Education
The Tigers finished as National Runners-Up in his sophomore season and continued with two more strong campaigns (including Thomas being captain in his final year), before Thomas ended his playing days and turned to coaching.
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Matt Thomas
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Career
Thomas started his college career as a player for Rochester Institute of Technology during a period where the team was at the top of the Division III ranks. Thomas stayed with Rochester Institute of Technology for one season as an assistant before moving on to Division I, signing up with Maine in the early 2000s. Thomas arrived in Orono just after Shawn Walsh was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and helped the team through the difficult period when Walsh died the following year and the team was turned over to Tim Whitehead.
Thomas remained under Whitehead for one year before heading to the professional ranks, serving as an assistant for the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies for two seasons before being promoted to head coach/Director of Hockey Operations for the 2004-2005 season.
Thomas was able to get the Falcons to reach the playoffs in each of the following two seasons but in 2008-2009, with the economic downturn, Fresno announced that they would cease operations 30 games into the season, ending Thomas" tenure with the team Thomas did not remain unemployed for long as his former team (since having relocated) offered him the chance to turn around their season and Thomas agreed to take over as head coach for the Stockton Thunder.
With the Thunder Thomas was able to get the team back on the right track and make the playoffs is his half-season behind the bench. The next year he reached the conference finals for the second time, and was finally able to get into the championship series in 2013.
With his success at the minor professional level Thomas was offered the chance to improve the fortunes of Alaska-Anchorage who hadn"t had a winning season in 20 years and agreed to take over from the departed Dave Shyiak.
Thomas" hiring immediately paid dividends as the Seawolves produced their first above-.500 record since joining the WCHA which should establish Thomas for at least the near future.
