Paul Tortorella ’80
Head Coach
A graduate of Andover’s class of 1980, winner of the Sumner Smith award for the team’s MVP as a Post Graduate student which prompted his coach Ted Harrison to call him “the best goaltender [he has] ever coached,” Coach Tortorella went on to a stellar four year career as goaltender for Yale University helping lead the team into national prominence under legendary coach Tim Taylor. Immediately following graduating Yale in 1984, he attended the Buffalo Sabres’ NHL training camp in Lake Placid, was assigned by Scotty Bowman to the organization’s affiliate team in the International Hockey League, and soon embarked on his over thirty-year coaching career. Prior to returning to Andover as a member of the English Department in 2001, he taught, was Athletic Director and coached many teams in a variety of sports, including baseball, soccer, lacrosse, and both boys and girls hockey at The Nichols School in Buffalo, New York. As Athletic Director at Nichols, he was instrumental in starting the Girls’ hockey program there and then led the team in 2000-2001 to a 22-0-1 season capturing the Canadian Independent School Association championship. He lives with his wife Mary and two stepsons, Connor and Aidan.
Tedd Parker
Assistant Coach
Coach Parker begins his fourteenth year coaching New England prep hockey as he returns from a one-year sabbatical. Having joined the Andover varsity staff in 2011, the Wisconsin native is a former NEPSIHA head coach as well following a standout career at Minnesota’s Gustavus Adolphus College. A member of the History and Social Science department, house counselor, and one of the school’s five Deans, Coach Parker lives on campus at Stowe House with his wife Sara and three children.
Patrick Pothel
Assistant Coach
Coach Pothel has been teaching and coaching hockey for over 25 years. He has extensive prep hockey experience at highly respected programs such as Taft and Tabor Academy and has played with and coached many former and current Collegiate, International, and NHL players. He coached teams and ran camps in Canada, Maryland, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. While in Maryland, he coached the U17 team Southeast in the national tournament.
At Andover, along with teaching in the French department, Coach Pothel assists the varsity team by focusing on skill-building, strength and conditioning, and film analysis. Coach Pothel has a special interest in creating an inclusive learning environment “where our student-athletes can grow and develop as young men while working to reach their full potential as highly competitive hockey players.”