Cheyenne Stampede Hire Eric Ballard as New Head Coach

The Cheyenne Stampede junior hockey team will have a new head coach next year.

According to Junior Hockey.com, Eric Ballard takes over immediately for Gary 'Gilly' Gill, who led the team to the playoffs in his one year as head coach during the 2013-2014 season.

Ballard spent the past year with the Colorado Buffaloes American Collegiate Hockey Association Division I hockey club. He spent the previous four seasons in Fresno, three years as the Head Coach and General Manager of the Fresno Monsters North American Hockey League team.

The new coach was named by team General Manager Mark Lantz on Tuesday, April 15.

Ballard said, "I'm very pleased and fortunate to be joining a program with a great infrastructure and local support already in place. I'm also looking forward to helping build on what Mark and Tammy Lantz, (Cheyenne Stampede Owners), and the organization, have done to date."

The Cheyenne Stampede is looking for new prospects. Interested players should contact Coach Eric Ballard directly at: EBallard@CheyenneStampede.com or call him at 307-630-4926.