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Riga Hired as Men's Ice Hockey Head Coach at Holy Cross
5/4/2021 5:08:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Bobcats' Associate Head Coach Leaves Quinnipiac After 13 Seasons, 286 Wins
- HOLY CROSS NAMES BILL RIGA HEAD MEN'S ICE HOCKEY COACH
WORCESTER, Mass. – Quinnipiac men's ice hockey associate head coach Bill Riga has been hired as the head coach of the Holy Cross men's ice hockey team, as announced by Holy Cross on Tuesday, May 4, 2021.
Riga is the third former Quinnipiac assistant under head coach Rand Pecknold to become a head coach in college hockey, joining Reid Cashman at Dartmouth and Kyle Wallack at Division III Albertus Magnus.
"It is an honor and a blessing to be the next head men's ice hockey coach at Holy Cross," Riga said. "My family and I are grateful and humbled by this amazing opportunity, and I can't wait to get started creating relationships with our student-athletes, members of our campus community, and our alumni who love this program.
"I would like to thank Fr. Boroughs, Marcus Blossom, Nick Smith and the entire search committee for having the faith in me to lead this program into the future. This is truly a homecoming for me, and I'm eager to lead our great student-athletes in relentless pursuit of excellence on the ice, in the classroom and in the community."
Riga heads to the Crusaders after 13 seasons on the bench at Quinnipiac, serving the last seven as an associate head coach. While a member of the Bobcats' coaching staff, Riga was the winningest assistant coach in program history as Quinnipiac won 286 games from the 2008-09 season through 2020-21.
The Bobcats have won five Cleary Cups in the past nine seasons and qualified for six NCAA Tournaments in that span as well. Quinnipiac made two NCAA Frozen Fours in 2012-13 and 2015-16, reaching the National Championship game in each of those seasons.
Quinnipiac also won the 2016 Whitelaw Cup as ECAC Hockey Tournament Champions. He has helped develop 13 NHL draft picks and eight NHL players. He has also coached four All-Americans, including First Team selection Odeen Tufto in 2020-21, four Hobey Baker Top-10 Finalists, and one Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalist.
Riga served four years from 2016-20 on the NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules Committee and was the vice-chair for men's ice hockey for the final two years of his term.
"We are thrilled for Billy and Kim," Quinnipiac men's ice hockey head coach Rand Pecknold said. "He has been phenomenal at Quinnipiac over the past 13 seasons and was a key factor in our two Frozen Four runs and our 286 wins in 13 years. I wish Billy the best of luck at Holy Cross. He is an excellent coach, a great friend and he will be missed at Quinnipiac."
Prior to becoming an assistant coach at Quinnipiac, Riga served as an assistant coach at Union from 2003-08 and was the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the Boston Jur. Bruins from 1996-2003.
Riga graduated from UMass Lowell in 1996 after a four-year career with the Chiefs (now River Hawks) with a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology. He had 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points in 95 games in his collegiate career. Riga completed his master's degree in organizational leadership from Quinnipiac University's School of Business in 2015.
WORCESTER, Mass. – Quinnipiac men's ice hockey associate head coach Bill Riga has been hired as the head coach of the Holy Cross men's ice hockey team, as announced by Holy Cross on Tuesday, May 4, 2021.
Riga is the third former Quinnipiac assistant under head coach Rand Pecknold to become a head coach in college hockey, joining Reid Cashman at Dartmouth and Kyle Wallack at Division III Albertus Magnus.
"It is an honor and a blessing to be the next head men's ice hockey coach at Holy Cross," Riga said. "My family and I are grateful and humbled by this amazing opportunity, and I can't wait to get started creating relationships with our student-athletes, members of our campus community, and our alumni who love this program.
"I would like to thank Fr. Boroughs, Marcus Blossom, Nick Smith and the entire search committee for having the faith in me to lead this program into the future. This is truly a homecoming for me, and I'm eager to lead our great student-athletes in relentless pursuit of excellence on the ice, in the classroom and in the community."
Riga heads to the Crusaders after 13 seasons on the bench at Quinnipiac, serving the last seven as an associate head coach. While a member of the Bobcats' coaching staff, Riga was the winningest assistant coach in program history as Quinnipiac won 286 games from the 2008-09 season through 2020-21.
The Bobcats have won five Cleary Cups in the past nine seasons and qualified for six NCAA Tournaments in that span as well. Quinnipiac made two NCAA Frozen Fours in 2012-13 and 2015-16, reaching the National Championship game in each of those seasons.
Quinnipiac also won the 2016 Whitelaw Cup as ECAC Hockey Tournament Champions. He has helped develop 13 NHL draft picks and eight NHL players. He has also coached four All-Americans, including First Team selection Odeen Tufto in 2020-21, four Hobey Baker Top-10 Finalists, and one Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalist.
Riga served four years from 2016-20 on the NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules Committee and was the vice-chair for men's ice hockey for the final two years of his term.
"We are thrilled for Billy and Kim," Quinnipiac men's ice hockey head coach Rand Pecknold said. "He has been phenomenal at Quinnipiac over the past 13 seasons and was a key factor in our two Frozen Four runs and our 286 wins in 13 years. I wish Billy the best of luck at Holy Cross. He is an excellent coach, a great friend and he will be missed at Quinnipiac."
Prior to becoming an assistant coach at Quinnipiac, Riga served as an assistant coach at Union from 2003-08 and was the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the Boston Jur. Bruins from 1996-2003.
Riga graduated from UMass Lowell in 1996 after a four-year career with the Chiefs (now River Hawks) with a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology. He had 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points in 95 games in his collegiate career. Riga completed his master's degree in organizational leadership from Quinnipiac University's School of Business in 2015.
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