COLUMBIA, S.C. � The Columbia Inferno of the ECHL announced today that they have hired former Mississippi Sea Wolves forward Troy Mann as head coach.
Mann, 36, spent the 2005-06 season as an assistant coach with Columbia after serving as an assistant coach for the Topeka Tarantulas of the Central Hockey League in 2004-05, which included a 15-game stint as interim head coach.
�Troy has been working hard towards becoming a head coach and we believe that he has the expertise and enthusiasm to tackle his first head coaching job,� said Ezra Riber, Columbia President of Hockey Operations. �I see him making the very most of this opportunity.�
�I am grateful to the Inferno owners and organization for giving me this opportunity to become their new head coach,� said Mann. �I have been preparing since the spring of 1998 working towards a coaching career. I look forward to building on the young core group of players that we have returning for the upcoming season. My goal is to bring the Inferno Hockey Club back to the playoffs, a place very familiar to the organization.�
The first player to sign with Mississippi in 1996, Mann went onto play three seasons with the Sea Wolves from 1996-99, capped off by being a member of the 1999 Kelly Cup Championship team. In 161 games with Mississippi, Mann scored 65 goals, which is eighth all-time in team history, including 23 power-play tallies to sit in a tie for fourth all-time with Travis Lisabeth. A native of Campbellton, New Brunswick, Mann also added 63 assists in his Sea Wolves tenure for a total of 128 points.
