Karl Goehring held different roles on UND's last two NCAA national championship teams.
In 2000, he was the record-setting starting goaltender, famously high stepping and waving toward the fans after the clinching goal in the national title game.
In 2016, he was in the press box in Tampa's Amalie Arena as the team's volunteer goalie coach, calmly watching his protege, Cam Johnson, turn in a terrific performance in the NCAA Frozen Four as UND won its eighth national championship in dominating fashion.
Now, Goehring is coming back to campus in yet another role, hoping to deliver UND more national championships.
Goehring has been offered -- and will accept -- the position as UND's full-time assistant coach, two NHL sources have confirmed to the Herald. The hire is expected to be finalized by the end of the week.
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Goehring, who interviewed for the job late last week, has spent the last two years in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization as the goaltender coach and video coach for its American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse (N.Y.) Crunch.
Prior to that, Goehring worked as UND's volunteer goalie coach for seven seasons with remarkable success. UND had four different starting goalies during that span. Three of them dressed in the NHL this season, a UND program record.
Goehring will surely be asked to do more than work with the program's three goalies this season -- Adam Scheel, Peter Thome and Harrison Feeney -- but his exact role isn't yet known.
The job posting for the assistant coach position, replacing Matt Shaw, was vague and did not specify whether the new hire would be asked to work with special teams units, forwards, defensemen or goaltenders. Last season, Shaw worked with the forwards and the power play. Associate head coach Dane Jackson worked with the defensemen and the penalty kill.
Prior to 2015, Jackson worked with UND's forwards. UND head coach Brad Berry has extensive experience developing defensemen and has also run the power play at the college level.
UND will return to an all-alum full-time staff, which the program had from 2004-15 with various combinations of Dave Hakstol, Berry, Jackson and Cary Eades serving on staff.
Of the last 11 assistant coaches hired at UND, nine of them have been former players, including Goehring. The outliers in that group are Mark Osiecki and Shaw.
Goehring came to UND in 1997 from Apple Valley, Minn., and became one of the program's greatest players over the next four years. He set all-time program records in virtually every goaltending category: wins, winning percentage, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts. His career records in wins (80), winning percentage (.765) and shutouts (15) still stand.
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Goehring led UND to back-to-back NCAA national championship games in 2000 and 2001, winning it in Providence and losing in overtime the following year in Albany, N.Y.
Goehring played professionally for eight seasons, mostly in the AHL. He did briefly reach the NHL with the Nashville Predators and dressed for a game.
Upon retiring from playing in 2009, Goehring immediately jumped into coaching with the Syracuse Crunch for a season before returning to Grand Forks to volunteer at UND and work with The Hockey Academy training area prep and youth players.
UND's recent assistant coach hires
2019: Karl Goehring (former UND player)
2015: Matt Shaw
2012: Brad Berry (former UND player)
2006: Dane Jackson (former UND player)
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2004: Cary Eades (former UND player)
2000: Brad Berry (former UND player)
2000: Dave Hakstol (former UND player)
1997: Jeff Bowen (former UND player)
1996: Mark Osiecki
1994: Scott Sandelin (former UND player)
1994: Perry Berezan (former UND player)
