Saturday, April 10, 2010

Lincoln Stars Name Chad Johnson as Head Coach

Press Release

The Lincoln Stars today announced that Chad Johnson has been named Head Coach and General Manager of the team. Johnson, currently the Associate Head Coach for the USHL's Fargo Force, will join the Stars immediately following the conclusion of the Force's playoff season.

"We're excited and looking forward to the 2010-11 season with the addition of Chad and the entire coaching staff that we now have in place," said Stars President Jim Pflug. "We've always had high standards and high expectations for our teams, and the bottom line is we weren't competitive in the win/loss column this year. We know we won't win it all every year, but we do expect to go into each game with a mindset that we're going to win, and at times this year, we didn't seem to have that confidence."

"There's no doubt the kids played hard every night this season, and we're proud of their effort, as well as that of our coaching staff. We believe the changes we're making give us the best chance to be challenging for championships in the USHL. We owe that to our fans."

The announcement marks the return of Johnson to Lincoln where he began his coaching career during the Stars' inaugural season of 1996-97. He served as assistant coach for his brother, Steve, and helped lead the team to the Clark Cup championship. He was on the staff in Lincoln for two more seasons before stints in the NAHL, including four years as head coach for the Bismarck Bobcats. Johnson has spent the past two seasons on the coaching staff for the Fargo Force, including the team's inaugural season of 2008-09 in which they advanced to the Clark Cup Finals under Dean Blais, who was named the USHL Coach of the Year. This season, Johnson has been the Associate Head Coach for the Force, again serving alongside his brother and leading the team to a second place finish in the West Division and a berth in the playoffs.

"I'm excited to get back to Lincoln and for the opportunity to be a part of the Stars organization," said Johnson. "I've been fortunate to be able to see a lot of games at every level of hockey, and Lincoln's game night atmosphere and fan support is still the best there is. We'll be working tirelessly during the weeks leading up to the USHL drafts in May to evaluate our strengths and deficiencies, and come up with a plan to make next year's team the best that we can."

Jimmy McGroarty, who took over as the Stars' Head Coach/GM prior to the 2007-08 season, will remain with the organization and has assumed the position of Associate Head Coach. In addition, Assistant Coach Nick Fouts will also continue as a part of the coaching staff. McGroarty compiled a 92-80-21 record in his three seasons as head coach, and guided the Stars to the USHL Clark Cup semi-finals during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.

"Jimmy has been as hard working and passionate as any coach I've seen in this league, and his continued involvement with our organization is important," said Pflug. "We're definitely planning on him being a big part of our future success. With Chad, Jimmy, and Nick, we have a solid coaching staff with different skills and different networks that when combined, will improve our ability to identify and develop high-end players that are needed to compete in the USHL."


(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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