The second of two Distinguished Letter winners in this year’s Hall of Fame class. Kozak was a four-year member of the NU men’s ice hockey team and earned the team Most Improved Player award as a freshman.
“I really enjoyed my time at Norwich,” Kozak said. “Franny Brennan convinced me to come up and see the school. I visited and liked the philosophy of Norwich and after talking it over with my dad, I knew it was the right place to go. I enjoyed playing with my teammates, playing for coach and the school against teams like UNH, Harvard, Colgate and Providence.”
Kozak recalled the best game of his career being against Colgate at Colgate where Norwich won 3-0 and he scored two goals.
“Some of my friends from home played for Colgate so it was extra special to beat them,” Kozak said. “One of my friends from home and I had a major fight in the game at Norwich afterwards and I got kicked out of the game at that time, but it picked up the whole bench.”
Kozak went on to a distinguished coaching career after Norwich. He guided New Preparatory School to a New England Private Schools championship in 1982-83 and was named the Hockey Night in Boston Coach of the Year. He was named the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) Assistant Coach of the Year in 1993 with the Nashville Knights.
Kozak served as the US Scouting Director for the New York Rangers for nine years, working alongside the ‘Miracle on Ice’ coaching staff of Herb Brooks and Kirk Patrick.
Kozak and his longtime girlfriend of 12 years, Fran Flynn live together in Brockton, Mass. He has two brother and sister in laws in Pat and Tom Estes, as well as Nancy and Tony Anchukaitis. His nephew Brett Anchukaitis is currently a senior at Norwich.
