Brian Renfrew Position: Associate Head Coach Experience: Fourth year

Brian Renfrew enters his fifth season behind the Michigan State bench, and has helped mold one of college hockey's top goaltenders in addition to one of the stingiest defenses in Division I hockey.

Renfrew focuses heavily on recruiting, works primarily with the goaltenders and defensemen, and is involved with and all day-to-day operations of the Spartan hockey program.

Under Renfrew's tutelage, Jeff Lerg has emerged as one of college hockey's top goaltenders and a Hobey Baker candidate. Lerg has posted some of the best numbers not only in school history (he ranks among the all-time top 10 in 10 different career and season categories) but also in NCAA Tournament history with a career 1.50 GAA and .927 save percentage.

Renfrew arrived at MSU after spending two seasons (2001-03) as an assistant coach at Northern Michigan University. At NMU, he worked directly with the goaltenders and defensemen, and also assisted with game-day strategy, practice planning, video analysis, recruiting and travel planning. In addition, he was the coordinator of the Wildcat hockey school.

Renfrew's first coaching positions were at Alaska Fairbanks, as an assistant coach in 2000-01 and as the volunteer assistant in 1999-2000. At UAF, he worked with the goaltenders and defensemen and served as the Patty Center Ice Arena manager.

The Fairbanks, Alaska, native was a four-year letterwinner (1991-95) at Western Michigan and was a standout goaltender for the Broncos, setting a WMU record for minutes played in a season (2,356.21) as a senior. He closed his career with the third-lowest goals-against average (3.17) in Bronco history, in addition to racking up 39 career victories. He was a two-time CCHA Defensive Player of the Week selection and was selected as the MVP of the Great Alaska Face-off Tournament in 1994. He was WMU's Most Improved Player in 1993 and earned the team's Dedication and Perseverance Award in 1995.

Following college, Renfrew participated in the Kitimat Cup, a pre-world championship tournament with Team USA. He signed a contract to play professionally in the Dallas Stars organization for Kalamazoo of the International Hockey League in 1995, spending time mainly with the Jacksonville Lizard Kings. He also saw action with the American Hockey League's Adirondack Redwings and the Dayton Bombers of the East Coast Hockey League.

Renfrew also played for the Anchorage Aces of the West Coast Hockey League (1997-98), the Alexandria Warthogs of the Western Professional League (1998) and the Memphis River Kings of the Central Hockey League (1999).

He is an active member of USA Hockey, including his tour as a coach at the Three Nations Cup (Under 17) in the summer of 2006. He has also served as an assistant coach at the Select 16 Festivals with Team Pacific in 2001 and Team Michigan in 2002 and 2003, as well as presenting at various coaching clinics. Renfrew is a member of the American Hockey Coaches Association.

He earned his bachelor's degree in applied liberal studies from Western Michigan in June 2000. Renfrew and his wife, Michelle, have three daughters, Brianna (10), Emily (7), and Lily (4).