STORM ANNOUNCE STAFF CHANGES

Press Release

 KEARNEY, Neb. – Tri-City Storm assistant coaches Eric Fink and Lenny Hofmann were relieved of their duties Wednesday but have been offered consulting positions with the team through the USHL’s May drafts.

Head Coach and General Manager Josh Hauge remains in his current role.

“Eric and Lenny are to be commended for their hard work, and we appreciate their dedication to the organization,” Hauge said. “In evaluating our program, we felt like we needed to make some changes to get things turned around.”

Fink spent four seasons with the Storm from 2009-13 and helped lead the team to a pair of playoff appearances despite a 96-123-25 record during that span. Hofmann joined the Storm in 2010 and was part of one playoff run in 2011-12. The team went 67-98-19 in his three seasons on the bench. Hofmann also served as the team’s director of recruiting.

Tri-City finished this season 22-35-7 in Hauge’s first full season as head coach.

“Nobody in our organization is happy with how this season turned out, and we’re going to do everything in our power to put a team on the ice that competes for championships,” Hauge said. “Expectations here are high, and I embrace that.”

The team will immediately begin a national search to fill the coaching vacancy.

“We want an experienced and knowledgeable coach with college experience and ties to the United States Hockey League who can come in, hit the ground running and help develop our players,” Hauge said. “This is a first-class organization and we’re excited about the coaches we think will show interest.”

Owner Kirk Brooks said he is focused on bringing in an assistant coach to complement Hauge.

“Eric and Lenny were victims of circumstance. I can’t keep four or five coaches on the bench, so we are going in a different direction,” Brooks said. “We need coaching experience behind the bench that will bring more knowledge to the staff.”

Hauge joined the Storm as an assistant coach in 2011 and was promoted to head coach 21 games into last season. He came to Kearney following six seasons coaching the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in the North American Hockey League, where he won an NAHL Championship and compiled an overall record of 111-49-15.

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)