Minnesota Has an Obvious Next Women’s Hockey Coach

The University of Minnesota fired its women's hockey head coach Brad Frost on Tuesday. After 19 seasons and four national titles, the program's high standards are being reset — and there is an obvious name atop the list of potential head coaching candidates as the Gophers begin a national search.

Nadine Muzerall had a dominant playing career at the University of Minnesota from 1997 to 2001. Her 139 career goals were a program record until Abbey Murphy passed that mark this season. She compiled 235 points (139 goals and 96 assists), which ranks sixth in program history.

Minnesota's first women's hockey team began playing in 1997, and Muzerall was one of the original stars. She led the team to the AWCHA championship in 2000 before the NCAA began sponsoring women's hockey in 2001.

After a brief professional career in Switzerland, Muzerall began her college coaching career in 2011 as an assistant at the University of Minnesota under Frost. She was a member of the coaching staff on the last four national title-winning teams in 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016.

Muzerall was then hired as the head coach at Ohio State University in 2016. She has turned the Buckeyes into one of the top programs in the sport. They've made the Frozen Four in six straight seasons, and they won national titles in 2022 and 2024

The Mississauga, Ontario, native could win her third national title as a head coach this season. Ohio State is the No. 1 seed, and they will face Northeastern, which beat Minnesota 4-2 in the first round, on Friday night. Penn State and Wisconsin meet in the other national semifinal this weekend.

The question then becomes, does Muzerall want to come back and lead her alma mater? She has built Ohio State into an absolute powerhouse, and she could have them contending for national championships every season. Other than a return to Minnesota, is there any reason for her to leave Columbus?

She's 47 years old, and she's already proven herself as one of the top head coaches in the sport. Minnesota is probably not going to find a more qualified candidate in the entire world.

It's up to athletics director Mark Coyle and the rest of the Gophers administration to find the right person to lead the women's program back to the top of the mountain, and there isn't a better option than Muzarall. It's just a matter of whether she'd be interested in leaving the Buckeyes to return to the U of M.