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]
 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Holy Cross |
| Conference | Atlantic Hockey |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | May 26, 1974 Westborough, MA, US |
| Alma mater | University of Massachusetts Lowell |
| Playing career | |
| 1992–1996 | Massachusetts–Lowell |
| 1996–1997 | El Paso Buzzards |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1996–2003 | Boston Junior Bruins (assistant) |
| 2003–2008 | Union (assistant) |
| 2008–2021 | Quinnipiac (associate) |
| 2021–present | Holy Cross |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 50–58–9 (.466) |
Career
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
Regular season and playoffs
| 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
| 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 | |||||||||
References
External links
- Holy Cross Crusaders bio
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database