Ryan Equale (born 22 February 1973) is an American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

coach and retired player. He served as head coach of the Connecticut Whale in the

Premier Hockey Federation The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and h ...

(PHF) during the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons.

Playing career

Equale played four years, 1992 to 1996, of

NCAA Division III ice hockey The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleg ...

with the

UConn Huskies men's ice hockey The UConn Huskies men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Connecticut. The Huskies are a member of Hockey East. The Huskies currently ...

program. He served as team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and was an All-American during his time with the Huskies. After concluding his college career, Equale went on to play four seasons of professional hockey in North American minor leagues – the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). Th ...

and

Western Professional Hockey League The Western Professional Hockey League (abbreviated WPHL) is a defunct minor professional ice hockey league. The WPHL operated from 1996 to 2001 with teams based in the southern United States, primarily Texas and Louisiana. The league started with ...

(WPHL).

Coaching career

Equale was hired to coach the Connecticut Whale in June 2017 to replace

Heather Linstad Heather Linstad (born February 26, 1963) is an American ice hockey coach, best known for coaching the UConn Huskies women's ice hockey program during 2000 to 2013 and the Connecticut Whale of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) during the 2015� ...

. He holds Level 4 certification from

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United ...

and previously coached boys’ and girls’ hockey in Connecticut. He was not retained for the 2019–20 season.

Personal life

Equale and his wife have three children, Rocco, Leo, and Leighton.

References

External links

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Connecticut Whale coach profile
American men's ice hockey players Ice hockey coaches from Connecticut Living people Premier Hockey Federation coaches 1973 births Ice hockey players from Connecticut {{US-icehockey-bio-stub