More than two months ago, Jonathan Sheridan resigned after winning 30 games in his only season as the head coach of the Ohio hockey team.
Since then, Bobcat fans eagerly awaited the decision on who was going to be called upon to even further develop the already highly successful program.
Those fans got their wish Tuesday, as Ohio named Sean Hogan its 13th coach in program history. He spent the last three seasons coaching Arizona, a team that watched its win total increase each year that Hogan was at the helm and earned its first national tournament berth since 2006 last season.
“When the opportunity to apply for the job became available, it was kind of a no-brainer,” Hogan said. “At Ohio, we’re trying to make that step from good to great. We want to be a program that is competing for national championships year after year, and everything’s in place here to do that. So, hopefully, we can establish that pretty quickly.”
Hogan’s ascent through the world of hockey coaching has been quick.
The Detroit, Michigan, native began his coaching career at Oakland, where he won two ACHA national championships during afour-year head coaching stint, after also winning one as an assistant coach. From there, he enjoyed a two-year stint with the Yellowstone Quake, a Tier III junior hockey team from Wyoming, where he made one finals appearance.
After leaving the Quake, Hogan became an assistant at Western Michigan, made an appearance at the Division I national tournament and worked under current AHL coach and former Detroit Red Wings assistant Jeff Blashill. Hogan then re-entered the head coaching role with his three-year stint at Arizona.
“We weren’t happy with our tournament finish last year, and we want to improve on that,” senior defender Scott Fasano said. “Seeing coach Hogan’s resume, his ability to turn a program around speaks volumes, and we’re really thankful to have him here at Ohio, and we think he’s going to know what to do to continue our winning tradition.”
Hogan will be the third coach in three years at Ohio, and his resume, while successful, could strike concerns among fans that he is in motion often, making his path through Ohio similar to Sheridan’s.
For now, however, Hogan seems content being in Athens.
“It goes back to my first experience coming here with that Oakland team nine years ago,” Hogan said. “Even back then, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, it’d be great to have an opportunity to coach at Ohio.’ And now, here we are, ten years later. From what I know about the community and the support the hockey program receives, it seems like a pretty hard place to leave. I’m excited about being there a while and building on the success that’s already there.”
aw987712@ohiou.edu
@_tonywolfe_
