SPECIAL FOR THE ACHA
By Allan Brown
For the past three years a small Swiss flag has been proudly sandwiched between the dominantly larger flags of the United States and Canada that hang from the rafters of the hallowed rink at Bird Arena, the facility the Ohio University Bobcats hockey team has called home for decades.
That Swiss flag was there to honor Lionel Mauron who guided the team back to prominence and to deep American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) national tournament runs in each of his three seasons as OU head coach.
Even though Mauron has resigned as the Bobcats head coach, the flag probably should remain to honor the young coach who put Ohio University hockey back on the competitive map.
Mauron left Athens, Ohio, recently and has accepted a new position as assistant to the head coach of the Miami University of Ohio’s NCAA hockey program, the Oxford-based school announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Having accepted the challenge to lead the-then struggling Bobcats when he signed with the club, Mauron and a new team of coaches in Oxford, Ohio, will now face a similar situation as they attempt to rebound a RedHawks hockey team that has also floundered in recent years and is coming off a 7-26 2023-24 campaign.
It’s a task Mauron readily accepts, as he always likes a good challenge and with new Miami head coach Anthony Noreen at the helm, it’s one the RedHawks staff eagerly anticipates tackling.
“A lot of what I’ll be doing is pre-scouting, analyzing our opponents and working with the players,” Mauron said.
Mauron explains that he was a bit of a free agent upon leaving Ohio University and when this position at Miami became available he jumped at the opportunity to join Noreen and his team of coaches and hopefully to help the RedHawks have the same kind of success in Oxford that he had in Athens.
That’s the plan and Mauron is impressed with the coaching resume Noreen brings to the ice.
“He’s won everywhere, it’s super exciting to work with him,” Mauron said of the new Miami coach who was hired by the university early last spring.
“This interested me as an opportunity to help to try and turn the program around,” Mauron said, adding, “For my career it’s advantageous to get into the NCAA. I will be working with varsity athletes and working with the tools they work with at a high level and I wanted to add that to my tool bag.”
Having only been in Oxford a little more than a week now, Mauron’s also impressed with other things about the school and its hockey program.
“The first thing that impressed me was the facilities and how they treat the coaches and players – it’s like the NHL,” Mauron admitted, adding that being part of a five-member staff, as opposed to two at OU, is another benefit of his new job.
“It’s fun to bounce ideas off one another,” the coach said.
While he’s already enjoying his new job, it’s also a little bittersweet for Mauron, as he enjoyed his time in Athens and being able to help lead the Bobcats back to prominence.
“I will miss the people and miss working with the youth hockey program. I definitely think we made an impact on the community.”
Mauron said that Athens was a great place to live and to coach hockey in, as the players were committed to the game and the Bobcats’ Boosters were just as devoted to ensuring the team had the tools needed to achieve their goals.
It’s not lost on Mauron that in addition to missing the players – who he had established such a strong bond with in Athens – he feels that the 2025-25 Bobcats are on the cusp of something big.
“It’s a weird time to leave because it’s all my players who I brought on board. I also feel that this year they have all the pieces needed to win it all,” Mauron said.
During his tenure leading the Bobcats, the squad went from obscurity to becoming a force to be reckoned with and Mauron was named ACHA Men’s D1 Coach of the Year in 2023 for his efforts. Additionally, he was also named the Central States Collegiate Hockey League’s Coach of the Year that same season.
That’s just two of the memories he takes away from his time at OU.
As humble as he is passionate about the sport he coaches, it’s not the individual accolades he accumulated as head coach that he will most remember, though, instead it’s specific team moments that he will cherish the most.
“My favorite memories are the two wins against Minot State at nationals, especially the win in double overtime (last year). I thought that we had arrived,” Mauron, who compiled a 72-29-11 overall record in Athens, said.
Those same memories are likely engrained in the minds of two former Bobcat players, too, as was the opportunity both had to grow as players under Mauron’s auspice.
“Lio was the best coach I’ve had and I’m sad to see him leave OU. He joined us at a time when our team was struggling, and between his coaching attitude and strong recruiting we were able to return to a consistent top four team in the country,” former Ohio University Captain Sam Turner said.
“It’s definitely safe to say he brought the OU program back to where it needed to me. Personally, Lio was the coach when I was the captain so we worked together very closely. He’ll be the first to tell you we didn’t agree on everything, but ultimately we always came to the right decision for the team together. I’m very thankful I had the opportunity to play for him for three years and wish him the best of luck in the future,” Turner added.
Similar comments were echoed by Blake Rossi, a star defenseman for the club during Mauron’s first two seasons as head coach.
“Lio was such an unforgettable coach. He cared about the small details and wanted the best for all of us,” Rossi said.
The D-man, who graduated from Ohio University in 2023, added that “What made him such a great college coach was how he prepared us every week for our opponents. He would watch so much film and would tell us every week what the team would be doing. He was always prepared and I think that’s the reason why we were able to beat teams like Minot, Adrian and Liberty consistently.”
Those positive attributes Mauron brought to the game weren’t the only traits Rossi admired about his former head coach.
“What I liked the most about Lio was how personable he was and how easy he was to talk to. He was always straight forward with us and told us how it was. He really loved all of us and treated us top notch. That leaded a lot to our success. Wish him nothing but the best,” Rossi said.
Mauron played college hockey for Division III Curry College from 2015-19. He also played for the Lausanne Hockey Club (Swiss League), the Jacksonville Icemen (ECHL) and the Knoxville Ice Bears (SPHL).
Now ‘all in’ with his new role and university, Mauron will always have cherised memories of his time in Athens as he looks forward to having the same positive impact on the Oxford hockey community that he had with the Ohio University hockey faithful during his tenure as that team’s head coach.
Note about the author: As the former editor of the Athens Messenger, Allan Brown considers covering Mauron and the Ohio University hockey team as a highlight of his long career in sports writing.
