Coaching changes 2009-2010

Here are the Minnesota high school boys varsity coaching changes so far for the upcoming 2009-2010 season:

Becker/Big Lake - Jon Samuelson

Coach Samuelson replaces Chris Hansen who coached the team just one season.

Bloomington Kennedy - Dave Dillon

His former coaching experience has been working with youth and junior varsity players.

Champlin Park - Pat Janostin

Janostin returns for a second stint as the Rebels head coach. He has been involved with the Champlin youth program for several years. He also has his own hockey camp, Janostin Hockey Training. His bio on the website states that he played Division I hockey for the University of Minnesota-Duluth where he was also captain, a New York Rangers draft pick, and has eight years of Minnesota high school varsity coaching experience.

East Ridge - Doug Long

East Ridge? Who? East Ridge is a brand new school located in Woodbury that will have a hockey program ready for 2009-2010. They will start out in Class A (Section 4A) since only grades 9 through 11 will attend the new school this year. Seniors, who have been attending Woodbury and Park of Cottage Grove high schools, will remain at those schools in 2009-2010.

Now, back to Coach Long. He was a former head coach for Stillwater. He has coached the Section 2A/3AA High School Elite II Team. This past season he was a White Bear Lake assistant coach working with the goalies and the junior varsity.

Fairmont - Bryan Wilken

Coach Wilken replaces Mike Hitchcock.

Greenway - Jim Lawson

Coach Lawson replaces Jeff Antonovich.

Kittson County Central - Scott Klein

Scott Klein replaces Scott Younggren. This was a very late change just a couple of weeks before the season began.

La Crescent - Denny Hartman

Coach Hartman replaces Andy Klingsporn.

Mankato West - Curtis Doell

Doell has been the assistant for the Scarlets varsity since 2000-2001. Doell played for the University of Minnesota-Duluth from 1996-1998. He then went on to play two seasons in the AHL with Kentucky in 1998-1999 and Louisville in 1999-2000.

Ken Essay stepped down as head coach for 10 years and stepped up to become Mankato West's new athletic director.

Monticello/Annandale/Maple Lake - Ben Monahan

Coach Monahan replaces Josh Solem.

North Branch - Randy Gendreau

Gendreau's resume includes being an assistant coach for both the varsity and the junior varsity for Chisago Lakes Area in 2008-2009. He has also been involved with the Centennial Youth Hockey program for over 20 years along with several years of AAA summer hockey at both the youth and high school levels.

The North Branch School District decided that it was best for the boys hockey program to go in a new direction and former head coach Darrell Schulte was let go at the end of the season.

Prior Lake - Joe Pankratz

Pankratz takes over the head coaching duties for the Lakers. He had been serving as the head coach for the Prior Lake Peewee A team. Prior to that, he was the head coach for the Florida Jr. Panthers Midget AAA Team from 2001-2006.

If his name sounds familiar, it should if you remember the Bloomington Jefferson high school teams from the early 1990's. He was a member of the 1991-1992 Tier I state championship team as a sophomore. The Jaguars went a perfect 28-0-0 that season. However, instead of returning back to the Jaguars, he decided to give the USHL a try and played for the Omaha Lancers. Pankratz became the 1992-1993 USHL Rookie of the Year and was a member of an All-Star team. If that wasn't enough, he helped the Lancers win the Clark Cup Championship and the Anderson Cup (award for the team with the best overall regular season record). Ironically, the Jaguars went back to the state tournament that season and won another championship without Pankratz. The Jaguars went 25-2-2.

Pankratz also won state championships with his Pee Wee A and Bantam A teams playing for Bloomington. He played on the USA National Under-18 and Under-17 teams. And, he played in the National Olympic Festival.

Pankratz then moved on to play college hockey for the Golden Gophers for one season in 1994-1995 and then went on to play one season in the WHL with Seattle in 1995-1996. He finished his professional hockey career in Germany.

Pankratz replaces Dan Germundson who stepped down after nine seasons with the Lakers.

Richfield - John Christ

Coach Christ replaces Mike Harris who took an assistant varsity coaching position with the Eastview Lightning. Coach Harris posted his decision to resign on the Richfield High School website.

River Lakes Stars - Jeff Melby

Coach Melby replaces Jeff Boonstra

Rochester Lourdes Eagles - Josh Spaniol

Spaniol takes over after three seasons as an assistant coach in the Lourdes hockey program. He also served two years prior to that with Rochester John Marshall in a similar role. Spaniol is a 1994 graduate of Rochester Mayo High School.

As a player, Spaniol played junior hockey at Jackson Hole, Wyoming and was an All-American at Hibbing Community College.

Aaron Gill stepped down after two season with the Eagles. He went 42-16 in those two season and took Lourdes to the Class A state tournament this past year where they finished fifth. Gill reportedly resigned to devote more time to his personal life.

Roseau Rams - Andy Lundbohm

Lundbohm graduated from Roseau High School in 1995 and has been an assistant coach for the Rams the last four years.

Scott Oliver resigned after six seasons.

Shakopee Sabers - Jeff Vizenor

Vizenor steps down as the Minnesota State University-Mankato women's head coach and stepped up to take the Shakopee's new boys varsity head coaching job. Prior to Mankato, Vizenor headed up other prominent women's hockey programs at the University of Wisconsin and St. Mary's University.

He is no stranger to the boys high school coaching scene having headed up programs at Mora and St. Cloud Apollo before coaching women's hockey. He took Mora to the Class A state tournament in 1995-1996. They did not place.

Ed Loiselle, who coached the Sabers for 16 years, resigned in March.

St. Cloud Apollo Eagles - Pete Matanich

Pete Matanich was hired as the new head coach for Apollo. He is a 1997 Apollo graduate. He has been a St. Cloud Tech assistant coach for the last nine years.

Kris Dougherty decided home, social studies, and Fargo North girls varsity hockey were three things that he wanted more than staying another season with the Eagles. The former St. Cloud Apollo head coach will be going back to his alma mater to teach social studies and become the new girls varsity head coach at Fargo North High School. Dougherty will leave St. Cloud Apollo after only his second season as head coach. He compiled a 16-35-2 record with the Eagles.

St. Cloud Tech Tigers - Neil Andruschak

Andruschak played or coached hockey for 24 years. The University of Minnesota-Crookston graduate was an interim head coach for the College of St. Benedict in 2005-2006 and was an assistant coach for them two years prior to that.

Chad Hommerding's contract was not renewed.