Hall of Fame
When Louie Educate came to Utica ahead of the 2012-13 season, his arrival generated an atypical amount of buzz. The anticipation of Pioneer fans came with good reason. Educate had just led the nation with 27 goals as a freshman at Nichols College, and arrived in Utica seeking a new challenge.
Over the next three seasons, the forward would rise to that challenge while producing some of the most memorable moments in not only the context of the program's history, but moments that stand out in the sport's rich tradition in the Mohawk Valley. He led Utica to 48 wins in three seasons, including 21 victories and the program's first NCAA tournament appearance in the 2012-13 season as an at-large selection. That NCAA appearance culminated with the program's first national tournament win and a spot in the national semifinals. Educate's team-leading 18 goals that season included some of the most important goals of the campaign. He scored Utica's lone goal in the NCAA semifinals against Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and also scored the game-winning goal in a thrilling 1-0 win over Hobart that was surely influential in that year's tournament selections. The 2012-13 team was previously enshrined in the Pioneer Hall of Fame, making Educate a two-time inductee.
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His 80 career points in a Pioneer uniform ranked tenth in program history entering the 2021-22 season, while his 36 goals while wearing the Blue and Orange ranked seventh on that very same list. The prolific sniper is tied for second in school history with eight game-winning goals. Prior to this season, he was fourth on the program's single season list with eighteen goals. Between his careers at Utica and Nichols, Educate had 122 career points in 108 games.
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He was a two-time ECAC West All-Conference pick, and was the conference's 2013 Player of the Year. Educate was also a 2013 AHCA Division III First Team All-American, and was also named to the Division III All-USCHO team in the same year. He also won the 2015 Dick Miller award.
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After playing for Utica, Educate set his sights on professional hockey. He played parts of three seasons in the Southern Professional Hockey League, and also had a short stint in the German fifth division. Educate's career helped set a new standard for the program. Since his collegiate playing days were finished, the Pioneers have appeared in the conference final in six out of the seven years that followed, and won three conference tournament titles. He was part of the Pioneers' 2017-18 conference championship while serving as an assistant coach.
He remains a huge part of the Utica hockey family to this day, serving the Utica Junior Comets organization as the head coach of their National Collegiate Development Conference squad.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Educate earned his degree in Risk Management and Insurance.
