Joel Johnson, the former U.S. Olympic women’s hockey head coach from White Bear Lake, has resigned abruptly as St. Thomas’ women’s hockey coach in the wake of an incident with his team following a 4-1 loss Friday at Bemidji State.

Johnson did not coach the Saturday game and resigned on Tuesday evening.

St. Thomas vice president and director of athletics Phil Esten declined to reveal the nature of the incident but sources said it was a postgame tirade from Johnson in the team’s locker room.

In a statement released by the school, Esten said, “While I cannot comment on the specifics of the incident itself, I can confirm we immediately started an investigation after concerns were brought to our attention following Friday night’s game.”

According to multiple sources, Johnson had his usual scheduled meeting with his team in the visitors’ locker room following the game on Friday but returned at least once to excoriate the team’s performance — a breach of protocol that caught the team by surprise.

“We hold all our coaches to the highest standards consistent with university values and convictions,” Esten added, “and prioritize the experience and well-being of our student-athletes.”

Johnson has not returned requests for comment.He was a Gophers associate head coach on track to become the U.S. Olympic coach when he was hired by St. Thomas to guide the Tommies as they made the leap from NCAA Division III hockey to top-level Division I competition in June 2021.

Assistant coach Bethany Brausen has been named the team’s interim head coach. She was the team’s acting head coach while Johnson coached the U.S. Olympic team at training camp in Blaine and in Beijing in 2021-22. The Tommies went 5-27-1 that first season; since then, they’re 23-63-3.

Johnson, who led Team USA to a silver medal in the 2022 Games, was just beginning his fourth season with the Tommies and resigned on the heels of a three-game losing streak.

The Tommies are 5-8-1 overall and 2-7-1 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. They’re scheduled to play No. 1 Wisconsin this weekend in Madison.