Finlandia hires a men’s hockey coach

Courtesy of Finlandia Athletics

Hancock, MI – Former NCAA champion Dane Litke has been named the head coach of the Finlandia University men’s hockey program.
“With our athletics programs moving in such a positive direction, I couldn’t be happier to recognize Coach Litke as our next head men’s hockey coach,” Director of Athletics Chris Salani said. “Dane has had tremendous successes as a head coach at the Junior A level, and we needed to identify a coach like Dane, who has both the experience and hockey network that will allow our men’s hockey program to grow and succeed within the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA).  His hockey knowledge, detail to discipline, and winning character will be a tremendous fit for our hockey team and hockey community.”

Litke brings a head coaching record of 158 wins, 103 losses, and 25 ties to Finlandia.  During his time coaching, Dane coached one National Championship Runner-up and two North American Hockey League (NAHL) Division title teams while earning himself an NAHL Coach of the Year honors.

Dane played his collegiate hockey at North Dakota from 1993-97, where they won an NCAA Championship in 1997.  In 1997, North Dakota was also Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) regular season champs and won the Final Five Championship.  Individually, Litke was a two-time captain and was named to the All-Academic Team for the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons.  He also earned All-WCHA Third Team Defenseman in the 1996-97 season.

Litke also played 5 seasons of semi-professional hockey, 4 seasons in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and 1 season in the Central Hockey League (CHL).

“I am very excited about becoming Finlandia’s Head Hockey Coach,” Litke said.  “This is a great opportunity for my family and I want to thank Chris Salani, Dr. Lenny Klaver, and President, Dr. Philip Johnson for their trust in me.”

Learn more about Finlandia University men’s hockey by visiting fulions.com.