The third head coach in the history of Minnesota State women's hockey, Eric Means is entering his fifth season as the skipper of the Mavericks.

Means, who has brought intensity, work ethic and a wealth of hockey knowledge to the Mavericks, served 14 seasons as an assistant for the MSU men's program prior to being put in charge of the women's program in the spring of 2009,

While with the men's programs, Means worked with MSU defensemen and in addition to on-ice coaching and administrative responsibilities, has also monitored student-athlete academic progress and served as MSU's recruiting coordinator.

During his time with Minnesota State, the Mavericks placed 97 student athletes on the WCHA All-Academic Squad, had 10 All-WCHA players and a pair of Mavericks named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team as well as honored as WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year.

Several Mavericks have gone on and played hockey after their career at Minnesota State, including seven Mavericks who reached the NHL level (Tim Jackman (Calgary), Grant Stevenson (San Jose), David Backes (captain of St. Louis Blues), Ryan Carter (New Jersey), Steve Wagner (St. Louis), Jon Kalinski (Philadelphia) and Travis Morin (Dallas).

Means has been the lead coach of the Minnesota Advanced 15 Girls Festival the previous two summers. The camp is for the top 102 fifteen year old girls in the state of Minnesota. The camp has taken place on the campus of MSU.

A defenseman at the University of Minnesota ('94 grad) during his collegiate playing career, Means was a member teams that claimed one league regular season and two play-off titles, and advanced to the NCAA post-season tournament from 1989-94. He redshirted during the 1990-91 season, but was selected to play for Team USA at the World University Games. He accumulated eight goals and 40 points in 123 games with the Gophers and as a senior received the Doc Romnes Leadership and Sportsman Award.

The Rochester, Minn., native earned a master's degree from MSU in 1997 and has served as a coach at several USA Hockey select camps.

Means and his wife, Leah, have a daughter (Riley) and son (Logan) and reside in North Mankato.

Jon Austin was named assistant coach with the women's hockey program at Minnesota State in August of 2009.

Austin played four years as a forward for Colorado College (1995-99) where he collected 25 goals and 44 assists for 69 points in 142 career games. The Tigers advanced to the NCAA national championship game in his freshman season (1995-96).

After graduating from CC in 1999, Austin spent the next three years playing professionally before joining the coaching staff at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn. Austin served as an assistant to Tom Ward with the boys prep team at Shattuck and the native of International Falls, Minn., helped lead the Sabres to the national championship in 2006. He also served as an assistant coach with the boys varsity team at International Falls for two seasons prior to joining the Mavericks in the summer of 2009.

Shari (Vogt) Dickerman joined the Minnesota State women's hockey staff as an assistant coach in June of 2009.

An All-American goaltender for the Mavericks as a collegian, Dickerman joined MSU's staff after spending a year as an assistant coach with the girls Prep 19U team at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn.

She also had been a lead instructor for The Goalie Club since 2003 and was an assistant coach for Mankato West High School in 2004-05.

Named to the 2004 Jofa Division I All-American Second Team and a two-time All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association First Team selection, Dickerman was a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award in 2004 as the top women's college hockey player in the nation.

She concluded her MSU career, which spanned from 2000-2004, holding the school and WCHA record for career saves. A four-year letterwinner for the Mavericks, she was named WCHA Player of the Week eight times, was USCHO.com National Defensive Player of the Week four times and was a four-time MSU team Most Valuable Player.

The Richmond, Minn., native earned a degree in physical in education from MSU in 2004 and earned a master's degree in exercise science from MSU in 2008.

Dickerman and her husband, Jon, and their son Tucker, live North Mankato.