John Markell, the head coach of the Ohio State men’s hockey team since the 1995-96 season, is in his 14th full season at the helm in 2008-09. The seventh Buckeye head coach, he has led the team to the NCAA tournament five times, marking the only appearances in program history.

His career record stands at 242-234-46 overall and 171-168-36 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

In 2008-09, the Buckeyes are looking to head back on the upswing after a tough 2007-08 campaign. The young squad, which played as many as 10 freshmen each game, highlighted the the season with the Lefty McFadden title to open the year and road wins over 2008 Frozen Four participants Michigan and Notre Dame. The team had more than half its athletes earn Ohio State Scholar-Athlete honors and senior John Dingle received a Fergus Award for postgraduate studies.

In 2006-07, Ohio State was 15-17-5 and posted a 12-12-4 ledger in CCHA play. Captain Sean Collins, the team’s leading scorer, led the way with a spot on the All-CCHA Second Team. In the classroom, 11 Buckeyes were named Ohio State Scholar-Athletes and seven were Academic All-Big Ten honorees.

After three-consecutive NCAA appearances, the 2005-06 season was a down year for the Buckeyes, as the squad finished the campaign 15-19-5 overall. Three Buckeyes earned honorable mention all-conference honors, while 10 were named Ohio State Scholar-Athletes and eight picked up Academic All-Big Ten accolades.

In 2004-05, Ohio State was 27-11-4 and finished second in the CCHA with a record of 21-5-2, the Buckeyes’ highest finish in more than 20 years. The 27 wins tied for the second-most in program history and helped the squad reach the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year. The team’s win over Michigan State in the CCHA Super Six semifinals was the 200th victory of Markell’s career and put the squad in the tournament’s title game for the second year in a row.

Off the ice, the team was honored for having the most-improved grade-point average of any men’s team at Ohio State and 12 Buckeyes were named Ohio State Scholar-Athletes.

In 2003-04, the Buckeyes won three games in three days at the CCHA Super Six Championship to clinch the league’s postseason title for the first time since 1972. Included in the squad’s postseason run were come-from-behind overtime wins in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds and a 4-2 defeat of two-time defending champion and top-seed Michigan in the final game. The Buckeyes went 26-16 and were 16-12 in the CCHA to finish fourth, in addition to earning the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament by virtue of winning the Super Six.

The Buckeyes reached the NCAA tournament for the third time overall and under Markell in 2002-03. The squad went 25-13-5 overall and placed third in the CCHA with a 16-8-4 ledger, reaching the semifinal game of the CCHA Super Six.

In 2001-02, the Buckeyes posted their third 20-win season under Markell, going 20-16-4 (12-12-4 CCHA) and advancing to the semifinals of the CCHA tournament.

In 2000-01, with as many as 10 rookies in the lineup on any given night, the Buckeyes ended the year with a mark of 17-18-2. After a one-year absence from the CCHA playoffs, the squad finished seventh in the league with a 13-13-2 ledger and traveled to Nebraska-Omaha for a first-round matchup. The teams split the first two games, including Ohio State’s overtime win to start the series, to go to a decisive third game. The Buckeyes’ season ended with a tough double-overtime loss to the Mavericks.

During the 2000-01 season, Markell posted his 100th career coaching win with an overtime victory at Miami Feb. 10, 2001.

After back-to-back 20-win seasons, the Buckeyes struggled in 1999-00, but ended the year on a positive note. The squad posted two wins over Miami to close the campaign and win the Ohio Cup, a traveling trophy awarded annually to the state’s most dominant college hockey team. OSU started the season 2-11-0, but went 11-8-4 in its last 23 games to end the season with a 13-19-4 mark, 9-16-3 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

Facing the pressure of coming off a Frozen Four season and the opening of college hockey’s finest facility in 1998-99, Markell responded with a second consecutive NCAA tournament berth and a third-place finish in the CCHA.  He also led his team to its second trip to Joe Louis Arena for the CCHA championship in as many years. That squad finished the season with a 21-16-4 overall mark, 17-10-3 in league play.

Markell engineered one of the biggest turnarounds in the history of collegiate hockey with the 1997-98 Buckeyes and was named CCHA Coach of the Year as a result. Over the last decade and prior to that season, Ohio State averaged just nine wins per year. The Buckeyes tripled that victory total in 1998, finishing the regular season with an overall mark of 27-13-2 and a 19-10-1 record in the CCHA. OSU placed third in the conference, the highest finish in 14 years.  Through the second half of the season, the Markell-led Buckeyes were the hottest team in the country, going 18-3-1 over the final 22 games. That run included two upset wins over then No. 1-ranked Michigan State (Feb. 6, 1998 and March 28, 1998).

As the 1997-98 season progressed, a list of achievements unprecedented in OSU history began to emerge – an eight-game winning streak, a 10-game unbeaten streak and an Ohio Cup championship.  On Feb. 28, 1998, Markell added an exclamation point to that list by leading OSU to a 5-2 win over Bowling Green, clinching home ice advantage in the CCHA playoffs for the first time in 14 years. Ohio State went on to advance to the CCHA championship game in Joe Louis Arena for the first time in 17 seasons.

Markell’s achievements culminated – or so most people thought – on March 22 of that season.  As players and media members looked on at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe, an ESPN analyst announced Ohio State had received its first NCAA tournament bid and would meet Yale in the first round of the west regional. The Buckeyes were far from satisfied, however. OSU whipped Yale, 4-0, and went on to knock off then No. 1-ranked Michigan State in overtime at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., to advance to the NCAA Frozen Four in Boston. 

The highlights of the 1997-98 season become even more impressive considering the 1996-97 Buckeyes finished just 12-25-2. Even that season was marked by improvement.  At the time, 12 wins were the most by an OSU hockey team in five years.

In 1993, Markell came to Ohio State as an assistant coach under 20-year head-man Jerry Welsh. With seven regular season games remaining the next season, Welsh stepped down and Markell took over as interim head coach Feb. 14, 1995.  Four days after assuming the helm, Markell notched his first victory when the Buckeyes defeated Ferris State, 7-1, at the OSU Ice Rink. In the CCHA tournament play-in game, Ohio State topped Alaska Fairbanks, 7-3, for the Buckeyes’ first postseason victory since 1987.

A hands-on coach with an open-door policy, Markell officially was named the new hockey coach May 22, 1995, becoming the seventh head mentor in program history. The team’s positive response to Markell’s new leadership style was a key factor in the school’s decision to make the promotion to head coach permanent.

In his first full season as head coach at Ohio State (1995-96), Markell finished 10-19-5 overall and 8-17-5 in the CCHA. It was the first time an OSU hockey club had reached double figures in the win column in four years. He led his team to a playoff berth that season and the Buckeyes battled league champion Lake Superior to overtime in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., in their first game.

From his playing days, Markell understands one key to improvement is playing teams in the upper echelon of college hockey. Keeping that in mind, he has taken it upon himself to match the Buckeyes up against nationally-recognized programs such as Wisconsin, Maine, Cornell, Minnesota, Boston College and Denver. 

Markell was no stranger to the CCHA when he came to Ohio State.  His collegiate playing career was spent at Bowling Green, where he still is regarded as one of the finest players ever to lace up skates in the CCHA.  He remains one of only eight players in the history of the league to be named to the CCHA’s first team three times and was elected to the Bowling Green Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.

With the Falcons, Markell helped his team to an impressive 117-34-4 (.768) overall record from 1976-1979, a 57-15-2 (.784) ledger in CCHA play, three regular-season and playoff titles and a NCAA semifinal berth.

In 1979, Markell signed a free agent contract with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets after being offered and declining a spot on the Canadian Olympic Team. His first season with the Jets was a memorable one, as Markell netted the team’s rookie of the year award.

Markell’s NHL career spanned four seasons and included stops in Winnipeg, Minnesota and St. Louis. He accumulated 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 55 games.

Markell’s tour through the professional hockey ranks also included seasons with the Tulsa Oilers (Central Hockey League), Salt Lake City Golden Eagles (CHL), Montana Magic (CHL) and Springfield Indians (American Hockey League).

In 1985, Markell signed a pact with the EC Bad Nauheim club team based in Germany before leaving that squad for Wolfsberg, Germany. It was with ESC Wolfsberg that he began his coaching career as a player-coach.

The Cornwall, Ontario, native returned to the United States to join Welsh’s staff as an assistant coach prior to the 1993-94 campaign.

Markell, 52, and his wife, Kim, reside in Pickerington. The couple has two sons, Ryan and Taylor.