Associate head coach Jim Tortorella out at UNH

DURHAM, NH -- Associate head coach Jim Tortorella is no longer with the men's hockey program at the University of New Hampshire. Tortorella, the brother of former NHL head coach John Tortorella, had been the associate head coach at UNH for the past three seasons.

Tortorella, who played college hockey at UNH archrival UMaine, had previously been the Colby College head coach from 1995 until 2011 when he came to Durham.

There is no shortage of qualified UNH alums to be considered for the vacancy. One name that will certainly come up right away is recently departed Northeastern assistant coach Patrick Foley. A former captain at UNH, he has been at the US National Team Development Program and Harvard prior to his stint at NU.

Boston College assistant coach Michael Ayers and Brown assistant Mark White both have defensive backgrounds and are alums of Dick Umile's program. Merrimack assistant Glenn Stewart, Alaska-Anchorage assistant Josh Ciocco and UConn assistant Mike Souza all have more offensive backgrounds, but are respected names in the hockey community.

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Jeff Cox covers college, junior and high school hockey, NCAA recruiting and NHL Draft prospects. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSports.