Head hockey coach Tavis MacMillan shocked hockey fans Thursday by announcing his resignation at a press conference in the Patty Center.

"We have an opportunity that our family is very excited about, but I am not at liberty to discuss yet," he said.

MacMillan's involvement with the university has spanned 15 years.An alumnus and former Nanook hockey player, he has been at the helm of the Nanooks since 2004 when Guy Gadowski resigned.

Prior to that he had been an assistant coach for the 'Nooks for seven seasons and for the 2002-2003 season was the athletic department's NCAA compliance coordinator.Last fall he signed a four-year extension on his contract.

While MacMillan wouldn't elaborate on the circumstances surrounding his decision, he said that he has decided to "pursue other opportunities in the hockey world."

He made it clear that he was neither asked nor forced to resign and that the decision was one made by him and his family.

"Coaching a Division I program and running a program is not an easy gig," he said."I can't wait 'til the first time I go into Safeway or Fred Meyers and no one comes up to ask me about the team."

"My family and I are very grateful to the university for the opportunities it has provided to us and the community," he said in a press release. "My adult life has known nothing else but Nanook hockey and I only hope I've given back a small percent of what I've received."

One of the hardest things about making the decision, MacMillan said, was all of the great people he worked with and coached.

"How many people can go to work every day with their best friends?" he said of assistant coaches Wade Klippenstein and Dallas Ferguson.

He had nothing but praise for his players as well.

"Quality, quality, quality kids," he said."This group of guys shattered every academic achievement we've ever had."

He said that his successor will be inheriting a team of "unbelievable character."

MacMillan recently traveled to Chicago to watch former Nanook Darcy Campbell, a junior who signed with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets recently, and said that those are the moments that make it tough.

"It's pretty neat the feeling I had when I was out there watching Darce," he said."You feel like a parent.You're excited, you're a little nervous, but that's what it's all about."

"We had no idea," said sophomore leftwing Trevor Hyatt. "It's kind of too bad."

MacMillan called a team meeting Thursday morning in-between workouts and told the team about his decision.Junior forward Aaron Lee described the team's reaction as "shocked."

Hyatt said that one of the issues with transitioning to a new coach can be the starting all over again.

"You build up a relationship with your coaches," he said.

Players in their first or second year have to work hard to gain the coach's confidence, he said.

Another factor in a new coach is that the players are already well-accustomed to MacMillan's coaching style and plays and drills.

"It's definitely going to take some time," Lee said of the transition process, but "I think the transition will be smooth."

Athletic Director Forrest Karr had nothing but praise for MacMillan.

"We know that you can't replace Tavis MacMillan," he said. "He has unbelievable qualities as a person, as a father, as a friend, just someone that knows how to lead and knows how to be led, and those are just a testament to how he lives his life, and it's also going to lead to success down the road for him."

A national search for a new coach began Friday, but MacMillan said that he had highly recommended both Klippenstein and Ferguson to Karr.

"He needs to consider them both," MacMillan said. "They're both great coaches and deserve an opportunity to be considered for it."

Hyatt liked that idea.

"That'd be awesome to play for them," he said. "We like them as coaches and people."

Karr has composed a search committee of four members, although he declined to name them at the time.

"We have to move forward and try to find someone with the right qualifications, the right passion, the energy, the motivation, everything that you look for in a coach," he said.

Karr, a former hockey player himself, has the team's confidence in the search.

"He knows the hockey world," Hyatt said. "We're pretty confident that he'll find a good replacement."

The press conference ended with Karr calling for a round of applause for MacMillan.

"We'll definitely miss him," Lee said.