New Gopher assistant

[IFallsRon]

I thought they were hot for an "M" guy. Looks like they hired a recruiter.

MINNEAPOLIS — Former St. Cloud State defenseman and assistant coach Mike Hastings has been hired at Minnesota to replace assistant coach Mike Guentzel, who resigned after this past season.

Hastings played with the Huskies from 1986-88 before back injuries forced him to stop playing. He was an assistant at SCSU from 1988-92 and in the 1993-94 season. The winningest coach in United States Hockey League history, he led the Omaha Lancers to the 2007-08 USHL Clark Cup title and national junior hockey championships, compiled a 529-210-56 record in 14 seasons. Hastings had stepped down as the Lancers’ head coach following the season and assumed the team’s president and general manager duties.

“After a month-long search and talking to numerous people, I believe Mike Hastings is the right fit for Gopher hockey,” Minnesota coach Don Lucia said in a statement. “He is a former defenseman who has established himself by winning over 70 percent of his games over the last 14 years in the USHL. Mike has recruiting contacts all over North America, but his ties with the USHL will prove invaluable to our program.”

A Crookston native, Hastings earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education from SCSU. He and his wife, Jean Ann, have two children, Hannah and Hudson.

Current St. Cloud State assistant Eric Rud previously said he had been contacted about the Minnesota job.

[fishing tech]

Could be a good fit. He has recruited some very good talent at Omaha. We will know in 3 years.

[SneakAttack]

His resume looks great and he sounds like a great coach but like the newspaper said, the gophs need some alummni behind the bench like maybe Dean Blais