Coach Gerdano has a deep connection to Gonzaga. A 2010 graduate of Gonzaga, he played three years of varsity hockey and was a member of the 2010 MAPHL championship team. He graduated from Syracuse University in 2014 with a BS in Information Management & Technology. During college, Gerdano played three years for the Syracuse University Men’s Hockey team (ACHA D1).
This year Coach Gerdano joined the faculty of Gonzaga, teaching computer science. He also assumed the responsibility of Head Varsity Hockey Coach. For the 2017-2018 season, Gerdano served as Varsity 2 Co-Head Coach, was voted Ervin J. Terwillger Coach of the Year, and helped lead V2 to its third consecutive MAPHL Championship. Prior to that, he served as the JV Head Coach for two seasons.
This is Coach Gerdano’s fifth year coaching with the Eagles. For the 2018-19 season as head coach, he led Varsity 1 to its third consecutive AA MAPHL championship.
Assistant and Volunteer Coaches
Bill Slater, Hockey Director
Coach Slater has longtime ties to the Washington, D.C. high school hockey community and Gonzaga. He grew up playing ice hockey in New England, and has coached youth hockey teams for more than 25 years, including 5 years at Georgetown Prep, various levels in the Montgomery Youth Hockey Associations, and Team Maryland. His teams have won the CBHL Maryland State Championship and three separate teams have reached the USA Hockey National Championship tournament.
Coach Slater has a firsthand understanding of the Gonzaga Hockey Community and the winning ways of Gonzaga hockey. His sons Jack Slater (‘13) and Ridge Slater (‘15) both attended Gonzaga and together have won four MAPHL championships and two Purple Puck Championships.
Under Coach Slater’s leadership, Gonzaga’s Varsity 1 team won three consecutive AA MAPHL championships, and Varsity 2 won three consecutive A MAPHL championships. Gonzaga is the first school to have both division teams achieve this accomplishment during the same season. In his fourth season as Head Coach, Slater was named the Washington Post’s 2018 Winter All-Met Coach of the Year.
This is Coach Slater’s sixth year as Director of the Gonzaga Eagles’ Program.
Ryan Holley ‘07, Assistant V1 Coach
Ryan Holley, class of 07’, played four years of varsity hockey for Gonzaga and was captain his junior and senior years. During his time on Eye Street, Ryan accrued three consecutive MSHL championships, two 1st Team All-Met appearances and one Purple Puck championship.
Ryan, a native of the Washington, D.C. area, grew up playing locally for the Washington Little Capitals and the Washington Junior Nationals. He went on to attend St. Anselm College and play hockey for four years at the NCAA DIII level. Ryan was a two-year captain and a three-time NE-10 Champion while playing for St Anselm College. This is Ryan’s third year as Assistant Coach for the Eagles.
Andrew Panzarella, Assistant V1 Coach
Coach Panzarella played three seasons at Gonzaga (‘08), before leaving to play junior hockey in the USHL. While at Gonzaga, he was a member of a team which won three consecutive championships, including the program’s first title. After Gonzaga, he played four seasons in the USHL, with stints in Des Moines, Tri-City, and Waterloo. Panzarella then went on to play four years of DI hockey at the University of North Dakota. During his tenure at UND, the Fighting Sioux won two regular season championships and appeared in four consecutive NCAA tournaments, including two trips to the Frozen Four. After college, he had a two-year professional career, with games in the American Hockey League (AHL) and ECHL. This is Andrew’s third season coaching with the Gonzaga hockey program.
Alex Panarella ‘11, Assistant V1 Coach
Alex Panzarella (‘11) is an alumnus of Gonzaga College High School (Class of 2011), where he helped Gonzaga win a MAPHL championship in 2010. During his youth Alex was a member of the Team Maryland hockey program and later went on to play Junior B hockey for the Washington Junior Capitals. Alex works at Deloitte Consulting doing Software Asset Management. This is Alex’s fourth season coaching with the Gonzaga hockey program.
Donnie Walter ‘10, Head V2 Coach
Donnie Walter graduated from Gonzaga in 2010 and begins his fourth year as a coach for the Gonzaga hockey program. He was a member of the 2010 championship varsity hockey team after playing on varsity for three years as a goalie. As a senior, he was selected as the Washington Post All-Met Player of the Year for Hockey. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2014, double majoring in finance and insurance. Coach Walter lives in Alexandria, VA and works as a financial analyst for FINRA. Last season Donnie served as the JV Head Coach and the team went an impressive 15-0-1 (W-L-T) for the season. This is his first season as Varsity 2 Head Coach.
Marquise Cotton ‘11, Assistant V2 Coach
Marquise Cotten was born and raised in Washington, D.C. and is a 2011 graduate of Gonzaga. Marquise started playing hockey at age five for the Fort Dupont hockey program. He went on to play four years of hockey at Gonzaga and was a valuable member of the 2010 MAPHL championship team. After graduation he played at Bridgton Academy in Maine before playing at Lebanon Valley College. Marquise finished his college career at Rowan University in New Jersey. This is Marquise’s first year as Assistant Varsity 2 Coach. Last season he was the JV Head Coach and this is his third year coaching with the Gonzaga hockey program.
Terence Hardy ‘04, Assistant V2 Coach
Terence Hardy, class of 2004, played four years of Varsity 1 hockey for Gonzaga. He was part of Gonzaga’s first ever Purple Puck championship during his senior year. Terence grew up playing locally for the Montgomery Blue Devils and the Washington Little Capitals before playing intramural hockey at Providence College. Terence graduated from Providence College with a major in finance and now lives in Washington, DC working as a Financial Advisor for Morgan Stanley. This will be Terence’s first year coaching with the Gonzaga hockey program.
Bryan King, Head JV Coach
Bryan King was born and raised in Washington, D.C. and is a 2011 graduate from the School Without Walls. Bryan started playing hockey at age six with the Fort Dupont Cannons, and went on to play for Nelson Burton’s Metro Maple Leafs. King attended La Salle University and played in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) DII, captaining the squad and winning the Greater Northeast Collegiate Hockey Conference (GNCHC) Championship his senior year. After graduation, Bryan returned to DC and began volunteering as an assistant coach with the Cannons. He is a USA Hockey Level 3 Certified coach. This is Bryan’s second year coaching with the Gonzaga hockey program, and first year as Junior Varsity Head Coach. He is excited to share his passion and knowledge of the game.
Patrick Guinan, Assistant JV Coach
Patrick Guinan is a native of York, PA where he played youth hockey from the age of five for the York Devils ice hockey club. He played JV hockey for Central York High school. After suffering repeated concussions he was no longer able to play hockey. Patrick has continued to stay involved in the game his entire life by coaching at the Bob Hartley High Intensity camp. This camp has provided a wealth of knowledge about the game from the top tier players in the world. Patrick started the first ever ice hockey program at York College of Pennsylvania where he was an assistant coach. Patrick is looking forward to his future with Gonzaga Hockey.
Ed Donnellan, Faculty Advisor
Ed Donnellan has been teaching at Gonzaga for seven years in the Social Studies Department. A teacher for 36 years, he previously taught at Notre Dame Prep in Towson, MD, and Vermont Academy in Saxtons River, VT. He coached youth hockey for the Baltimore Stars and was the founder of Baltimore’s first hockey program for inner-city children, located at Patterson Park Ice Rink.
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