Dan Fridgen was named the 11th head coach of the Rensselaer men’s hockey program on July 20, 1994, and is now in his tenth season at the helm. He owns a 183-154-30 (.540) career record, including five 20-win seasons, which is just shy of tying the school record for career wins.

Fridgen began his coaching career at Union College as an assistant to Charlie Morrison and later to Bruce Delventhal (1985-89). Well-respected in hockey circles, especially for his work ethic, he has built a reputation as one of the top recruiters in all of college hockey.

A 1982 graduate of Colgate University, Fridgen has a brilliant career as a high-scoring left wing for the Raiders. As a junior, he helped Colgate to the NCAA quarterfinals while leading the raiders in goals (37), assists (31), points (68) and penalty minutes (164). A three-year captain and the team’s top offensive player as a junior and senior, he finished his career in third place on Colgate’s all-time scoring list with 192 points (114 goals, 78 assists) and first in penalty minutes (387).

Fridgen signed a free agent contract with the Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League after his senior season at Colgate. He played two years in the Whalers organization, spending part of one year with Hartford in the NHL and the rest of the time with the Binghamton Whalers of the American Hockey League. In 13 NHL games he tallied two goals, three assists and two penalty minutes. In 125 AHL contests, he had 45 goals and 43 assists. He also had 85 minutes in penalties.