Falcon women's hockey Coach Joe Cranston was the runner-up for this year's American Hockey Coaches Association Coach of the Year award.

Cranston, in his 10th year with the Falcons, led the team to a 20-7-3 overall record and a berth in the NCAA National Championships. The Falcons went on the road and beat No. 1 ranked Gustavus Adolphus, 2-1, to advance to the NCAA Finals in Middlebury, Vt. The 20 wins tied a school record for victories in a season.

Cranston was also the runner-up to the national award after the 2003 season when he also led the Falcons to the NCAA Tournament.

Cranston was named the NCHA Coach of the Year in 2009, 2007 and 2003. Cranston has been the only head coach of the Falcons and has a 150-96-20 career record.

The popular coach reached a career milestone early in the 2007 season. When the Falcons defeated Bethel, 2-1, on Nov. 10 it was Cranston's 100th career win. He earned his 150th win with the 2-1 win at Gustavus Adolphus.

Cranston has been the leader of the Falcon program since its inception in 1999. He has led the Falcons to national and regional prominence. His teams have finished no lower than third place in the highly competitive Northern Collegiate Hockey Association.

Cranston has led the Falcons to more overall and NCHA wins than any other current coach in the league. His teams have won more NCHA playoff games than any other active NCHA coach.

He has coached the Falcons to nine straight winning seasons. Seven times players he has coached have been named All-Americans. Forty-six of his players have earned All-NCHA recognition and 34 players have earned NCHA All-Academic honors.

In 2009 the Falcons hosted and won the O'Brien Cup playoff title. They beat Lake Forest, 6-2, in the semifinals and Stevens Point, 5-3, in the finals.

In 2008 the Falcons defeated UW-Stevens Point, 2-1, in the of the O'Brien Cup semifinal playoffs. The Falcons advanced to the championship game only to lose, 2-1 in overtime, to UW-Superior.

The 2007 Falcons surprised most observers with their second place finish in the NCHA regular season. UWRF finished 9-4-2 in league play and finished just one point out of first place. The Falcons were second in goals for and third in goals against in the NCHA.

In 2005 the Falcons reached the NCHA playoff championship game for the fourth time in the league's six-year history. UWRF beat Superior, 5-4, in overtime to reach the finals.

The Falcons had another banner year in 2004 finishing 17-9-1 overall and 11-4-1 in the NCHA. The Falcons advanced to the NCHA playoffs and won the third place game.

In 2003 the Falcons finished 20-6-4 overall and won the NCHA regular season title with a 12-1-3 record. They went on to win the NCHA playoff championship for the second time. The Falcons then got the team's first ever berth into the NCAA Div. III playoffs. In a first round game the Falcons beat St. Thomas, 5-1, and advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four. In Elmira, N.Y., the Falcons lost to the eventual national champions, Elmira, 2-1 in the semifinals.

In 2002 the Falcons finished 13-11-3 overall and 8-6-2 and finished third in the NCHA. UWRF won a first-round NCHA playoff game to reach the league playoff championship game for the second straight year. UWRF lost a close 2-1 decision to UW-Stevens Point in the title game in Stevens Point. In 2001 the Falcons finished 19-7-1 and finished second in the NCHA regular-season standings. Cranston then led the Falcons to the NCHA Playoff Championship. UWRF beat UW-Stevens Point, 4-1, in the playoff semifinals and then the Falcons topped regular-season champions, UW-Superior, 2-1 in the title game.

Cranston was the head coach of the Somerset boy's varsity high school team from 1990-1998. He was an assistant coach there from 1988-1990. He has coached the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association camps, clinics and select teams for over 14 years. Cranston has conducted several hockey clinics and served on the WIAA All-State selection committee for two years. He is also a coaching instructor for USA Hockey.

A native of Fergus Falls, Minn., he played youth and high school hockey there. He played for the high school team from 1979-1983 and was the team captain as a senior. He played, and was the captain, of the 1983-84 North Iowa Huskies of the USHL. Cranston then returned to Fergus Falls to attend the community college where he played with that team in 1985-86. He was the team's captain, MVP and was ranked in the Top 10 in the nation in scoring.

He earned an AA degree from Fergus Falls Community College in 1986 and his undergraduate degree in elementary education from UW-River Falls in 1990. He taught third grade in the Somerset School District from 1990-97.

Cranston resides in River Falls with his wife, Sue, and three children; Roy, 12; Walter, 10 and Irene, 7.

Joe Cranston