position Associate Head Coach
Peter Elander returns to the Ohio State bench this season as the associate head coach, Nadine Muzerall announced in August of 2022. Elander has over 20 years of coaching experience and has left his mark on virtually every level of women’s hockey.
During his original coaching stint at Ohio State during the 2017-18 season, Elander was a key part of the year that could be considered the turning point of the program. In that season, Ohio State earned its first NCAA tournament berth and went on to advance to the program’s first Frozen Four appearance. Elander helped the team to a then-program record 24 single season wins, marking just the second time in program history the team won more than 20 games in a season.
Since his departure from Ohio State in 2018, Elander was named the head coach of Denmark’s national women’s team in 2020. He helped the team win its Final Olympic Qualification tournament in January to advance to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. This year’s Olympic Games marked the first Olympic appearance for Denmark in the history of the team.
Elander spent seven seasons as the associate head coach of the women’s hockey program at the University of North Dakota prior to joining Muzerall’s staff in 2017. While in Fargo from 2010-17, he helped the team to the only two NCAA tournament appearances of the program’s existence.
In addition to his most recent national team coaching stop in Denmark, Elander previously served as the head coach of Sweden’s Women’s National Team for nine years. The most successful coach in the team’s history, he led Sweden to an upset of the United States in the semifinals of the 2006 Winter Olympics, which has now been coined the “Mirakel” in Turin. Sweden ultimately took silver that year for its first Olympic medal in the team’s history. He later guided the team to a fourth-place result at the 2010 games. In addition to Olympic success under Elander, the Damkronorna also took home bronze at the 2005 and 2007 IIFH Women’s World Championships.
As a player, Elander won bronze with Team Sweden at the 1980 U20 World Championships and played in the Swedish Elite League with Sodertalje and Frolunda during the 1980s.
