Johnson, Mark E.
Hockey
b. Sept. 22, 1957, Madison, WI
Johnson starred at the University of Wisconsin, where his father Bob was the coach, in 1977-78 and 1978-79, leading the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in goals both years with 48 and 41 and in total points with 90 in 1978/79, when he was named WCHA player of the year.
He then joined the U. S. national team and had 5 goals and 6 assists in 7 games when the team won the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics. In the key game against the Soviet Union, Johnson scored the tying goal at 8:39 of the third period and shortly afterward Mike Eruzione scored a goal to win 4-3.
Johnson also scored the winning goal against Finland in the gold medal championship game.
After the Olympics, Johnson joined the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound left wing was traded to the Minnesota North Stars late in the 1981-82 season and went to the Hartford Whalers the following season. Hartford traded him to the St. Louis Blues in 1984-85 and he was with the New Jersey Devils from the 1985-86 season through 1989-90.
He spent a season playing for the Milan team in Italy, then retired as a player to go into coaching. He coached minor league and high school teams before becoming assistant coach at his alma mater in 1996. In 2002, he took over as head coach of the Wisconsin women's ice hockey team.
