Joel Johnson exits as coach of St. Thomas women’s hockey program

St. Thomas women’s hockey coach Joel Johnson, who has led the program since its transition to Division I in 2021, resigned Tuesday, the school announced.

Assistant coach Bethany Brausen has been named the team’s interim head coach.

St. Thomas did not reveal reasons for the change in the statement it released Tuesday.

Johnson, who spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach for the Gophers women’s team before taking the St. Thomas position and coached the U.S. women’s team in the 2022 Olympics, had a 28-88-4 overall record and 12-77-4 record in the WCHA in his 3 ½ seasons at St. Thomas. The Tommies are 5-8-1 overall and 2-7-1 in the WCHA this season.

Johnson, 50, is a native of Woodbury. He spent two stints as a Gophers assistant coach (1999-2004, 2011-21) and has extensive experience with USA Hockey. From 2015-18, he served as the head coach of the U.S. U-18 team. In 2019, he served as an assistant on the U.S. women’s national team, and in 2021 he was named interim head coach of the team.

The U.S. won a silver medal in the 2022 Olympics, losing to Canada 3-2 in the gold medal game.

Johnson also served as the Bethel men’s hockey coach from 2007-10, coaching the Royals to a 38-34-3 record.

Brausen, who was in her fourth season as a Tommies assistant, is a former Gophers player and assistant coach. She was a four-year letter winner for the Gophers from 2010-14, before serving as a Gophers assistant coach from 2016-21. As a player at the U, she was part of national championships in 2012 and 2013 and a runner-up finish in 2014

In 2023, Brausen, who played high school hockey at Roseville, was a guest coach for the Boston Bruins’ development camp.

The Tommies, who have won just one of their past 10 games (1-8-1) since opening the season 4-0 with sweeps of Post and Minnesota State Mankato, are scheduled to play at top-ranked Wisconsin this weekend.