After guiding the Clarkson University Hockey team to its best record in four seasons, first-year head Coach Casey Jones has been named a finalist for the Tim Taylor ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year.

Jones, along with assistant coaches Phil Roy '00 and Andy Jones, had the Golden Knights, who were picked to finish 11th in the preseason coaches’ poll, in contention for a top four spot in the conference standings right up through the end of the regular season. Clarkson finished the ECAC Hockey campaign tied for sixth with a 9-9-4 league mark. The Knights closed out the 2011-12 season with a 16-17-6 overall record. Under the helm of Jones, the Golden Knights improved their defense from surrendering 3.55 goals per game in 2010-11 to only giving up 2.73 goals per contest this season.

Clarkson’s season came to an end this past weekend when Rensselaer edged the Green and Gold 2-1 in the conference’s best-of-three first-round series.

Union’s Rick Bennett and Harvard’s Ted Donato were also named finalists for the honor by their peers.