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

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.”

By Joel Rippel

The Minnesota Star Tribune

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

Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers to the Minnesota Vikings in 2025 Just Became a Very Real Possibility

When the Green Bay Packers traded four-time NFL MVP and future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets after the 2022 season, fans quickly got a case DeJa’Vu. Of course, this was because the Packers traded Rodgers’ predecessor, Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, to the Jets 15 years previously.

GOJO AND GOLIC TALK OROY LINE MOVEMENT

As fans may recall, Green Bay grew tired of Favre’s constant flirtation with retirement. When he announced his retirement after the 2007 season, the Packers named Rodgers as their starting quarterback. When Favre (predictably) changed his mind, the front office told him he was more than welcome to return to the team, but he would be backing up Rodgers.

Well, that did not sit well with the now Hall of Fame quarterback. So instead, the Packers traded him to the Jets.

Former Green Bay Packers Quarterback Brett Favre Played for the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings

Dec 28, 2010; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre (4) on the field prior to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Vikings defeated the Eagles 24-14. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Green Bay ended up sending Favre to the New York Jets in exchange for a conditional fourth-round draft pick. In his lone season with the Jets, Favre completed 65.7% of his passes for 3,472 yards, 22 touchdowns, an NFL-leading 22 interceptions, and an 81.0 passer rating.

Following that 2008 season, Favre decided to retire again. However, as fans know all too well, that did not last long. He came out of retirement once again and signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings.

Favre’s first season in Minnesota was a kind of renaissance for him. He completed a career-high 68.3% of his passes for 4,202 yards, 33 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions while putting up a career-high 107.2 passer rating.

He did, however, throw away Minnesota’s chances at a Super Bowl by throwing a game-sealing interception in the NFC Championship game that year.

The following year, Favre saw his ironman streak of consecutive games played come to an end as he and the Vikings struggled. He completed just 60.6% of his passes for 2,509 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions in 13 games.

Of course, the Packers did end up bringing Favre back on a one-day contract so that he could retire as a Packer. He was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame and his number was retired and hangs along with just a precious few others at Lambeau Field.

When Rodgers was traded to New York himself, many joked that he was following the Favre Post Packers Career Path. At the time, it was just a joke.

But it may be closer to a reality now.

Former Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Could End Up with the Minnesota Vikings in 2025

Nov 10, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) passes against the Arizona Cardinals during the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

By now, fans are well-aware of the turmoil Rodgers and the Jets are experiencing. They fired their head coach, Robert Saleh, after a 2-3 start to the season, but have gone just 1-5 since then. Even though they acquired former Packers wide receiver Davante Adams via trade before the deadline, their offense has not gotten any better.

On Tuesday, Jets owner Woody Johnson announced that he had fired general manager Joe Douglas. This is significant because Douglas was in the final year of his contract. Johnson likely is getting a position in Donald Trump’s new administration and, like last time when he was the Ambassador to the United Kingdom, will not be around to run the team.

He wants to pick his own general manger.

And he wanted Rodgers benched weeks ago.

According to a report in The Athletic:

“During the meeting, Johnson suggested to the coaches that they bench Aaron Rodgers in favor of Tyrod Taylor because he felt Rodgers’ performance was holding the team back. The coaches and Douglas, stunned at the suggestion, talked him out of it and convinced Johnson to stay the course and that benching Rodgers, with his pedigree, four games into the season would not sit well with the locker room.

“The coaches also felt it would embarrass Rodgers. The idea of benching the future Hall of Famer sounded so absurd that one coach asked whether the owner was serious — multiple sources from that meeting believed he was.”

Saleh and Douglas convinced Johnson that benching Rodgers was a bad idea. And now they are both gone.

With New York looking to rebuild, it is entirely probable that Rodgers will be released after the season is over. And when that happens, if he still wants to play, the Vikings will be an interesting team to watch.

Sam Darnold is having a great season for Minnesota, but he is only on a one-year deal and could get a big payday after his strong 2024. JJ McCarthy, whom the Vikings drafted in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, is coming off of a torn ACL.

If Rodgers is looking to play just one more year, well, the Vikings may need a veteran who can play and help mentor McCarthy.

And as petty as Rodgers is, he may be looking to Minnesota as well.

Vikings Teased as Possible Landing Spot for Aaron Rodgers