eventual national champions, Elmira, 2-1 in the semifinals. The 20 wins is a Falcon record for victories in a season.

In 2002 the Falcons finished 13-11-3 overall and 8-6-2 and finished third in the NCHA. UWRF won a first-round NCHA playoff game to reach the league playoff championship game for the second straight year. UWRF lost a close 2-1 decision to UW-Stevens Point in the title game in Stevens Point. In 2001 the Falcons finished 19-7-1 and finished second in the NCHA regular-season standings. Cranston then led the Falcons to the NCHA Playoff Championship. UWRF beat UW-Stevens Point, 4-1, in the playoff semifinals and then the Falcons topped regular-season champions, UW-Superior, 2-1 in the title game.

Cranston was the head coach of the Somerset boy's varsity high school team from 1990-1998. He was an assistant coach there from 1988-1990. He has coached the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association camps, clinics and select teams for over 14 years. Cranston has conducted several hockey clinics and served on the WIAA All-State selection committee for two years. He is also a coaching instructor for USA Hockey.

A native of Fergus Falls, Minn., he played youth and high school hockey there. He played for the high school team from 1979-1983 and was the team captain as a senior. He played, and was the captain, of the 1983-84 North Iowa Huskies of the USHL. Cranston then returned to Fergus Falls to attend the community college where he played with that team in 1985-86. He was the team's captain, MVP and was ranked in the Top 10 in the nation in scoring.

He earned an AA degree from Fergus Falls Community College in 1986 and his undergraduate degree in elementary education from UW-River Falls in 1990. He taught third grade in the Somerset School District from 1990-97.

Contact Coach Cranston.

Joe Cranston


The Cranston File