Post by HC13 on Jan 15, 2019 12:00:31 GMT -5
To our former hockey student-athletes, current parents of hockey student-athletes and Crusader Athletics Fund hockey donors, we want you to be the first to know.
WORCESTER, Mass. – After an incredible 34-year career on the benches of both the Holy Cross women’s and men’s ice hockey programs, head women’s hockey coach Peter Van Buskirk has announced his retirement, effective at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, the Crusaders’ first as full members of the prestigious Hockey East.
Van Buskirk – who served on the coaching staff for the Crusader men for 15 years, including two stints as the program’s head coach – has spent the last 19 seasons leading the women’s team after taking over the then-fledgling program prior to the 2000-01 campaign. He entered the 2018-19 season boasting a 294-147-30 (.656) career record with the women’s program and will leave Mount St. James as one of the winningest coaches in Holy Cross history.
Current associate head coach Katie Lachapelle will succeed Van Buskirk, becoming just the third head coach in the history of the program.
“Peter has been an incredible mentor and advocate for both of our ice hockey programs and the student-athletes he has coached,” said interim Director of Athletics Brendan Sullivan. “During his time at Holy Cross, Peter has grown the women’s hockey program from upstart to NEWHA powerhouse, and then on to full membership within Hockey East, the preeminent conference in Division I. Throughout his career, he has cultivated dedicated student-athletes who take pride in their work on the ice and off it, helping to mold them not just into great hockey players but, more importantly, into strong, driven and successful individuals. Peter has left an indelible mark of excellence on our ice hockey programs, our department and our College.”
During his tenure with the women’s program, Van Buskirk has led the Crusaders to 16 postseason berths, including nine-straight championship game appearances from 2009-2017, and six postseason titles.
Under Van Buskirk’s guidance, women’s hockey student-athletes have garnered 33 all-league selections, seven New England All-Star honors and three player of the year accolades. Stacey Hochkins ’12 earned three-straight AHCA Division III All-America recognitions (2010-12) and was tabbed as the 2012 Crusader of the Year, while Kara Violette ’18 earned back-to-back player of the year honors and was a Patty Kazmaier nominee as a senior.
Off the ice, his teams have been just as successful, with 97 all-academic recognitions across multiple leagues.
While Van Buskirk has been instrumental in ushering in a new era for the program, the milestone achievements of his teams liter the Crusader record books. Under his watch, the Crusaders posted a 23-game home winning streak spanning nearly two years from 2015-17, while the 2008-09 team posted a school-record 24-win campaign en route to an ECAC East Coach of the Year recognition for Van Buskirk. He was also honored with the John “Snooks” Kelley Founders Award at the 2010 AHCA convention, an award that recognizes coaches who have contributed to the overall growth and development of ice hockey within the United States.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to have had the opportunity to be a part of so many Holy Cross teams and to get to know so many wonderful people – fellow coaches, administrators, our support staffs, and especially our male and female student-athletes,” said Van Buskirk. “I am very proud to have spent my college coaching career at Holy Cross.”
Currently in her second season with the Crusaders, Lachapelle will take over the program reins at the conclusion of the 2018-19 campaign. Lachapelle joined Holy Cross following nine seasons as an assistant coach at perennial national power Boston University from 2008-17, helping guide the Terriers to five Hockey East titles and six NCAA tournament appearances. She has held numerous coaching positions throughout the U.S. Women’s National Team organization since 2013 and helped lead the Under-18 National Team to three-straight World Championship gold medals from 2015-17. A 1999 graduate of Providence College, Lachapelle was a four-year letterwinner for the Friars.
“I am excited to see Katie take the progress that Peter has made and grow our program to the next level of competitive hockey,” said Sullivan. “With her experience in Hockey East as both a player and coach, as well as her impressive resume developing the U.S. National Team, I know that Katie is the right person to lead us forward and on to future success.”
WORCESTER, Mass. – After an incredible 34-year career on the benches of both the Holy Cross women’s and men’s ice hockey programs, head women’s hockey coach Peter Van Buskirk has announced his retirement, effective at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, the Crusaders’ first as full members of the prestigious Hockey East.
Van Buskirk – who served on the coaching staff for the Crusader men for 15 years, including two stints as the program’s head coach – has spent the last 19 seasons leading the women’s team after taking over the then-fledgling program prior to the 2000-01 campaign. He entered the 2018-19 season boasting a 294-147-30 (.656) career record with the women’s program and will leave Mount St. James as one of the winningest coaches in Holy Cross history.
Current associate head coach Katie Lachapelle will succeed Van Buskirk, becoming just the third head coach in the history of the program.
“Peter has been an incredible mentor and advocate for both of our ice hockey programs and the student-athletes he has coached,” said interim Director of Athletics Brendan Sullivan. “During his time at Holy Cross, Peter has grown the women’s hockey program from upstart to NEWHA powerhouse, and then on to full membership within Hockey East, the preeminent conference in Division I. Throughout his career, he has cultivated dedicated student-athletes who take pride in their work on the ice and off it, helping to mold them not just into great hockey players but, more importantly, into strong, driven and successful individuals. Peter has left an indelible mark of excellence on our ice hockey programs, our department and our College.”
During his tenure with the women’s program, Van Buskirk has led the Crusaders to 16 postseason berths, including nine-straight championship game appearances from 2009-2017, and six postseason titles.
Under Van Buskirk’s guidance, women’s hockey student-athletes have garnered 33 all-league selections, seven New England All-Star honors and three player of the year accolades. Stacey Hochkins ’12 earned three-straight AHCA Division III All-America recognitions (2010-12) and was tabbed as the 2012 Crusader of the Year, while Kara Violette ’18 earned back-to-back player of the year honors and was a Patty Kazmaier nominee as a senior.
Off the ice, his teams have been just as successful, with 97 all-academic recognitions across multiple leagues.
While Van Buskirk has been instrumental in ushering in a new era for the program, the milestone achievements of his teams liter the Crusader record books. Under his watch, the Crusaders posted a 23-game home winning streak spanning nearly two years from 2015-17, while the 2008-09 team posted a school-record 24-win campaign en route to an ECAC East Coach of the Year recognition for Van Buskirk. He was also honored with the John “Snooks” Kelley Founders Award at the 2010 AHCA convention, an award that recognizes coaches who have contributed to the overall growth and development of ice hockey within the United States.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to have had the opportunity to be a part of so many Holy Cross teams and to get to know so many wonderful people – fellow coaches, administrators, our support staffs, and especially our male and female student-athletes,” said Van Buskirk. “I am very proud to have spent my college coaching career at Holy Cross.”
Currently in her second season with the Crusaders, Lachapelle will take over the program reins at the conclusion of the 2018-19 campaign. Lachapelle joined Holy Cross following nine seasons as an assistant coach at perennial national power Boston University from 2008-17, helping guide the Terriers to five Hockey East titles and six NCAA tournament appearances. She has held numerous coaching positions throughout the U.S. Women’s National Team organization since 2013 and helped lead the Under-18 National Team to three-straight World Championship gold medals from 2015-17. A 1999 graduate of Providence College, Lachapelle was a four-year letterwinner for the Friars.
“I am excited to see Katie take the progress that Peter has made and grow our program to the next level of competitive hockey,” said Sullivan. “With her experience in Hockey East as both a player and coach, as well as her impressive resume developing the U.S. National Team, I know that Katie is the right person to lead us forward and on to future success.”
