Fife Named Finalist for CJHL Coach Of The Year

CJHL announces its Coach of the Year finalists for 2023-24

TORONTO – The Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), in conjunction with the National Hockey League Coaches’ Association (NHLCA), announced Monday the names of the six finalists for the Darcy Haugan/Mark Cross Memorial Award, emblematic of CJHL Coach of the Year, for the 2023-24 campaign.

Phil Fife, Amherst Ramblers (MHL) – Taking over a team that missed the MHL Playoffs in 2022-23, Fife overhauled the roster and led the team to a 21-point improvement, which was the second-best advancement in the MHL. … The Ramblers went from 16-30-4-2 and a fifth-place finish last season to 27-20-3-2 in 2023-24 to ending up second in the MHL’s Eastlink South Division. … Amherst scored 61 more goals this season with 204, while allowing only fifteen more. … The Ramblers had the sixth-best power play rate (23.2%), improving from second-worst at 17.6% in 2022-23. … The Ramblers were also sixth on the P.K. (78.0%) in the MHL this season. … In winning MHL Coach of the Year honours, this marked the first time an Amherst head coach had won the league award since 1989-90.