Ex-UAA hockey coach Matt Thomas returns to ECHL

Matt Thomas, whose five-year stint as UAA's head hockey coach ended earlier this year when the school decided not to renew his contract, is back in pro hockey.

Thomas is the new head coach of the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. The job marks a return to the league for Thomas, who joined the Seawolves in 2013 after 11 seasons as an ECHL coach.

Thomas replaces four-year head coach Matt MacDonald, who resigned last month to take a job as an assistant coach for the Grand Rapid Griffins of the American Hockey League. MacDonald is the fourth straight Cyclones coach to jump from the ECHL to the AHL.

Thomas returns as the ECHL's sixth-winningest coach in history with a 342-225-80 career record and is one victory away from fifth place. He's the all-time leader in playoff games appearances with 97 and ranks third in playoff victories with 49.

He served as head coach for three ECHL teams — the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies, the Fresno Falcons and the Stockton Thunder — before taking the UAA job.

In five seasons with the Seawolves, Thomas was 42-101-21. He takes over a Cincinnati team that was 39-30-3 last season.

The Cyclones are an affiliate of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and the AHL's Rochester Americans.