People in Minnesota make a lot of jokes about Omaha. I’m sure everyone has hear this line: If we lose this or that pro franchise, the Twin Cities will be like a cold Omaha.

So when first-year assistant Gophers coach Mike Hastings was recently honored by getting a spot in the Omaha Hockey Hall of Fame, my first reaction was: Who else is in it?

So I got the list. And it has some pretty big names. Maybe you heard of Gordie Howe? He played for a hockey team in Omaha in the mid-1940s before becoming a NHL star. Also on the list is Terry Sawchuk, a goalie who knew how to stop a puck and Frank Serratore, the Air Force Academy hockey coach.

Sawchuk, whose No. 1 was retired by the Detroit Red Wings, won 501 games playing for five NHL teams.

Congratulations coach Hastings. He will be the lone new member inducted Friday into the Omaha Hockey Hall of Fame.

The complete list:

Omaha Hockey Hall of Fame members

Ted Baer
Eddy Bruneteau
Modere “Mud” Bruneteau
Andre Dupont
Jack Egers
Bill Fairbairn
Jake Forbes
Mike Hastings
Gordie Howe
J.J. Isaacson
Fred Knipscheer
Sam Lavitt
Don Luce
Motto McLean
Max McNab
Don Martineau
Marcel Pronovost
Angelo Ricci
Terry Sawchuk
Frank Serratore
Wayne Schaab
Johnny Wilson

Here is the news release from the Hockey Hall of Fame announcing Hastings’ induction on Friday: 

Mike Hastings, the all-time winningest coach in the United States Hockey League who led the Omaha Lancers to three regular season and playoff titles, will be inducted into the Omaha Hockey Hall of Fame this week.

Hastings, currently an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, will be inducted at the UNO [University of Nebraska, Omaha] Blue Line Club luncheon at Anthony’s, 72nd and F Streets, on Friday, January 23.  The 11:30 a.m. event is open to the public.  Tickets may be purchased at the door for $20 for the buffet lunch and program.

The Lancers won Anderson cup regular season championships in 2001–02, 2004-05 and 2007-08 and Clark Cup playoff titles in 1997-98, 2000-01 and 2007-08.  He stepped down as coach after winning the national junior hockey championship in 2008 with a 529-210-56 record over his 14 seasons behind the bench.  He was twice named the USHL’s coach of the year, in 1996-97 and 2001-02 and five times was named the league’s general manager of the year (1996-97, 2001-02, 2004-05, 2006-07 and 2007-08).  

Hastings is the 22nd member of the Omaha Hockey Hall of Fame and the fifth from the Lancer organization, joining former owner Ted Baer, former coach-general manager Frank Serratore and players Fred Knipscheer and Angelo Ricci.

The Omaha Hockey Hall of Fame was begun in 1961, then revived after a long interval in 2001.
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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 9:57 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.