The Lincoln Stars announced on Friday that Chris Michael has been named interim GM and head coach. Michael replaces Cody Chupp, who did not have his contracted renewed by the team after a 23-20-3-2 season.
Michael, 38, first joined the Stars as an assistant coach during the 2017-18 season. Prior to his tenure in Lincoln, the Skokie, IL native spent four seasons with the Omaha Lancers as an assistant coach (2013-14) and associate head coach (2014-17).
Before making the jump to the USHL, Michael spent four years as head coach at one of the premier AAA programs in the country, the Chicago Mission, amassing a record of 216-54-27, collecting four State Championships, two USA Hockey Central District Championships, one USA Hockey National Runner-Up, and the 2013 USA Hockey U16 National Championship.
As a player, Michaels played two seasons with the Green Bay Gamblers, amassing 68 points in 112 USHL games. He then went on to play college hockey at Miami (OH) University for four seasons, registering 81 points as a RedHawk in 137 appearances.
“We feel very confident with Chris Michael,” Stars owner Ryan Schiff said in a statement. “Chris has been in the USHL for seven years, three of them in our program and is obviously very highly regarded. We know Chris is an excellent coach, talent evaluator and is very familiar with our league, structure and team culture. This is a very natural evolution in our league. In fact, it is the essence of development that our league strives to achieve: to provide an opportunity to grow and step into a greater role when the opportunity presents itself.”
