Friday incident led to Joel Johnson’s resignation as St. Thomas women’s hockey coach

In a statement, St. Thomas athletic director Phil Esten says, “I can confirm we immediately started an investigation after concerns were brought to our attention following Friday night’s game.”

The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 20, 2024 at 8:12PM
Joel Johnson, shown in 2023, is leaving his coaching position with the St. Thomas women's hockey program. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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. On Wednesday, Tommies athletic director Phil Esten issued a statement indicating that a Friday night incident led to Johnson’s resignation.

“While I cannot comment on the specifics of the incident itself, I can confirm we immediately started an investigation after concerns were brought to our attention following Friday night’s game,” Esten said in his statement. “Coach Johnson did not coach the team on Saturday night and resigned on Tuesday. We hold all of our coaches to the highest standards consistent with university values and convictions, and prioritize the experience and well-being of our student-athletes.”

St. Thomas lost 4-1 to Bemidji State on Friday after losing its previous game to Lindenwood 6-1. After losing Saturday, without Johnson, the Tommies fell to 1-8-1 in their past 10 games. They are scheduled to play at top-ranked Wisconsin this weekend.

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.

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about the writer

Joel Rippel

News Assistant

Joel Rippel writes about sports for the Star Tribune.

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