Mike Hastings, the first year Gophers assistant coach, will get a special honor this Friday in Omaha, Neb.

He will be inducted into the Omaha Hockey Hall of Fame at the Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha Blue Line Club luncheon.

Why? For godo reaosn. He was the head coach and GM of the Omaha Lancers of the U.S. Hockey League the past 14 years. And he was good at both jobs.

Hastings compiled a 529210-56 record, making him the winningest coach in USHL history. His 2007-08 Lancers won their third USHL Clark Cup title and the national junior hockey championship.

He was the USHL Coach of the Year in 1997 and 2002 and the league’s GM of the Year five times. He never had a losing season coaching the Lancers.

Hastings is the 22nd member of Omaha’s Hockey Hall of Fame; five previous members also had ties with the Lancers.

UNO HAPPY IN CCHA

Now that the WCHA has suspended its moratorium on expansion, the question is: Who will apply beside Bemidji State?

One candidate, at least according to Internet and blog speculation, is the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Geographically, the Mavericks seems to be a fit.

So is it true, are the Mavericks interested? “Ive talked to our athletic director [David Miller] and Mike Kemp [the men’s hockey coach] and there is not any interest in UNO to make a move,” said David Albers, the school’s director of athletic media relations. “We have been in the CCHA for quite a while, we have developed good rivalries, and we do not want to tinker with that.”

If Bemidji State is the lone applicant, the Beavers chances of getting admitted might be tougher. Because then, adding BSU, would make the WCHA an 11-team league. That would make scheduling awkward.

When the time comes for a vote, eight of the present 10 schools have to vote for BSU for its admission to be approved. The WCHA has set March 31 as the deadline for applications. The league could vote on new members as soon as its late April meeting in Florida.

PLAYERS GET TIME OFF

Coach Don Lucia has given his players the first three days off this week. The Gophers are idle this weekend. They play Minnesota State Mankato in a home and home series Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

The team will resume practices on Thursday.

Lucia was scheduled for more medical tests Monday and today (Tuesday), presumably at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. His doctors are still trying to determine whether an inflammation or an infection is aggravating a facial nerve. That nerve is causing numbness on the left side of his face and headaches.

John Hill and Hastings, his two assistants, also were out of the office on Tuesday on the recruiting trail.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 2:18 pm and is filed under Gophers men's hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.