St. Thomas women’s hockey coach Joel Johnson has resigned, the school announced Tuesday, amid questions on why he was not with the team for its most recent game.
The school confirmed Johnson’s resignation in a two-paragraph release that didn’t indicate any reason for the departure. Assistant coach Bethany Brausen will be the team’s interim head coach starting with a series Friday and Saturday at No. 1 Wisconsin.
The Tommies are 5-8-1 and 2-7-1 in the WCHA after they were swept on the road by Bemidji State last weekend.
Johnson was behind the bench for Friday’s 4-1 loss but video of Saturday’s 4-3 defeat did not show him as part of the coaching staff on the bench or in postgame handshakes.
A St. Thomas spokesperson didn’t return a message seeking information earlier Tuesday on Johnson’s absence from Saturday’s game. The school on Wednesday issued a statement from athletic director Phil Esten that referenced an incident.
“I can confirm we immediately started an investigation after concerns were brought to our attention following Friday night’s game,” Esten said in the statement.
The school did not respond to a question about the hiring process for a new full-time head coach.
St. Thomas was 28-88-4 in three-plus seasons with Johnson as head coach, although he missed parts of his first season, 2021-22, while he was head coach of the U.S. Olympic team that won a silver medal.
He was named St. Thomas’ coach on June 7, 2021, as the St. Paul, Minn., school made the transition from Division III to Division I. Johnson was an assistant at Minnesota for 16 seasons over two stints around a stretch from 2004 to 2010 in which he worked with the Bethel men’s hockey program.
