Gophers assistant men’s hockey coach Mike Hastings told his boss, Don Lucia, he was resigning on Tuesday.

The resignation is effective June 29.

“There is not an awful lot of college jobs out there, as far as head coaching positions,” Hastings said. “And you can never tell the future. [This] is an opportunity to work with somebody who is trying to build a program at a place I lived for 14 years.”

Hastings has taken a job as the associate head coach at the University of Nebraska Omaha. He will work for new head coach Dean Blais, who is 58.

Hastings, who is 43, said this job will put him in a good position to succeed Blais when he retires if all is going well. “If we are driving the program into a ditch, I will go somewhere else,” Hastings said.

“I’ve always felt if I was doing the job, doing well, things would work out.”

A SLEEPING GIANT?

Trev Alberts, the new AD at UNO, has said he wants a hockey program that can compete for conference and national titles.

So are the Mavericks capable of that? “I look at Miami Ohio,” Hastings said. “They started as what I would call a mid-major in the CCHA. The young staff in place built the program to the opportunities they have now.

“The competed for the CCHA championship, got a new facility and came within  how many seconds of winning a national title this year? So, can it be done? Yes, but it will take a lot of heavy lifting before it gets done.”

Hastings said most college hockey fans do know about the hockey tradition Omaha has. “It’s been around a long time,” Hastings said, “going back to the [semipro] Central League. Omaha is not the state of hockey Minnesota is, but it does have a history. Gordie Howe played in Omaha.

“It’s a good community. They support the sport. But there’s an awful lot of work” to do.

GOOD TIMES IN MINNY

Hastings said he absolutely loved his one season on Lucia’s staff. “I’ve know Don for a long time and he gave me every opportunity to become part of [his staff].

“It’s been the best year that we’ve had as a family in quite some time,” said Hastings, referring to his wife and two children. “I did not think it would be just a year, but I am thankful for the opportunity I had, the time I had, the way Don treated me.”

Hastings will have to find a new home in the Omaha area. When he moved to Minnesota, he sold his house there in two days. “I don’t think I will be able to match that” this time, he said.

The family has a home in Forest Lake now. 

UNO to WCHA?

Hastings said he would rather not offer his opinion on whether the Mavericks should switch from the CCHA to the WCHA, a move the school is seriously considering.

He said he is not educated enough on that issue yet.

But he did offer this: “The WCHA is fantastic. I have not spent time in the CCHA.”

Looks more and more if UNO is going to become a WCHA team. The Mavericks and the WCHA both want a decision by August.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 6:46 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.