KEARNEY, Neb. – Tri-City Storm owner Kirk Brooks announced Monday that head coach and general manager Josh Hauge has been relieved of his coaching duties.

Under Hauge’s guidance, which spanned parts of three seasons, the Storm had an overall record of 46-62-10.

“On behalf of the entire organization we want to thank Josh for his time and the commitment he made to being our head coach and wish him the best moving forward,” said Brooks, who has owned the team since 2009. “I believe we’ve done everything in terms of providing our coaching staff and players with the tools necessary to win hockey games, but in the end we still feel the team is underachieving and felt it was time to make a change.”

 Brooks expects to name a new head coach at a press conference on Tuesday, November 19 at the Viaero Event Center.

Hauge was originally hired by Brooks as an assistant coach prior to the 2011-12 season, but was promoted to head coach after just 21 games on Dec. 7, 2011. In the final 39 games of the regular season, Hauge led the team to a 20-18-1 record and secured a playoff berth, finishing in sixth in the USHL’s Western Conference.

During the 2012-13 campaign, Hauge’s first full season as head coach and general manager, the Storm finished at the bottom of the conference standings with an overall record of 22-35-7.

So far this season through 15 games, Tri-City has a record of 4-9-2, tied for sixth in the conference. The Storm sit 11 points back of fourth place, the final playoff spot.

Before the Storm, Hauge spent six seasons coaching the Fairbanks Ice Dogs (North American Hockey League), and served as the head coach for the last three of them. In 2011, Hauge won the Robertson Cup as the Champion of the NAHL and compiled an overall regular-season record of 111-49-15.

Hauge’s contract will be honored through the end of the season.

Tri-City will hit the road once again this weekend for three games away from home. The Storm take on the Chicago Steel on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., and then continue on to Ann Arbor, Mich. to take on the USA 17-and-under team on both Saturday night at 7:00 and Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.