Ohio has spent the last two months looking to replace Sean Hogan, who stepped down from his head coaching duties in March after coaching the Bobcats’ hockey team for the last five years and keeping them near the top of the American Collegiate Hockey Association.
On Tuesday, the Bobcats finally found Hogan’s replacement.
Ohio named Cole Bell its new coach for the 2019 season. Bell spent the last two seasons coaching Jamestown, who went 44-29-2 in his tenure and made the ACHA Tournament in both seasons.
“I am very excited to join the Ohio University community and lead the Bobcat Hockey program,” Bell said in a release from the team. “This program is rich with history and has the expectation of success.”
Bell, 30, is from Davenport, Iowa, and was a two-time team captain and a first team All-East Coast Hockey Association selection at Lebanon Valley.
Ohio should already be a little familiar with Bell. In 2017, Bell’s first year as coach at Jamestown, the Jimmies visited the Bobcats at Bird Arena for two games and stunned Ohio for two rare back-to-back home losses.
Now, Bell will hope to pick up where Hogan left off. The Bobcats were a mainstay at the top of the ACHA rankings under Hogan, and that likely won’t change. All three of Ohio’s top scorers are set to return in 2019, and Jimmy Thomas, arguably the top goalie in the league, still has one season left with the Bobcats.
With loads of talent to coach, Bell should be able to find immediate success with Ohio and keep the Bobcats in play for an ACHA Championship.
