ANGOLA, Ind. -- Trine men's ice hockey head coach Alex Todd will serve as the head coach of the South African Senior National Team in the upcoming IIHF Division III World Championship in Bulgaria.
Todd will select and guide the Senior National Team through training camp prior to coaching the team in the World Championship. Organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation, the championship takes place April 10-16 in Sofia, Bulgaria. South Africa will open play April 10 against Georgia.
The IIHF Division III World Championship begins with pool play, with two groups of four national teams making up the two pools. In addition to Georgia, South Africa's pool includes Luxembourg and United Arab Emirates. The other pool is made up of Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei.
Todd will be looking to lead the South Africans to their first gold medal in the championship since 2013. The team finished as the runner-up to Turkey at the 2016 championship. The 2016 South African roster featured professionals between ages 19 and 38 who competed in leagues in South Africa, the United States and Canada.
Todd's coaching of the South African team will add to his growing pedigree of international experience. He previously served as an assistant coach for Team USA in the Under-17 Five Nations Tournament this past summer. Todd helped lead Team USA to gold as the team dominated its opposition, outscoring opponents 31-6 while racking up a 4-0-0 record. Todd also served as an assistant for Team USA at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament in 2013, when he helped guide the team to a silver medal.
Todd was named the first head coach of Trine's Division III men's ice hockey program. The Thunder will begin competition as a member of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association in 2017-18.
The 46,200-square-foot, 700-seat Thunder Ice Arena will serve as the home for Trine's Division III men's ice hockey team, as well as the school's ACHA Division II and women's Division III programs. All three teams will begin competition in 2017-18. To view the arena's construction webcam, please follow THIS LINK.