Ice Pilots name Joe Clark as Assistant Coach
Published on August 7, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL)
Pensacola Ice Pilots News Release
PENSACOLA, FL -- The Pensacola Ice Pilots announced today (Monday) they have named veteran European coach Joe Clark as the assistant to head coach George Dupont.
Clark, a native of Augusta, Maine, spent 10 successful seasons as a head coach in Scandinavia, splitting his time between the Norwegian and Danish national leagues.
"We're fortunate to have someone with Joe's experience on board," said Ice Pilots head coach George Dupont. "His reputation throughout the international hockey world is outstanding."
The 45-year-old was also head coach and director of hockey operations for the Odessa Jackalopes, helping that franchise get off the ground in 1997 when they were an expansion team in the former Western Professional Hockey League, now the Central Hockey League. During Clark's tenure in West Texas, the Jackalopes were named the league's Organization of the Year in 1998 and 1999.
"I am grateful that George has given me the opportunity to get back in the game," Clark said. "I've missed it. I've missed being around the players, the locker room and the culture. I'll do whatever I can to help George make this a top-shelf organization and a winner on the ice."
Clark was also an assistant coach at the University of Maine, helping the Black Bears to their first Hockey East championship and NCAA Final Four appearance in 1988.
Clark already has connections with the Ice Pilots' affiliates the NHL's New York Islanders and the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers. As an Assistant Coach at the University of Maine, he coached Sound Tigers' Assistant coach Jack Capuano and current Islander General Manager Garth Snow.
Clark stepped away from the coaching ranks after leading Herning (Denmark) to a bronze medal in 2002. He put his vast journalism and broadcasting background to use as an editor, columnist and writer for the Omaha World-Herald for the past four years, and covered the American Hockey League last season. He also served as a television color analyst for AHL broadcasts.
Clark's wife, Stephanie, is on the women's basketball staff at the University of Nebraska. The couple, who met when they were both coaching in Odessa, Texas, have a daughter, Sydnie (7) and a son, Tanner (5).
Full and partial season tickets for the coolest game in the Gulf Coast, Pensacola Ice Pilots hockey are currently available by calling the offices at (850) 432-PUCK.
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