Former Newtown High School hockey goaltender and Assistant Coach Patrick McLoughlin will take over head coaching duties at Division I Immaculate of Danbury, Immaculate High School Athletic Director Nelson Mingachos announced this spring.

“I’m honored and humbled to join Immaculate as the new ice hockey coach. I look forward to working with the student athletes, administration, and parents in building a program we can all be proud of. My long-term goal is to help each student develop as a player and more so as a person, as they elevate through Immaculate High School,” McLoughlin said in a statement from Immaculate.

He has also been Newtown High School’s junior varsity head coach and has been a 14U youth travel head coach since 2017.

McLoughlin helped Newtown High win the Division III state title in his senior year of 2014, was recognized as the team’s MVP, played a season for Brewster and three seasons for Western Connecticut State University. As a coach, McLoughlin earned many championships including the 14U youth team titles from 2017 to 2020.

“He was eager to run his own program and the opportunity came up,” said Paul Esposito, head coach at Newtown who has been behind the bench throughout McLoughlin’s playing and assistant coaching tenure at Newtown High. “He can teach and hold the attention of players. Pat’s going to do well.”

Esposito noted that McLoughlin impressed him with his dedication to watching game video and going over plays with team members. “He jumped right in and he’s been very invested,” Esposito added.

McLoughlin is a somewhat rare example of a youth coach who does not have children in the program. “I give Pat a lot of credit. He’s very involved, wants to win. He was the same way as a player,” Esposito said.

“While getting to know Coach McLoughlin through the interview process, I’ve come to find that he is a leader of young student athletes and a dedicated coach that is ready to get to work. We are looking forward to a successful season with his experience, leadership, and strong faith. Everyone at Immaculate is very excited that he accepted the position and will carry on the Mustang hockey tradition,” Mingachos said in the press release.

“Pat was one of the main reasons we won the state championship,” Esposito said.

McLoughlin will have a chance to coach against his former school since Immaculate and Newtown are both in the South-West Conference. Both teams skate out of Danbury Ice Arena.

Ready for preseason fitness training, McLoughlin’s coaching staff will include Will Schlichtig and Bill Garvey with Matt Grogan as a goalie coach. Schlichtig began his hockey career with the Western Junior Colonials and played for Fairfield Prep as their captain and state champion. He currently coaches at Bantam and in the U16 midget program. Garvey is a Level 4 USA Certified hockey instructor, who spent the last 14 years coaching for the WCYHA and is a Bantam dean of discipline director, safe sport director. Grogan, a 2014 graduate of the University of Connecticut, where he was a NCAA D-1 goaltending champion and was named 2012-2013 third team all-league. Most recently Grogan was the goaltending coach for the College of Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass. Grogan also serves as an assistant coach, goalie coach, and video coach for Applecore, a Junior A team in the Eastern Hockey League.

Immaculate High School is a private, non-profit Catholic college-preparatory institution serving students from 28 communities in Connecticut and New York. Founded in 1962, Immaculate High School also allows students to focus on academic excellence, spiritual development, service to others, and personal goals. Immaculate is a Diocesan-sponsored independent school.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.