Coaching Staff & Contact

Janice Yang has led Connecticut Polar Bears teams to multiple New England Regional Championships and National Tournament appearances. She has coached from U12 to U19 and helped many players matriculate to the prep and college levels. 

As a player, Janice competed for Brown University (ECAC) where she led the team in goals her junior year and was tied for second in assists her senior year. She earned ECAC All-Academic honors in 2014 and 2015.

Before matriculating to Brown, Janice competed for Choate Rosemary Hall and the Connecticut Polar Bears. She helped take her Polar Bears teams to multiple silver and bronze medal finishes at the National Championships. A two-time New England Founders League Champion with Choate, Janice was also selected as a NEPSAC First Team All-Star her senior year. She was a four-year USA Hockey national camp participant.

​Janice is entering her eighth season as a coach with the Polar Bears. Including her time as a player, Janice has been involved with the organization for 21 years.

​Gwil Jones has been coaching for 25+ years in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York with a strong focus on player development. 

He has been with the Polar Bears since 2018 and has led his teams to multiple New England Regional Championships and National Tournament appearances. Prior to his time with the Polar Bears, Gwil's teams have won the New York State and Eastern Hockey Federation Championships. 

​He has coached and mentored dozens of players who have gone on to play prep and college hockey. Gwil is entering his fifth season as a coach with the Polar Bears.

Katie Savage has coached at all age groups for the Polar Bears, from U12 to U19 at both the Tier I and Tier II levels. She serves as a key advisor guiding our players through the prep and college placement processes. 

A tremendous student athlete during her time at Amherst College, Katie was a member of the women's field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse teams. While at Amherst, Katie earned NESCAC All-Academic Team Selections consecutively from 2016 - 2019. In 2019, she was also the recipient of the prestigious Friends of Amherst Athletics Award. Katie formerly attended the Westminster School. At Westminster, she was a 2017-2018 ACHA All-American Scholar and was named team captain her senior season.

​She is entering her fourth year as a coach with the Polar Bears.

​Jenny Guider enters her second full season coaching the U16 Minor group. She has served as a skills instructor for several years at the Vault Summer Training program. ​

A rising junior on the Trinity Women's Ice Hockey team, Jenny was among her team's leading scorers last season. She is a Westminster School graduate and helped her team to a Founder's League title in the 2020 season. She was the 2020 Daly Award recipient awarded for demonstrating a wonderful breadth of athletic pursuits and an extraordinary commitment to the highest level of Westminster sports. Jenny, a former Polar Bear, wore the blue and white for 3 seasons.

Lexi Cafiero has been coaching for three years with experience that spans with age groups ranging from U12 through U16. She specializes in skill development having served as the lead instructor of the Vault Summer Training program for several seasons. 

Lexi was a three-year captain of the Colby women's hockey team. She earned First-Team All NESCAC honors in the 2022-23 season and was selected to the NESCAC Winter All-Academic Team in the 2018-19 season. In her senior season, Lexi led the NESCAC in points per game and was tied for first in total points. 

​She formerly attended Taft School and played for the Polar Bears for 6 seasons. 

Allison Koenig has been a coach and administrator with the CT Polar Bears for 3 seasons. She has coached many ages that range from U12 to U16 and specializes in defensive concepts and training and works heavily with our defensive cores. A native of Wisconsin, Koenig played for the Milwaukee Junior Admirals and served as team captain for several seasons. 

Koenig was a member of the United States Rugby National program at both the U18 and U22 levels. She was also a member of the Quinnipiac Women's Rugby team and served as team captain from 2019 to 2022. 

Franny Gerardi

Angelica Mushenko enters her first season coaching the U16 Minor group.

Angelica was a former captain of the Trinity women's hockey team where she played from 2018 to 2022.

Before attending Trinity and earning a degree in Neuroscience, Angelica formerly attended Pomfret School where she served as a 2-year captain. She also played club hockey for the East Coast Wizards and helped her teams to multiple medal finishes at the National Championships.

Steph Mock is entering her second season of coaching. She previously served as the assistant coach for the Lindenwood-Belleville University Women's program.

Steph most recently played for the Connecticut Whale of the PHF from 2017-2018 after a successful four year career at Yale University from 2011 to 2015. Prior to Yale, Mock attended the Hotchkiss school.

Kyle Knopp has more than 33 years of hockey experience and has played, coached, or worked at every level — including two seasons in the Public Relations Department for the Detroit Red Wings (NHL).

Kyle previously coached with ACHA Saginaw Valley State University, and as Video Coach and Hockey Ops for the OHL's Saginaw Spirit. He also worked as a Head Instructor for the touring hockey camp Simply Defense and with the Chesapeake Bay Lightning women's hockey organization and various high school teams in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area.

Kyle will be joining the Connecticut Polar Bears after spending the last two seasons behind the bench as head coach for the Washington Pride U14 Minor team. With the Minors, Kyle led the team to back-to-back most wins in team history and two tournament championships. 

Paula Dady joins the Polar Bears as the Trumbull/St. Joes Girls Varsity High School ice hockey coach for the past 14 years. In her tenure, Paula was voted Coach of the year 4 times and has led her team to the state tournament numerous seasons.

As a player, Paula had a successful athletic career while attending Hamilton College. She was a dual sport athlete starring in hockey and soccer for all 4 years. As a member of the women's hockey team, Paula was named as a NESCAC 1st Team All-Star, 100 Point Club Member, and was named Captain her junior & senior years.

Paula graduated from Hamilton with a double major in Economics and Studio Art. Prior to matriculating to Hamilton, Paula attended The Taft School.

Lloyd Jacques joins the Polar Bears for his first season. He is currently coaching at Fairfield University and he had a previous stint with the Quinnipiac University club program. Lloyd has been coaching for close to 10 years at the collegiate and youth levels.

As a player, Lloyd played college club hockey at University of New Haven and Southern Connecticut State University. He played for Lyman Hall High school 2005 to 2009 where he earned All-Conference honors in 2008 and 2009. 

Cait Burns has over 5 years of coaching experience and enters her first season with the Bears.

Cait previously served as the head coach for the Immaculate High School girl's club. She has also specialized in skills development for Flite hockey camp.

Cait is a former Polar Bear and competed for the club for over 10 years. She helped bring her teams to multiple Nationals and Regionals tournaments. She also played field hockey for Danbury High School and was a 2x FCIAC First Team Member.