MOSCOW, September 19 (R-Sport) – Tom Rowe has been fired as coach of Russian Kontinental Hockey League team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, the team announced Thursday.
Rowe led Lokomotiv to a first-round playoff exit in his first season in charge, and the team lost five of its first six matches of the 2013-14 campaign. In a website statement, Lokomotiv did not say why Rowe had been removed from his post.
"I really enjoyed working in Yaroslavl," Rowe said on the team website. "For me as a coach it was valuable experience. Unfortunately, not everything worked out for the team, but I am grateful to all the guys for their work and their efforts."
He added, "I want to wish the team and the fans a great season on the way to winning the Gagarin Cup."
Rowe's replacement is Pyotr Vorobyov, formerly an assistant coach within the Lokomotiv organization, Lokomotiv added.
Rowe had been in charge of Lokomotiv since April 2012, when the team was not competing in the aftermath of a plane crash that killed the entire roster in September 2011.
Rowe is a former assistant coach of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2006.
