Dean Blais Steps Down as Coach at Omaha

Nebraska Omaha announced on Tuesday that head coach Dean Blais was stepping down from the position after eight years in Omaha.

Blais, a winner of two national titles as head coach at North Dakota, was a major hire for the still-young Omaha program when he returned to college hockey after an unsuccessful stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets to become Omaha’s second-ever head coach in 2009.

His impressive resume helped give Omaha the cachet to move from the CCHA to the WCHA in 2010, and then to the newly-formed NCHC in 2013, but ultimately, Blais never came close to matching the type of success he saw at North Dakota.

Blais finished his career at Omaha with a 146-133-30 record with the Mavericks. The Mavericks made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament under Blais, including a trip to the Frozen Four in 2015, though amazingly, the Mavericks lost all eight conference playoff quarterfinal series under Blais.

During his time at Omaha, Blais also coached the 2010 US World Junior team to a gold medal.

In the announcement, the school said that Blais will be involved in the selection of his successor.