Johnson named new assistant at Nebraska-Omaha

Nebraska-Omaha announced Tuesday that Steve Johnson has been named the team’s new assistant coach, replacing Mike Hastings, who left UNO to take the head coach position at Minnesota State.

“I’m very pleased to have a coach of Steve’s caliber fill the void left by Mike Hastings’ departure,” said Nebraska-Omaha coach Dean Blais in a news release. “Steve has the ability to be a great recruiter for us and his on-ice skills as a coach are very strong as shown by his work in both the United States Hockey League and at the college level. His knowledge and experience will make our team stronger.”

Johnson spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at St. Cloud State. Prior to that, he succeeded Blais as the head coach of the Fargo Force of the USHL where he coached for one season, leading the Force to the 2010 Clark Cup finals.