Tom Occhino
Head Coach
Phone: 716-860-2967
Email: Tom Occhino

    Coach Tom Occhino was born and raised in Buffalo , NY . He began playing organized ice hockey in 1980. From Mite to Midget level hockey, Coach Occhino played on many different house and travel teams throughout Buffalo during all four seasons of the year. Tom also played four years of high school hockey (1 Junior Varsity, 3 Varsity) at West Seneca West Senior High School . During his junior and senior years at WSW, he was the captain of the team. His other high school hockey honors include: League and Team Leading Scorer, Team Sportsmanship award, Team MVP award, and League 1st Team All-Star. Coach Occhino decided to continue his ice hockey playing career while attending the State University of New York (SUNY) at Canton . The Canton Tech Northmen (now renamed to the North Stars) Ice Hockey Team is the most successful team in the history of the NJCAA having won 15 National Championships. While playing for the Northmen, Tom’s coach was Terry Martin, who led the team to an unprecedented 12 of those National titles. Tom’s hockey honors at SUNY Canton include: NJCAA Distinguished Academic All-American (1994) and Team Sportsmanship award (1994). Tom had various different academic scholarships while attending Canton , including the Presidential Honor Scholarship (1994). He graduated with a 3.95 GPA and received his AAS in Electrical Engineering Technology. After his 2nd year at Canton , Tom was recruited to play for the Morrisburg Lions in the EOJBHL (Eastern Ontario Junior B Hockey League). He was a big part of the team that won the St. Lawrence Division Title, but the Lions eventually lost in the league semi-finals. That was the end of his competitive playing career. Tom went on to graduate from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) with a BS in Electrical Engineering Technology.

    Coach Occhino started coaching ice hockey when he was temporarily living in Phoenix , AZ. He was the assistant coach of a Pee Wee house league team. Eventually he moved to Richmond , Va where he coached four years in the Richmond MYHL (Metropolitan Youth Hockey League). During his four years in house league, his teams captured one championship and had two 2nd place finishes. In 2001, the University of Richmond Spiders Club Ice Hockey Team was born and Coach Occhino became the 1st Head Coach of the team (after three games into the season). He helped lead the Spiders to a 4th place regular season finish and a playoff berth in the Blue Ridge Hockey Conference. The Spiders finished in 2nd place for the season, losing in the BRHC Finals. In addition to coaching, he helps the team with game scheduling, budget and road trip planning, and recruiting. Coach Occhino has also participated in the USA Hockey Coaching Education Program completing four levels (Master Level in 2005).