ST. CHARLES, MO. - Lindenwood men's ice hockey head coach Rick Zombo has announced his coaching staff for the 2022-23 season, which will include Jason Power and Tom Winkler as assistant coaches.

Zombo, a former NHL player has been head coach of the men's ice hockey program since the summer of 2010. Since taking over at the helm of the program, the Lions have made numerous trips to the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division I Championships under the leadership of Zombo, and in 2016 and 2021, the team won the national title.   

Zombo brings many different levels of success and experience to the Lindenwood hockey program.  Prior to becoming head coach, he was instrumental in directing defensive play and the recruiting process for the Lions. During his two seasons as assistant coach, Lindenwood won the CSCHL regular season and post season title once and also captured two ACHA national championships.

Before beginning his tenure at Lindenwood, Zombo spent a season as the head coach and general manager of the Heartland Eagles in the USHL and three seasons with the St. Louis Sting in the NAHL. He also coached Marquette High School in St. Louis for three seasons and headed up Team Missouri at the Chicago Showcase.

Before his coaching career, Zombo spent 12 seasons in the NHL, including four years with the St. Louis Blues. He was selected 149th overall in the eighth round of the 1981 NHL entry draft by the Detroit Red Wings. He played for the Red Wings for eight seasons before being traded to the Blues early in the 1991-92 season. His final year in the NHL was during the 1995-96 campaign when he wore the Boston Bruins sweater. Zombo also spent parts of his first three professional seasons with the Adirondack Red Wings and won a Calder Cup with them in 1986.

Zombo finished his NHL career with 652 regular season games played, 24 career goals and 130 career assists. He also skated in 60 playoff games where he recorded one postseason goal and 11 assists.

While in college, Zombo was a three-time letter winner on defense with North Dakota from 1981-84. He won an NCAA national championship in his freshman season and earned a spot on the United Sate National Team at the World Junior Hockey Championships during his sophomore season. He served as captain of the Fighting Sioux in his junior season and totaled 63 points in his college career at North Dakota.

Power joined the Lindenwood coaching staff prior to the 2020-21 season and has 23 years of coaching experience. Before his arrival at Lindenwood, Power has worked as a coach and scout at various USA Hockey Festivals from the affiliate level through the District Level up to the National Festivals with a focus on player development and identification.

Power was named head coach for the Romanian National u18 team for the IIHF D2A World championships that were canceled due to COVID-19 and had coaching stops with the Lincoln Stars in the USHL and the Topeka Pilots of the NAHL where he assisted in the draft process and player recruitment, while having a key role with the team's goaltenders.

Power began his coaching career in 1999 at O'Fallon high school where he was the assistant coach before becoming head coach. During this time, Power was also an assistant coach with the Springfield Junior Blues.

Coach Winkler joins the Lions staff after a successful run with the Huntsville Havoc of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). During his tenure with the Havoc, Winkler served in several roles which included assistant coach, player development, and corporate relations. The Havoc won the President's Cup Playoff Championship in both 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. Also, during his time in Huntsville, Winkler was a Director of Hockey Operations and a AAA coach for Total Package Hockey (TPH).
 
A long-time veteran of US Junior Hockey, Winkler has spent time in the NAHL with the Bozeman Icedogs and the Shreveport Mudbugs. He has been a coach and GM with several teams including: the St. Louis Jr. Blues, Hampton Roads Whalers, Gillette Wild , and the Point Mallard Ducks. During his time in Hampton Roads, Winkler had the privilege of working with the Norfolk Admirals (AHL) with a coaching internship.
 
Winkler is a St. Louis native playing with Christian Brothers College (CBC) High School and played collegiately at Norwich University.