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Bill Riga

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bill Riga
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamHoly Cross
ConferenceAtlantic Hockey
Biographical details
Born (1974-05-26) May 26, 1974 (age 50)
Westborough, MA, US
Alma materUniversity of Massachusetts Lowell
Playing career
1992–1996Massachusetts–Lowell
1996–1997El Paso Buzzards
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1996–2003Boston Junior Bruins (assistant)
2003–2008Union (assistant)
2008–2021Quinnipiac (associate)
2021–presentHoly Cross
Head coaching record
Overall50–58–9 (.466)

William Riga is the current head coach for Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey. Previously he was an associate head coach at Quinnipiac and helped the team reach the National Championship game in 2013 and 2016.[1]

Career

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Riga began his college career in 1992 after graduating from St. Mark's School. After playing just two games as a freshman, he became a fixture on the team a depth scorer for the next three seasons. In that time he helped the team reach the NCAA Tournament twice, making the national quarterfinals on both occasions. After graduating, Riga briefly played as a professional, retiring after just 7 games and immediately turning to coach.

Riga's first job was for the Boston Junior Bruins as both the team's assistant coach and director of recruitment. He spent most of seven seasons with the team before returning to the college ranks as an assistant under new head coach Nate Leaman at Union. He remained with the Dutchmen for five years before taking the same position at Quinnipiac. Riga became the team's primary recruiter in 2012 and the Bobcats jumped from the middle of ECAC Hockey straight to the top. That year Quinnipiac won 30 games for the first time and reached the national championship game where they were defeated by in-state rival Yale.[2] Over the course of the succeeding seven seasons, Quinnipiac remained one of the top programs in the country, finishing atop their conference four times and making five further NCAA tournament appearances.

After the resignation of David Berard in 2021, Holy Cross hired Riga as the program's 7th head coach.[3]

Statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1991–92 St. Mark's School US-Prep
1992–93 Massachusetts–Lowell Hockey East 2 0 1 1 0
1993–94 Massachusetts–Lowell Hockey East 26 3 5 8 12
1994–95 Massachusetts–Lowell Hockey East 32 5 4 9 10
1995–96 Massachusetts–Lowell Hockey East 35 4 8 12 12
1996–97 El Paso Buzzards WPHL 7 1 1 2 0
NCAA totals 95 12 18 30 34

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Holy Cross Crusaders (Atlantic Hockey) (2021–present)
2021–22 Holy Cross 12–23–2 (.351) 10–14–2 (.423) 10th Atlantic Hockey First Round
2022–23 Holy Cross 17–21–3 (.451) 12–12–2 (.500) 7th Atlantic Hockey Runner-Up
2023–24 Holy Cross 21–14–4 (.590) 13–10–3 (.558) 2nd Atlantic Hockey Semifinals
Holy Cross: 50–58–9 (.466) 35–36–7 (.494)
Total: 50–58–9 (.466)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ "Bill Riga". Quinnipiac Bobcats. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  2. ^ "Saturday, April 13, 2013". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "Holy Cross names Bill Riga head men's ice hockey coach". Holy Cross Crusaders. May 4, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
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