• Bemidji State: Head Coach: 2001-present
• Bemidji State: Assistant Coach: 1999-01
• St. Cloud State: Assistant Coach, 1993-99
• Henry Sibley High School: Head Coach, 1992-93
• Brainerd High School: Assistant Coach, 1986-87

Accolades

Tom Serratore begins his 25th season at the helm of the Bemidji State Men’s Hockey program in 2025-26. He is an eight-time conference Coach of the Year and the second winningest coach in Beaver Hockey history. He has amassed 412 career victories and has coached 905 games during his 25 years as head coach of the Beavers. He boasts a 412-386-107 (.514) career record and ranks 37th in career victories at the Division I level among all head coaches and ninth among active head coaches. Since taking over the Bemidji State Men's Hockey program in 2001, Serratore's teams have achieved seven regular-season conference championships, three CHA tournament titles, five NCAA Tournament appearances, one NCAA Frozen Four appearance (2009) and he is an eight-time conference Coach of the Year.

The legacy Serratore was asked to continue when named the seventh head coach at Bemidji State in 2001 was one of the finest in all of college athletics. Serratore was hand-selected to succeed future Hockey Hall of Fame member R.H. “Bob” Peters, who won 702 games and 13 national championships at Bemidji State while carving out one of the true dynasties in the history of athletics at any level. He is second all-time at BSU behind Peters with 412 career wins.

BSU has continued to build success year after year since Serratore took the reigns improving from 12 victories during his inaugural 2001-02 season to 14 in 2002-03, then to 20 in 2003-04 and then to a career-best 23 in 2005-06. The Beavers then reached the national stage and made the program's first NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Tournament appearance in 2005-06. Serratore and the Beavers then made history with an improbable Cinderella run to 2009 NCAA Frozen Four becoming the first 16-seed to ever reach college hockey's grandest stage. The Beavers then moved to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association following another NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009-10 where he would go on to become a two-time WCHA Coach of the Year winner. After 11 years away from the NCAA Tournament, Serratore and the Beavers returned to the national tournament in 2020-21 for the fifth time. The Beavers then moved into the Central Collegiate Hockey Association after the WCHA disbanded in 2021. He helped guide the Beavers to the program's first-ever MacNaughton Cup Championship as the league's regular season leader in 2023-24 and went on to win his eighth Coach of the Year award that season. In total, Serratore has compiled eight seasons with 20 or more wins, five NCAA Tournament appearances, seven conference regular season championships, three conference tournament titles and one NCAA Frozen Four appearance.

Throughout is 25 seasons leading the Beavers, Serratore has recruited and developed three All-Americans, one Mike Richter Award finalist, 10 conference players of the year, one conference student-athlete of the year and 26 all-conference first team selections. 53 former Beavers coached by Serratore have gone on to earn professional contracts including five to have played in the National Hockey League.

Bemidji State’s 2008-09 season was one not even a Caldecott Medal-winning author would have dreamed of penning. After beginning the season with one win in the first seven games, the Beavers finished the season with a 20-16-1, 12-5-1 (CHA) record with CHA Regular Season and Tournament titles, earning a spot in the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament. The postseason storybook began in Grand Rapids, Mich. where BSU, the unranked 16th seed, was pitted against Notre Dame--the No. 2 team in the land. It would take BSU just 1:42 to find the scoreboard and the team would build a 2-0 advantage heading into the first intermission. With 40 minutes gone, BSU led 3-0, then 4-0 in the opening minute of the third. A stunned Fighting Irish team and college hockey world were beginning to take notice. BSU won the game 5-1. After their first NCAA Division I Tournament win, the Beavers continued to ride a wave of momentum into the Midwest Regional Championship game versus No. 9 Cornell. The Big Red scored first, but BSU would answer with four consecutive goals to secure its second straight win over a top 10 team and a most unlikely spot in the 2009 Frozen Four in Washington, D.C. The Beavers’ once-in-a-lifetime ride came to an end at the hand of Miami (Ohio) in the national semifinal, but not before the Beavers, the first 16th-seed to ever win its way into the Frozen Four, turned the hockey world on its ear, putting Bemidji State University and Bemidji, Minn. on the map in the process. BSU had six players garner recognition in the CHA’s season-ending awards. Matt Read and Brad Hunt were selected First-team All-CHA, while Tyler Scofield and Matt Dalton pulled down second-team laurels. In addition, Hunt was picked as the league’s Rookie of the Year and both he and Ben Kinne earned spots on the CHA All-Rookie Team.

In 2010-11, Serratore led the Beavers to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Final Five Semifinals in their inaugural season as members of the league. After finishing the regular season with an 8-15-5-conference record, Bemidji State opened the WCHA playoffs as the No. 10 seed and faced fellow league newcomer University of Nebraska Omaha, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, at the Quest Center in Omaha for a best-of-three-series. The Beavers took the series in two games with 4-2 and 3-2 victories to earn a spot in the WCHA Final Five at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Making their first Final Five appearance, the Beavers, the No. 6 seed, opened play against Minnesota Duluth, the tournament’s No. 3 seed. Shea Walter’s power-play overtime goal propelled BSU to a 3-2 victory and a spot in the semifinal game. In the semifinals, The University of Denver abruptly ended the Beavers season after scoring four unanswered goals in the third period to down the Beavers 6-2 in the first semifinal game of the 2011 WCHA Final Five.

In 2015-16 the Beavers earned a spot in the North Star College Cup championship game for the second consecutive year and made their sixth consecutive WCHA postseason appearance, finishing sixth in the WCHA standings with a record of 17-16-6 and 11-12-5 in league play. After rattling off eight consecutive victories to open the 2016-17 WCHA slate and an unbeaten streak through their first 11 games, the Beavers clinched the coveted MacNaughton Cup, WCHA regular-season title for the first time in program history. Finishing the season 22-16-3 overall, BSU posted its sixth 20-win season under Serratore at the NCAA Division I level and its 20-6-2 mark in league play was enough to win the regular-season crown with two games to play. At the conclusion of the season, not only did Serratore earn WCHA Coach of the Year honors, the Beavers were represented by Michael Bitzer (First-Team), Phil Marinaccio (Second-Team), Gerry Fitzgerald (Third-Team) and Zach Whitecloud (Rookie Team) for league awards while Bitzer became the first Beaver since Matt Read (2010) to be named conference Player of the Year.  Bitzer would go on to earn a spot among the finalist for the Mike Richter Award for the nation's top goaltender and among the top-10 for the 2017 Hobey Baker Award, while Brendan Harms became the first student-athlete in Bemidji State Athletics history to win the prestigious Senior CLASS Award for excellence in the classroom, in leadership and on the ice. The Beavers used special teams play and defense as its calling card all season. BSU allowed just 1.57 goals per game in league play to lead the WCHA, while it was 25-for-115 (21.7%) on the man advantage and 98-for-107 (98.6%) on the penalty kill to set the pace in the league on both ends of the ice. In 41 games, BSU's penalty-kill unit, backed by All-American Michael Bitzer, was 139-of-158 (88.0%) to rank second to only to Air Force in all of NCAA Division I hockey.

The 2018-19 Beavers saw defenseman Justin Baudry earn All-WCHA Second Team laurels and rank among the top defenders in the nation after leading the team with 31 points (9g-22a). He became just the fourth BSU blueliner to eclipse the 30-point plateau since BSU made the move to the NCAA Division I level for the 1999-2000 season, while his 22 assists ranked third on the Beavers' Division I-era list. With special-teams play a staple of Serratore's teams, BSU again ranked among the nation's top teams in penalty-kill efficiency which included a streak of 40 consecutive opponent power-plays killed spanning 13 games from Jan. 3 to Feb. 22. His 2017-18 team set a BSU Division I-era record converting 31-of-143 power-play opportunities (.217), while its penalty-kill unit led the WCHA (87-98/.888) and finished the regular season ranked third in the nation snuffing out 109-of-124 opponent chances (.879). 

The 2019-20 Beavers earned their seventh 20-win season under Serratore, the 2019-20 WCHA Coach of the Year and Spenser Penrose finalist,  and finished the campaign on an eight-week run ranked among the nation's top 20 teams, finishing at No. 11. Adam Brady, who led the nation with 12 power-play goals in 2019-20, became BSU's second First Team All-WCHA selection since joining the league in 2010-11 and headlined a group of five Bemidji State student-athletes selected for six All-WCHA honors. In addition, Owen Sillinger and Zach Driscoll were voted Second-Team All-WCHA, while Tommy Muck and Elias Rosén earned spots on the league's third team and Rosén was placed the WCHA's All-Rookie Team. With special-teams play a staple of Serratore's teams, BSU again ranked among the nation's top teams in penalty-kill efficiency finishing the season killing 93-of-103 opponent power-play opportunities tie Clarkson for No. 2 in the country at .903. In addition, the 2019-20 version of the team converted 27-of-98 power-play opportunities (.276) to lead the WCHA and was 28-for-112 overall to finish among the top 10 power-play units in the country at .250. Looking for another bid into the NCAA Tournament and after winning their first series of the WCHA playoffs, the rest of the NCAA Division I Hockey season was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak putting the Beavers' quest for the Jeff Sauer WCHA Championship Trophy to a screeching halt. In the classroom, the team continued a long-standing tradition of academic success in 2019-20 as 16 student-athletes earned a spot as a member of the WCHA All-Academic Team, while BSU was second in the league with 10 players recognized with the prestigious WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award.

Serratore and the Beavers finished the 2021-22 regular season third in the CCHA standings and advanced to the CCHA Championship round falling to eventual national runner ups, Minnesota State, in overtime. The Beavers marked a 19-20 record with a 14-12 record in CCHA play during the 2021-22 season. Ranked or receiving votes through most of the season, the Beavers toppled fellow ranked or RV teams nine times in regular season play, including a win against then No. 6 University of North Dakota and eight wins versus teams that received votes. The Beavers, who were slated third in the CCHA leading up to playoffs, made their run to the CCHA Championship versus No. 1 Minnesota State University Mankato. The team earned nine CCHA Player of the Week honors and four Player of the Month accolades. Senior Owen Sillinger was also awarded HCA Player of the Month honors and was a nominee for the prestigious Hobey Baker Award. Elias Rosen earned All-CCHA First Team honors while Sillinger was named to the second team and Mattias Sholl to the All-CCHA Rookie Team. 

Prior to BSU
Serratore came to the Beaver hockey program after spending five years as the recruiting coordinator for Western Collegiate Hockey Association member St. Cloud State University. He helped the Huskies to a 96-84-15 record, including three 20-win seasons and four WCHA Final Five berths during his tenure. Serratore recruited several National Hockey League draft selections while at St. Cloud State, including Matt Cullen, Mark Parrish and Josh DeWolf. He also was an assistant coach for the 1998 WCHA All-Star Team, which participated in the Kolin Cup in Zug, Switzerland. Serratore began his coaching career as an assistant at Brainerd (Minn.) High School (1987-’91). He took his first head job at Henry Sibley High School (1991-’93), leading Henry Sibley to a Class A third-place finish at the state tournament.

Playing Career
Serratore knows first-hand the tradition of BSU men’s hockey, having played two years under Peters in the mid-1980s. He was a two-year letter winner playing forward for BSU from 1985-’87 and played in two NCAA Division III Tournaments. Serratore was a member of BSU’s 1986 NCAA Division III national championship team and captained the 1986-’87 team. He averaged 1.03 points per game in his BSU career (1986--20-23=43 points, 1987--12-27=39 points) and led the 1986-87 team with four game-winning goals. Serratore began his playing career at Mankato State, scoring 31-28-59 points in two seasons for the Mavericks before transferring to BSU. For his collegiate career, Serratore scored 63-78=141 points.
 

Serratore Year-by-Year

Milestone Victories

All-Americans Under Serratore

• Michael Bitzer - First Team ACHA CCM All-America West (2016-17)
• Matt Read - Second Team AHCA All-American (2009-10)
• Andrew Murray - All-USCHO.com (2004-05)

Serratore year-by-year at Bemidji State:

2023-24

• Record: 20-1-2 (15-7-2 CCHA); CCHA Regular Season Finish: 1st
• MacNaughton Cup Champions
• All-CCHA First Team: Kyle Looft, Eric Pohlkamp, Lleyton Roed, Mattias Sholl (Program Record)
• CCHA Defenseman of the Year: Kyle Looft
• CCHA Goaltender of the Year: Mattias Sholl
• Hobey Baker Nominee: Lleyton Roed
• 18 CCHA All-Academic

2022-23

• Record: 14-17-5 (12-11-3 CCHA); CCHA Regular Season Finish: 5th
• All-CCHA First Team: Elias Rosén
• All-CCHA Second Team: Mattias Sholl
• All-CCHA Rookie Team: Lleyton Roed
• Hobey Baker Nominee's: Will Zmolek, Elias Rosén
• 17 CCHA All-Academic Selections
• Coached in 800th career game on Feb. 3, 2023

2021-22

• Record: 19-20-0 (14-12-0 CCHA); CCHA Regular Season Finish: 3rd
• CCHA Championship Runner-ups
• All-CCHA First Team: Elias Rosén
• All-CCHA Second Team: Owen Sillinger
• All-CCHA Rookie Team: Mattias Sholl
• Hobey Baker Nominee: Owen Sillinger
• 25 CCHA-All-Academic Selections

2020-21

• Record:16-10-3 (8-5-1-0 WCHA)
• WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year: Zach Driscoll
• WCHA Defensive Player of the Year: Elias Rosén
• First-Team All-WCHA: Elias Rosén
• Third-Team All-WCHA: Zach Driscoll
• WCHA All-Rookie Team: Lukas Sillinger
• NCAA Tournament East Regional Finalist

2019-20

• Record: 22-10-5 (20-5-3-2 WCHA)
• First-Team All-WCHA: Adam Brady
• Second-Team All-WCHA: Zach Driscoll and Owen Sillinger
• Third-Team All-WCHA: Tommy Muck and Elias Rosén
• WCHA All-Rookie Team: Elias Rosén
• WCHA Coach of the Year
• Spencer Penrose Finalist

2018-19

• Record: 15-17-6 (13-11-4-2 WCHA)
• Second-Team All-WCHA: Justin Baudry
• WCHA All-Rookie Team: Owen Sillinger

2017-18

• Record: 16-14-8 (13-9-6-4 WCHA)
• Second-Team All-WCHA: Michael Bitzer
• Senior Class Award Finalst: Michael Bitzer

2016-17

• Record: 22-16-3 (20-6-2 WCHA)
• WCHA Regular-Season Champions
• WCHA Coach of the Year
• Spencer Penrose Finalist
• WCHA Player of the Year: Michael Bitzer
• First-Team All-WCHA: Michael Bitzer. Second-Team: Phillip Marinaccio. Third-Team: Gerry Fitzgerald. All-Rookie Team: Zach Whitecloud.
• Hobey Baker Top-10: Michael Bitzer
• Mike Richter Award Finalist: Michael Bitzer
• Senior Class Award: Brendan Harms
• CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team: Brendan Harms and Michael Bitzer

2015-16

• Record: 17-16-6 (11-12-5 WCHA)
• North Star College Cup Runner up

2014-15

• Record: 16-17-5 (12-11-5 WCHA)
• North Star College Cup Champions
• First ever WCHA home playoff berth
• WCHA Rookie of the Year: Michael Bitzer

2013-14

• Record: 10-21-7 (10-14-3 WCHA)

2012-13

• Record: 6-22-8 (5-16-7 WCHA)

2011-12

• Record: 17-18-3 (11-14-3 WCHA)
• 12 WCHA Scholar Athletes, No. 1 in WCHA

2010-11

• Record: 15-18-5 (8-15-5 WCHA)
• First year in the WCHA
• WCHA Final Five appearance

2009-10

• Record: 23-10-4 (14-3-1 CHA)
• Spencer Penrose Award Finalist
• CHA Coach of the Year
• NCAA Tournament Appearance
• CHA Regular-Season Champion
• CHA Player of the Year: Matt Read
• CHA Rookie of the Year: Jordan George
• First-Team All-CHA: Dan Bakala, Brad Hunt, Matt Read

2008-09

• Record: 20-16-1 (12-5-1 CHA)
• Spencer Penrose award finalist
• CHA Coach of the Year
• NCAA Coach of the Year Runner-Up
• NCAA Frozen Four
• CHA Regular-Season Champion
• CHA Tournament Champion
• CHA Rookie of the Year: Brad Hunt
• First-Team All-CHA: Brad Hunt, Matt Read

2007-08

• Record: 17-16-3 (13-4-3 CHA)
• Spencer Penrose Award finalist
• CHA Coach of the Year
• CHA Regular-Season Champion
• CHA Rookie of the Year: Matt Read
• First-Team All-CHA: Cody Bostock

2006-07

• Record: 14-14-5 (9-6-5 CHA)
• First-Team All-CHA: Travis Winter

2005-06

• Record: 20-14-3 (12-7-1 CHA)
• NCAA Tournament appearance
• CHA Tournament Champion
• First-Team All-CHA: Matt Climie, Luke Erickson, Andrew Martens

2004-05

• Record: 23-13-1 (16-4-0 CHA)
• Spencer Penrose Award finalist
• CHA Coach of the Year
• NCAA Tournament appearance
• CHA Regular-Season Champion
• CHA Tournament Champion
• CHA Player of the Year: Andrew Murray
• First-Team All-CHA: Peter Jonsson, Andrew Murray

2003-04

• Record: 20-13-3 (16-3-1 CHA)
• Spencer Penrose Award finalist
• CHA Coach of the Year
• CHA Regular-Season Champion
• CHA Rookie of the Year: Luke Erickson
• First-Team All-CHA: Brendan Cook, Bryce Methven

2002-03

• Record: 14-14-8 (10-6-4 CHA)
• First-Team All-CHA: Marty Goulet, Grady Hunt

2001-02

• Record: 12-18-5 (8-7-4 CHA)
• First season as BSU Head Coach
• Spencer Penrose Award finalist
• First Team All-CHA: Marty Goulet
• CHA Rookie of the Year: Riley Riddell