NAIT Ooks head coach Serge Lajoie is waiting in a hurry.
And he has added a full-time assistant in his rush toward what he hopes will become an Alberta college hockey championship.
NAIT sports leader Linda Henderson announced last week that former pro defenceman Mike Gabinet, experienced in the American and East Coast Hockey leagues as well as in Europe, will be asked to do much more than normal assistant coaches in the ACAC.
Lajoie led the Ooks to the playoff final where they bowed to the Augustana Vikings in the spring. Almost immediately, he said several changes were planned to bolster NAIT’s solid returning core.
Gabinet, now 30, starred in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with Lloydminster before attending Nebraska on a scholarship.