Martinson Joins Roosevelt To Revive Women's Hockey Program

CHICAGO – Roosevelt University Vice President of Athletics and Student-Athlete Success Michael Cassidy announced Tuesday that Steve Martinson has been hired as the new head coach of the Lakers women's hockey team.

Martinson arrives in Chicago with a championship pedigree from his time behind the bench in professional hockey with 10 titles to his credit as head coach. He most recently served as the head coach of the Allen Americans in the East Coast Hockey League, where he guided the team to four championships during his 10 years at the helm. The Americans took home the title in their final two seasons in the Central Hockey League then won the ECHL's Kelly Cup in 2014-15 and 2015-16 in their first two seasons in the league.

"We are extremely excited to bring in Steve Martinson to revitalize the women's hockey program," said Billy Karr, Roosevelt's Director of Hockey. "We have been looking for the right fit to rebuild the women's program and we feel that Steve has the experience and tenacity to get us going in the right direction.  He has been involved in every facet of the game and we will lean heavily on his experience and knowledge to put RU Women's Hockey back on the map."

Martinson also served as the head coach of the Elmira Jackals from 2007-10 after three seasons as the head coach of the Rockford IceHogs, then part of the United Hockey League. He won one title in Rockford after winning five with the San Diego Gulls in the West Coast Hockey League from 1995-2004. In total, Martinson has won more than 1,100 professional games as a head coach.

After playing two years at St. Cloud State, Martinson spent 14 years playing professional hockey, including making 49 regular-season appearances at the NHL level. He scored two goals and recorded one assist in the NHL while maintaining a 0 plus-minus rating. He played in his only playoff game during the Montreal Canadiens' run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1988-89 before falling in six games to the Calgary Flames.

"I'm really looking forward to being back home and coaching the Roosevelt University Woman's Hockey team," Martinson said. "I've been involved with women's hockey since my daughter played AAA in Texas. We are looking to build the program and put Roosevelt Woman's Hockey back on the map.  We want to play a puck possession style of hockey that will be both entertaining and fun to play."