The Minnesota Golden Gophers men’s hockey team has added a pair of former Gophers to their coaching staff, the school announced on Monday.
Former Gophers forward Ben Gordon will join the team as the assistant director of hockey operations and former Gophers All-American forward Corey Millen will join the team as an undergraduate assistant.
According to the press release, Millen is also returning to Minnesota to finish his undergraduate degree in recreation, park and leisure studies. Gordon will oversee the day-to-day video operations and assist with the general hockey operations.
Gophers head coach Don Lucia is excited about the new additions to his coaching staff.
“Ben and Corey share our passion and vision for the Gopher Hockey program, and we are excited to welcome them back to campus as members of our staff,” Minnesota head coach Don Lucia said in a press release. “Ben and Corey have had great success both as players and coaches and that wealth of experience will be a tremendous asset for our players and our program.”
The #Gophers have added 'U' alums Ben Gordon & Corey Millen to the staff. https://t.co/7Nc4GuLe8r pic.twitter.com/wJzmlDCBCL
— Minnesota M Hockey (@GopherHockey) September 6, 2016
Millen brings valuable experience to the Gophers bench, both as a player and a coach. In four seasons with the Gophers (1982-83, 1984-87) Millen left Minnesota ranked third all-time in points, scoring 119 goals and 241 points in 149 games.
After leaving the Gophers, Millen played in Europe and the National Hockey League. In 335 career NHL games, with five different teams (New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames) Millen scored 90 goals and 209 points, with a plus-36 rating. Millen also played five seasons with the Cologne Sharks of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. In 229 games, he scored 114 goals and 253 points, he was also a plus-48.
Millen has spent the last three seasons (2013-16) as a head coach for the Minnesota Wilderness of the North American Hockey League. The Cloquet native led the hometown Wilderness to a 127-53-23 (.672) record. Under Millen, the Wilderness won a Robertson Cup during the 2014-15 season.
Gordon played four seasons (2004-08) with the Gophers, scoring 39 goals and 98 points in 148 games. After leaving college, Gordon played six seasons (2008-14) of professional hockey, with nine different teams, in four different leagues. Gordon played a majority of those games in the East Coast Hockey league. In 175 ECHL games, Gordon scored 68 goals and 183 points, with a plus-33 rating. Gordon also played 113 games in the Central Hockey League with the Tulsa Oilers, Gordon scored 62 goals and 155 points, he was a minus-12.
Gordon spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach for the College of St. Scholastica of NCAA Division III and the Tri-City Storm of the United State Hockey League.
Link to Ben Gordon’s Hockey DB page.
