ST. CLOUD — University of Wisconsin assistant coach
and
Bemidji State associate head coach Travis Winter
have interviewed for the vacant St. Cloud State men’s hockey head coaching position, sources told St. Cloud LIVE on Wednesday, April 1.
St. Cloud State has said it anticipates an announcement this week about the search to replace
who recently became head coach at the University of Minnesota.
Oliver, 34, is from Roseau and played forward for
from 2011-15. He served as an assistant captain as a junior and captain as a senior. After his college career, he was an assistant coach and director of scouting for the Fargo Force from 2015-18. From 2018-22, he was an assistant coach under Larson at SCSU. The Huskies went 81-44-9 in those four seasons, including an NCHC regular-season title, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and the school’s first NCAA championship game appearance in 2021.
In 2022-23, he served as head coach for the Force.
Since 2023, he has been with the Badgers
under Mike Hastings, who played at St. Cloud State in the late 1980s. Oliver has a business finance degree, and he and his wife, Alex, have a young son.
Nick Oliver coached the USHL’s Fargo Force in 2022-23.
Rob Beer / The Rink Live
Winter, 41, is a St. Cloud native at Tech High School graduate. He was a forward for Bemidji State from 2005-09, serving as a captain each of his last two seasons. He has been the Beavers’ associate head coach under former Huskies assistant Tom Serratore since 2022.
From 2014-22, Winter was an assistant at BSU.
Previously, he was the head coach of the NAHL’s Aberdeen Wings in 2013-14. From 2009-13, he was an assistant coach with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids Roughriders, and in 2008-09 he was an assistant coach for St. John’s University.
Winter has a business administration degree. He and his wife, Stephanie, have two children.
The University of Wisconsin is still active this season, having advanced to the Frozen Four in Las Vegas. The Badgers play North Dakota at 4 p.m. April 9 in the semifinals. The championship is at 4:30 p.m. April 11.
Wisconsin is 23-12-2 overall this season and went 14-10-0 in the Big Ten.
Bemidji State finished its season 13-19-4 overall and 8-8-1 in the CCHA. The Beavers were eliminated in a first-round playoff sweep, March 6-7 at Augustana.
Bemidji State associate head coach Travis Winter has been named an assistant for Team USA’s 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship Staff on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
Courtesy / Brent Cizek Photography
Mick Hatten is a reporter and editor for stcloudlive.com. He began working for Forum Communications in November 2018 for The Rink Live and has covered St. Cloud State University hockey since 2010. Besides covering Huskies hockey, he is also covering other sports at SCSU and high school sports. A graduate of St. Cloud State, he has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist and has been a youth hockey coach since 2014. mick@stcloudlive.com
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