The ACHA men’s hockey head coach will help lead the U.S. men’s team in Changchun, China, this January
Tom Mooradian has worn the Purple Eagles sweater as a captain and stood behind the Niagara bench for more than a decade. This winter, he’ll represent a new team: Team USA.
Mooradian, head coach of Niagara’s nationally ranked ACHA men’s club hockey team, has been named an assistant coach of the U.S. men’s ice hockey team for the 2027 FISU Winter World University Games. The Games run Jan. 13–25 in Changchun, China.
“Representing my country is an incredible honor and doing it as a Niagara alumnus makes it even more meaningful,” Mooradian said. “Our players work hard to compete at the highest level of collegiate club hockey, and this shows them, and future Purple Eagles, that the path from our program to Team USA is a real one.”
Mooradian’s Niagara story started on the ice. As a player, he recorded 63 points (28 goals, 35 assists) in 111 games, served as captain his senior year and earned all-academic honors three times before graduating in 2012.
He returned as an assistant coach in 2014, was promoted to associate head coach in 2015 and took over the program in 2020. Since then, he has compiled a 120-38-6 record as head coach.
The honors have followed. Mooradian is a three-time finalist for ACHA Men’s Division 1 Coach of the Year, a two-time Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) Coach of the Year and a Northeast Collegiate Hockey League (NECHL) Coach of the Year. His teams have won an NECHL championship and an ESCHL regular-season title.
A Youngstown, N.Y., native, Mooradian lives there with his wife, Kalli, and daughter, Madeline.
Niagara’s team competes in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), the national governing body for non-NCAA collegiate hockey. The Purple Eagles are among the country’s top programs, ranked sixth in the nation as of Oct. 21.
The ACHA was again selected to represent the United States in both men’s and women’s ice hockey at the Games. This is the 12th time the association has fielded the U.S. men’s team. As part of the coaching staff, Mooradian will help select the U.S. roster, which is drawn largely from the ACHA’s top Men’s Division 1 programs.
“We are proud to see Coach Mooradian recognized on an international stage,” said Chris Sheffield, Niagara’s vice president for student affairs. “His selection reflects the strength of our club hockey program and the commitment of the coaches and students who have built it. It also opens the door to an experience few college athletes ever have.”
While Mooradian is in China, Associate Head Coach Seth Van Voorhis will oversee Niagara’s Men’s Division 1 program, with Men’s Division 2 Head Coach Sean Casilio running the bench.
Organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), the Winter World University Games are the largest international winter multi-sport event for university students. The 2027 edition will bring together more than 2,500 athletes and staff from over 50 countries, competing in 12 sports and 108 medal events, with broadcasts reaching more than 100 countries.
The United States will play in Group A of the nine-team men’s tournament, alongside Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Korea and Student Neutral Athletes from the Russian Federation. All men’s games will be played at the 8,552-seat Changchun Olympic Park Ice Arena.
