UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Head Coach Guy Gadowsky and the Penn State men's ice hockey team announced the hiring of Juliano Pagliero as assistant coach earlier Wednesday afternoon.
Pagliero has a decade's worth of coaching experience including eight years at the Division I level and comes to Hockey Valley after spending the previous three seasons on Norm Bazin's staff at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.
"Juliano is a great fit for our program. He has a tremendous reputation around the hockey world and has worked with some excellent programs under excellent coaches," mentioned Gadowsky. "We are thrilled to welcome Pags to Hockey Valley."
During his time in Lowell, Pagliero served as recruiting coordinator while working closely with the River Hawk goaltenders and power-play unit. While on the bench at UML, Pagliero helped guide Tyler Wall to be one of the top goaltenders in the country as well as program history. Wall broke numerous River Hawk records including career victories which now stands at 58. During the 2019-20 season as the senior was second in Hockey East and ninth in the nation with a .931 save percentage while his 2.10 goals-against average was good for fourth in the conference and 18th nationally. Wall, a Mike Richter Award finalist, went on to sign an entry-level contract with the New York Rangers following his senior season.
Prior to his time as a River Hawk, Pagliero was an assistant coach at Colgate from 2015-18 and served a major role in recruiting goaltender Colton Point. Point led the nation with a .944 save percentage, the ninth-best mark in NCAA history, and was second in the country with a 1.74 goals-against average during his sophomore season in 2017-18. Point was a second-team All-American as well as a top-10 Hobey Baker Award Finalist as a sophomore and signed an entry-level contract with the Dallas Stars at the end of the season.
Pagliero spent the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons on the bench at Holy Cross where he played a key role in the development of 2014-15 Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Year Matthew Ginn. Ginn finished his career with several Holy Cross goaltending records including save percentage (.917) and shutouts (8). Pagliero also had a hand in recruiting the leading scoring class for the 2014-15 season as well as the top point producing forward trio and the top two point producing defensemen in the last decade at Holy Cross.
Pagliero began his collegiate coaching career with a two-year stint at Division III Utica College (2011-13).
A native of Dalroy, Alberta, Pagliero was a four-year goaltender for Niagara University from 2005-2009 where he was a three-time all-conference selection and the College Hockey America (CHA) Player-of-the-Year as a senior. With Pagliero in goal, the Purple Eagles won back-to-back regular-season titles in 2005-06 and 2006-07 and reached the NCAA Tournament in 2008 after capturing the CHA Championship.
"I am honored to be given this opportunity to join the staff at Penn State. I want to thank Coach Gadowsky for believing in me," commented Pagliero. "I am excited to work with him and the entire staff in Hockey Valley and continue to build on the success the program has already had."
