Lancers Announce New Additions to Hockey Operations Staff
September 23, 2022 – United States Hockey League (USHL) – Omaha Lancers News Release
OMAHA, NE. – The Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League are proud to announce new additions to their hockey operations staff, starting in the 2022-23 season.
Noel Rubin – Rubin, from Freehold, New Jersey, originally joined the Lancers in March of 2022 as Head Scout. But after the coaching change over the summer of 2022, he was named Assistant General Manager and Director of Player Personnel under Head Coach & General Manager, David Wilkie.
Rubin began his hockey coaching career with the New Jersey Colonials where he was the Director of Hockey from 2003-2018. During that 16-year stretch, Rubin won three Silver Sticks Championships and a National Championship in 2011.
On top of working with the Lancers, Rubin is the Director of Midget Hockey for the New Jersey Rockets, where his teams have qualified for the USA National Tournament each of the last three seasons.
Rubin also has an abundance of USHL experience as he has held the position of Eastern District Scout for both the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and the Muskegon Lumberjacks.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to work with such a storied franchise as the Omaha Lancers. I look forward to working with Head Coach & General Manager, David Wilkie, who has a wealth of knowledge in junior hockey and the Lancers organization. I’d like to thank the ownership group, Mr. Picozzi and Mr. Ardellini for giving me this opportunity,” states Rubin, “I am excited to work with our scouting staff and find the best prospects around the country to bring them to the Lancers in order to develop those athletes into college and professional hockey players.”
Mike Monti – Like Rubin, Monti, from East Islip, New York, was also brought onto the Lancers’ staff back in the second half of the 2021-22 season. This year, he is named Assistant General Manager, Director of Player Development and Assistant Coach.
Throughout the last decade, Monti has held coaching positions for Prep School Hockey, NCAA Division I & III, and the East Coast Hockey League.
From 2009-11, Monti served as an Assistant coach and Recruiting Coordinator at his alma mater, Western New England University.
The following three seasons, Monti was the Director of Hockey Operations at the University of Vermont, an NCAA Division I team. While there, the Catamounts reached the NCAA national Tournament, the Hockey East Championship and had 23 players sign professional contracts following the conclusion of their college hockey careers.
From 2015 to the spring of 2017, Monti held an Assistant Coach position at Williams College, then served as Head Coach for the 2017-18 season. Monti propelled his team to the NCAA Elite Eight and the NESCAC semifinals in that single season.
Leading up to his time in Omaha, Monti coached within New England Prep School Hockey while simultaneously holding the Development Coach role for the Florida Everblades of the East Coast Hockey League.
“I have loved my time as a Lancer so far and I am excited for the 2022-23 season. A thank you to Coach Wilkie and the ownership group for this opportunity. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work in a role to develop players, present and future, for our club,” states Monti.
Matt Bruneteau – Bruneteau joins the Lancers’ organization in the summer of 2022 as Assistant General Manager and Assistant Coach.
Bruneteau has both a diverse playing and coaching resume throughout the last 14 years before returning to his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska this season.
Bruneteau played two full seasons of junior hockey between 2008 & 2010. Those seasons being spent with the Wenatchee Wild of the North American Hockey League where he served as captain, before being pulled up to the Lincoln Stars of the USHL halfway through his first season. After the partial season with the Stars, he was promoted to captain for the 2009-10 season.
Following his two seasons in junior hockey, he spent four seasons with Lake Superior State University, playing in 146 games for the Lakers; 75 of which were played with a letter on his jersey.
Following his college career, Bruneteau spent a few seasons in professional hockey, playing for both the Fort Wayne Komets and the Greenville Road Warriors of the East Coast Hockey League before heading to Europe for the 2014-15 & 2015-16 seasons.
Bruneteau spent his two seasons overseas with the Strasbourg Etoile Noire in Ligue Mangus to conclude his playing career.
His coaching career kicked off with a program he helped start, at Stevenson University (NCAA Division III) in Maryland, leading them to the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Conference Championship.
Following those two seasons with Stevenson University, he served as Assistant Coach at the University of Alaska-Anchorage from 2018-2021, before returning to junior hockey in the fall of 2021 to assistant coach the Des Moines Buccaneers in the USHL.
“I’d like to thank Coach Wilkie and the Omaha Lancers’ organization for this opportunity. I grew up going the Lancer games, and I am excited to be back home,” states Bruneteau.
Mathieu Fernandes – Fernandes joins the Lancers’ coaching staff for the 2022-23 season as Assistant Coach/Goalie Coordinator.
Fernandes comes to the Lancers from his home country of Switzerland for his first season of coaching in North America after seven seasons of coaching and six seasons of goaltending in elite leagues overseas.
Throughout his playing career (2005-2011), he played with the Genéve-Servette program from U15 to U20 in leagues like: Top Mini, Top Novizen, Elite Novizen, Elite Jr. A, Swiss Division 3 & 2, as well as Top Junioren.
His coaching career in Switzerland started in the 2015-16 season, where he has coached U15-U20 goaltenders within the Genéve-Servette program, as well as spending a year within Leysin Sport Academy.
“This will be my first experience in the United States as a goalie coach in the USHL. The Omaha Lancers have me the opportunity to learn and see something new, and I am very impatient to start this new challenge,” states Fernandes.
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