MSU hockey hires Northern Michigan assistant Andy Contois to staff

Michigan State hockey is hiring Northern Michigan assistant coach Andy Contois to its staff, the team announced on May 8.

Contois spent the past two seasons at his alma mater as an assistant with the Wildcats. He was previously the associate head coach with Youngstown in the USHL, helping lead the Phantoms to the program's first Clark Cup in 2022-23.

"I'm excited and thankful to Coach Nightingale and his staff for this opportunity," Contois said in a press release. "Michigan State is one of the elite programs in college hockey, and what Coach Nightingale and his staff have built in East Lansing speaks for itself. I couldn't be more excited to get to work!"

Contois had previous stops as an assistant with the Indy Fuel in the ECHL, the Central Illinois Flying Aces in the USHL and the Brookings Blizzard in the NAHL.

Contois had a long playing career, starting with one season at Lake Superior State, where he played with MSU head coach Adam Nightingale. Contois then transferred and played four seasons at Northern Michigan, where he had 43 goals and 54 assists for his career. Contois was an alternate captain in his senior season with the Wildcats.

"We are excited to add Andy to our staff," Nightingale said in a press release. "His experience at the junior, collegiate and professional levels of hockey will be a great asset to our program."

Contois played for five different teams over three seasons in the ECHL before starting a long professional career in Europe, where he played in Germany, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands.

The staff is still determining roles, but Contois will replace Dan Sturges, who died in January.

Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU hockey hires Northern Michigan assistant Andy Contois to staff