Chris Schultz enters his 20th season leading the Geneseo men’s ice hockey program in 2025-26.
The 2014 and 2016 Edward Jeremiah Award Winner as the Division III National Coach of the Year, Schultz was hired by his alma mater in 2006 as only the fourth head coach in the program’s now 48-year history. He has guided the Knights to the postseason on 19 occasions, including a home playoff game each time. Named the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Coach of the Year in five seasons (2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020), Schultz was also named the winner of the Jeremiah Award in 2014 and 2016, and a finalist for the award in 2011 and 2013 before finishing runner-up in 2019 and 2020. In 2024-25, Schultz led the Knights through a transition to the UCHC, where they captured the conference title and reached the Final Four.
The Schultz File
2006-07 | 16-10-0 (.615)
2007-08 | 8-17-0 (.320)
2008-09 | 14-12-1 (.528)
2009-10 | 13-10-2 (.560)
2010-11 | 6-8-2 (.654)
2011-12 | 13-12-1 (.519)
2012-13 | 17-9-1 (.648)
2013-14 | 23-7-0 (.767) - SUNYAC Runner-Up, NCAA Frozen Four
2014-15 | 12-10-4 (.538)
2015-16 | 20-4-6 (.767) - SUNYAC Champion, NCAA Frozen Four
2016-17 | 17-7-3 (.685)
2017-18 | 20-5-3 (.768) - SUNYAC Champion, NCAA Quarterfinals
2018-19 | 25-2-2 (.926) - SUNYAC Champion, NCAA Frozen Four
2019-20 | 22-3-2 (.852) - SUNYAC Champion, NCAA Quarterfinals*
2020-21 | No Season (COVID)
2021-22 | 24-4-1 (.845) - SUNYAC Champion, NCAA Frozen Four, NCAA National Runner-Up
2022-23 | 18-7-2 (.704)
2023-24 | 21-6-0 (.778)
2024-25 | 24-5-1 (.817)
19 seasons - 323-140-31 (.685)
Under Schultz’s watch, 16 Knights have earned 22 All-America honors. Devin McDonald ’19 was voted the 2019 Sid Watson Award winner as the Division III National Player of the Year and was one of ten First-Team All-Americans Schultz has mentored.
All-Americans Under Schultz
(22 Awards/16 Honorees)
2025 - Peter Morgan 2nd Team Forward
2025 - Sean Melso 3rd Team Defense
2024 - Alex Wilkins 2nd Team Defense
2023 - Matt Petizian 3rd Team Goalie
2022 - Peter Morgan 1st Team Forward (USCHO.com NCAA Div. III Rookie of the Year)
2022 - Dan Bosio 3rd Team Forward
2022- Chris Perna 3rd Team Defense
2020 - Conlan Keenan 1st Team Forward (Sid Watson Award Runner-Up)
2020 - Andrew Romano 1st Team Forward
2019 – Devin McDonald 1st Team Goalie (Sid Watson Award - D3 Player of the Year)
2019 – Conlan Keenan 1st Team Forward
2019 – Duggie Lagrone 1st Team Defense
2019 – Andrew Romano 2nd Team Forward
2018 - Pat Condon 2nd Team Defense
2018 - Conlan Keenan 3rd Team Forward
2017 - Stephen Collins 1st Team Forward (Sid Watson Award Runner-Up)
2016 - Stephen Collins 1st Team Forward
2016 - Trevor Hills 2nd Team Forward
2016 - Pat Condon 3rd Team Defense
2014 - Zachary Vit 1st Team Forward
2011 - Danny Scagnelli 3rd Team Defense
2007 - Mitch Stephens 1st Team Forward
The Knights finished the 2024-25 campaign at 24-5-1, winning the UCHC Championship game at Utica, hosting a First Round NCAA Tournament game, then traveling to Aurora and earning a quarterfinal win to reach the frozen four. Peter Morgan and Sean Melso earned All-American honors for the Knights, while Morgan was also named the Ira S. Wilson Award winner at the annual Geneseo Athletics Awards Show.
Geneseo finished their 2023-24 campaign at 21-6-0, making it to the SUNYAC finals and then a host of a First Round NCAA Tournament game against Curry College. Highlighting the Knights postseason honors was Alex Wilkins being named a Second-Team All-American, and Adam Harris earning SUNYAC Goaltender of the Year honors. Geneseo earned a total of nine All-Conference honors that season
The Knights finished out their 2022-23 season 18-7-2 while making it to the SUNYAC semifinals under Schultz. Geneseo went 11-4-1 in conference play and shutout Fredonia in the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament. Goalie Matt Petizian '23 earned All-American honors, as well.
After having the 2020-21 season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Schultz rebounded with one of the most prolific seasons in program history. The Knights finished 24-4-1, coasted to a fourth-consecutive SUNYAC Championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III Frozen Four in Lake Placid, N.Y. after defeating Babson in the national quarterfinals, 3-2. In Lake Placid, Geneseo walloped University of New England, 8-3, in the semifinal round to advance to the National Championship game for the first time in program history. In front of a raucous Geneseo crowd, the Knights fell to Adrian, 5-2, in the national championship. Forward Peter Morgan '25 was named the USCHO.com NCAA Division III Rookie of the Year while he, Dan Bosio '22 and Chris Perna '22 each earned All-American honors.
In 2019-2020, Schultz led the Knights to a third-consecutive SUNYAC Championship behind a pair of All-American forwards, Conlan Keenan '20 and Andrew Romano '20. The Knights completed the regular season with a 13-1-2 conference record to earn the top seed in the SUNYAC Tournament for the second-consecutive season and dispatched Potsdam, 7-0, in the SUNYAC Semifinals and defeated Oswego, 4-1, in the conference final. Geneseo earned a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament and was scheduled to face the winner of Hobart and Adrian before the postseason was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Knights ranked first in the nation with 5.07 goals per game as Keenan and Romano each finished within the nation's top-four scorers.
Schultz guided Geneseo to a record-breaking 2018-19 campaign, finishing with a 25-2-2 record for the winningest season in program history. The Knights compiled a 13-1-2 SUNYAC mark to earn the SUNYAC Tournament top seed, before defeating Fredonia, 5-2, and Oswego, 4-3, for their second straight and third SUNYAC Championship in four years. Playing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in six seasons, Geneseo defeated visiting Manhattanville, 8-2, to clinch its third Frozen Four appearance since 2014, before falling to Norwich (Vt.), 4-2, in a game played at UW-Stevens Point. The Knights led the nation with 4.90 goals per game, including the top power play unit that converted nearly 30 percent of its extra-man opportunities, while setting Division III records with 12 shutouts and a 1.31 scoring defense. Geneseo also ranked No. 3 in the final national poll for the highest finish in program history.
Schultz led the 2017-18 Knights to their second SUNYAC Championship in three years, defeating Buffalo State, 5-2, in the semifinals and Fredonia, 7-1, in back-to-back home games. Earning an automatic NCAA Tournament bid, Geneseo defeated Hobart on the road, 4-2, before falling on a last-second goal to visiting Colby, 2-1, in the national quarterfinals to finish with a 20-6-3 record.
Schultz oversaw a run to the Frozen Four as well as the program’s first SUNYAC Championship in 10 seasons during the 2015-16 campaign. Seeded third for the SUNYAC Tournament, Geneseo defeated Potsdam, 4-1, in a home first-round game, before moving past second-seeded Buffalo State, 6-1, on the road to avenge a pair of regular-season losses to the Bengals. The Knights upset top-seeded Plattsburgh, 7-1, to win their first title since back-to-back championships in 2005 and 2006 and account for the 150th victory of Schultz’s coaching career. Geneseo defeated Salve Regina (R.I.), 7-1, and Williams (Mass.), 2-1, in a pair of home NCAA Tournament games to punch its ticket to historic Lake Placid, N.Y. for a date with UW-Stevens Point in the national semifinals. Succumbing, 5-1, to the eventual national champions, the Knights finished with a 20-5-6 while landing fifth in the final USCHO.com national poll.
Schultz guided the program to its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament Semifinals in 2013-14, finishing the season with a then school record-tying 23-7-0 mark. Also compiling the best SUNYAC record (14-2) ever by a Geneseo squad, the Knights closed the regular season with six-straight victories to clinch the SUNYAC regular-season championship and home-ice advantage throughout the conference tournament. Following a first-round bye, Geneseo shutout Buffalo State, 2-0, in the semifinals to earn its first championship appearance in nine seasons. In a wild shootout against defending champion Oswego in front of a sold-out Wilson Ice Arena crowd, Geneseo came back from a 5-1 late second-period deficit to tie the game, 6-6, before succumbing on a Laker goal with 29 seconds remaining in regulation. Receiving an NCAA at-large bid, Geneseo defeated visiting Nichols (Mass.), 3-2, and Norwich (Vt.), 3-2, for the first NCAA Tournament wins in program history, before falling, 6-2, to eventual national champion St. Norbert (Wisc.) in a game played at Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine.
With Schultz behind the bench, the Knights have garnered national rankings every year but one. In 2012-13, Schultz led the Knights to their highest win total in seven years, finishing with 17-9-1 record that included an 11-4-1 league mark and the third seed for the SUNYAC Tournament. The 2010-11 campaign saw the Knights climb as high as No. 6 in the national rankings en route to a 16-8-2 record and the second seed for the SUNYAC Tournament with a 10-5-1 league finish.
In his inaugural season in 2006-07, Schultz led the Knights to a 16-10 record and a 10-4 SUNYAC mark that was only four points behind eventual national champion Oswego. It was only the third time in the previous 16 season that Geneseo has won more than 15 games.
A native of Chili, N.Y., Schultz was an assistant coach at Geneseo under current RIT associate head coach Brian Hills for three seasons (2000-2003) before serving three seasons as the head coach at his high school alma mater, Aquinas Institute (2003-2006). A private catholic school located in nearby Rochester, N.Y., Schultz led the Little Irish to a 54-14-3 record, including a runner-up finish for the 2006 New York State Class A Championship after winning the Section V Class A title.
Schultz graduated from Geneseo in 1997 with a dual degree in special education and history before completing a master’s degree in education in 2002 at SUNY Brockport. As a student-athlete, Schultz was a two-time captain for the Knights while finishing with 55 career points (26 goals, 29 assists). A member of the SUNYAC Commissioner’s List and All-Academic Team, he was awarded ECAC East Region USAir Rookie of the Week on one occasion.
Prior to his collegiate career, Schultz played one season with the Rochester Monarchs junior hockey team, serving as team captain and setting a team record with seven short-handed goals in 1993. He left Aquinas as the eighth-highest scorer in school history and 38th all-time in Section V.
A resident of Livonia, N.Y., Schultz and his wife, Christy, have two sons -- Will and Drew.
