| Biographical details | |||||||||
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| Born | Fort Frances, Ontario | ||||||||
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| Position(s) | Goaltender | ||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||
| Overall | 744–313–50 (.695) | ||||||||
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Robert H. Peters (born 1937)[1] is a retired men's ice hockey coach. He was the head coach of the Bemidji State University ice hockey team from 1967 to 2001. With 702 wins, he ranks fifth all-time in career wins by a men's college ice hockey coach.
Coaching history[]
Peters entered the college hockey head coaching ranks in 1964 as bench boss at the University of North Dakota. During his initial campaign, Peters, the eventual Western Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year, led the Fighting Sioux to a WCHA title and a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships. He coached in Grand Forks for two seasons, leading the Sioux to a 42–20–1 mark before making a career decision that would change the face of collegiate hockey.
Peters left the Division I powerhouse in 1966 and took over at Bemidji State University. Within two seasons Peters led BSU to its first national championship and set the foundation for what would become one of the most dominant programs in college hockey.
Thirty-five years later, Peters retired from coaching with one of the most impressive lists of achievements in the history of collegiate sports: 744 victories as a head coach, 702 coming at Bemidji State alone, to make Peters the first coach to win 700 or more games at a single school; 13 small-college national championships; and still-standing national collegiate records for most wins in an unbeaten season (31–0–0 in 1983–'84) and longest unbeaten streak (43 games from Nov. 8, 1983 to Jan. 1, 1985).
Peters, the only coach to lead a team to a national championship game in three divisions of college hockey and the only coach to reach the Final Four in all four divisions (Division I, II, III and NAIA), developed five NHL players and numerous Olympians and All-Americans.
A 1960 graduate of the University of North Dakota, Peters spent his collegiate days at goaltender for the Fighting Sioux. He coached at the high school level for one season before rejoining the UND staff as an assistant coach.
CHA commissioner[]
Retired from coaching, Peters remained heavily involved in the sport of college hockey. In 2001 he became the commissioner of the College Hockey America (CHA) conference.
In addition to appointing Peters CHA Commissioner, the athletic directors of the league's member institutions approved the recommendation by the coaches to name the regular-season championship trophy in honor of Peters as the R.H. "Bob" Peters Cup.
Contributions to college hockey[]
Peters' influence on college hockey also has stretched outside the arena. He has proven his administrative skills at Bemidji State by serving as athletic director and head hockey coach, and he lent service to several committees. Under Peters' guidance, BSU hockey progressed from NAIA to NCAA Division III to NCAA Division II, and in 1999, BSU elevated its hockey program to Division I. He served on championship committees for the NAIA and NCAA for over 20 years, and in 2001 was named a Hobey Baker Legend of Hockey.
Career statistics[]
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | Min | GA | SO | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957–58 | North Dakota | NCAA | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 660 | 14 | 2 | 1.27 | .927 |
Head coaching record[]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota Fighting Sioux (WCHA) (1964–1966) | |||||||||
| 1964–65 | North Dakota | 25–8–0 | 13–3–0 | 1st | NCAA Consolation Game (Win) | ||||
| 1965–66 | North Dakota | 17–12–1 | 13–9–1 | 2nd | WCHA Second Round | ||||
| North Dakota: | 42–20–1 | 26–12–1 | |||||||
| Bemidji State Beavers (ICHA) (1966–1978) | |||||||||
| 1966–67 | Bemidji State | 13–5–1 | 10–2–0 | t-1st | |||||
| 1967–68 | Bemidji State | 16–8–0 | 6–6–0 | – | NAIA National Champion | ||||
| 1968–69 | Bemidji State | 23–2–0 | 11–1–0 | 1st | NAIA National Champion | ||||
| 1969–70 | Bemidji State | 24–3–0 | 10–2–0 | 1st | NAIA National Champion | ||||
| 1970–71 | Bemidji State | 20–7–1 | 10–1–1 | 1st | NAIA National Champion | ||||
| 1971–72 | Bemidji State | 13–12–1 | 5–6–1 | – | |||||
| 1972–73 | Bemidji State | 23–6–1 | 8–4–0 | t-1st | NAIA National Champion | ||||
| 1973–74 | Bemidji State | 20–10–1 | 9–3–0 | 1st | NAIA Runner-Up | ||||
| 1974–75 | Bemidji State | 13–15–0 | 2–10–0 | – | |||||
| 1975–76 | Bemidji State | 22–9–0 | 8–4–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1976–77 | Bemidji State | 24–4–3 | 9–3–2 | 1st | |||||
| 1977–78 | Bemidji State | 25–5–1 | 11–3–0 | 1st | NAIA Runner-Up | ||||
| Bemidji State: | 236–86–9 | 99–45–4 | |||||||
| Bemidji State Beavers (NAIA Independent) (1978–1980) | |||||||||
| 1978–79 | Bemidji State | 27–2–0 | NAIA National Champion | ||||||
| 1979–80 | Bemidji State | 24–8–0 | NAIA National Champion | ||||||
| Bemidji State: | 51–10–0 | ||||||||
| Bemidji State Beavers (NCHA) (1980–1982) | |||||||||
| 1980–81 | Bemidji State | 24–7–0 | 8–4–0 | – | |||||
| 1981–82 | Bemidji State | 25–5–1 | 16–3–1 | 1st | NAIA Runner-Up | ||||
| Bemidji State: | 222–68–9 | 129–42–7 | |||||||
| Bemidji State Beavers (NCHA (D-II)) (1983–1984) | |||||||||
| 1983–84 | Bemidji State | 31–0–0 | 18–0–0 | 1st | NCAA National Champion | ||||
| Bemidji State: | 31–0–0 | 18–0–0 | |||||||
| Bemidji State Beavers (NCHA (D-III)) (1984–1992) | |||||||||
| 1984–85 | Bemidji State | 27–6–2 | 14–3–1 | 1st | NCAA Runner-Up | ||||
| 1985–86 | Bemidji State | 25–9–1 | 12–6–0 | t-1st | NCAA National Champion | ||||
| 1986–87 | Bemidji State | 22–12–1 | 12–7–1 | 3rd | NCAA Frozen Four | ||||
| 1987–88 | Bemidji State | 24–11–3 | 15–6–3 | 2nd | NCAA Frozen Four | ||||
| 1988–89 | Bemidji State | 19–13–4 | 11–8–1 | 3rd | NCAA Frozen Four | ||||
| 1989–90 | Bemidji State | 15–11–2 | 11–11–2 | 5th | |||||
| 1990–91 | Bemidji State | 21–6–3 | 17–4–3 | t-1st | |||||
| 1991–92 | Bemidji State | 16–9–5 | 9–8–3 | 4th | |||||
| Bemidji State: | 169–77–21 | 101–53–15 | |||||||
| Bemidji State Beavers (NCHA (D-II)) (1992–1999) | |||||||||
| 1992–93 | Bemidji State | 24–7–0 | 14–6–0 | 2nd | NCAA National Champion | ||||
| 1993–94 | Bemidji State | 21–9–3 | 12–6–2 | 3rd | NCAA National Champion | ||||
| 1994–95 | Bemidji State | 24–7–2 | 16–3–1 | 1st | NCAA National Champion | ||||
| 1995–96 | Bemidji State | 16–9–4 | 13–5–2 | 2nd | NCAA Runner-Up | ||||
| 1996–97 | Bemidji State | 25–7–2 | 14–5–1 | 2nd | NCAA National Champion | ||||
| 1997–98 | Bemidji State | 22–10–2 | 14–6–0 | 3rd | NCAA Runner-Up | ||||
| 1998–99 | Bemidji State | 17–13–0 | 10–6–0 | 3rd | |||||
| Bemidji State: | 149–62–13 | 93–37–6 | |||||||
| Bemidji State Beavers (CHA) (1999–2001) | |||||||||
| 1999–00 | Bemidji State | 13–20–1 | 8–8–1 | 3rd | CHA Third Place Game (Win) | ||||
| 2000–01 | Bemidji State | 4–26–4 | 4–12–3 | 6th | |||||
| Bemidji State: | 17–46–5 | 12–20–4 | |||||||
| Total: | 744–313–50 | ||||||||
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National Champion
Conference Regular Season Champion
Conference Tournament Champion
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See also[]
External links[]
- ↑ Bob Peters Coaching Record at collegehockeynews.com
- ↑ "2013–14 North Dakota hockey media guide", ISSUU.com. Retrieved on 2014-08-10.
- ↑ "2012–13 Bemidji State hockey media guide", Bemidji State Beavers. Retrieved on 2014-08-10. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12.
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Al Renfrew |
WCHA Coach of the Year 1964–65 |
Succeeded by John MacInnes |
| Preceded by Mike Gibbons/Peter Van Buskirk |
Edward Jeremiah Award 1983–84 |
Succeeded by Rob Riley |
| Bemidji State Beavers men's ice hockey | |
|---|---|
| Playing venues | Bemidji Sports Arena (1947–1950) - 17th Street Rink (1959–1960) - College Rink (1960–1967) - John S. Glas Field House (1967–2010) - Sanford Center (2010–present) |
| Head coaches | Jack Aldrich (1947–1948) - Eric Hughes (1948–1950) - Vic Weber (1959–1964, 1965–1966) - Wayne Peterson (1964–1965) - Bob Peters (1966–1982, 1983–2001) - Mike Gibbons (1982–1983) - Tom Serratore (2001–present) |
| Seasons | 1947–48 - 2019–20 - 2020–21 - 2021–22 - 2022–23 |
| Conference affiliations | ICHA (1966–1978) - NCHA (1980–1999) - College Hockey America (1999–2010) - WCHA (2010–2021) - CCHA (2021–present) |
| Culture & lore | North Star College Cup |
| All-time leaders | Mike Alexander (252 Points) - Mark Eagles/Rod Heisler (100 Goals) - Blane Comstock (70 Wins) |
| National championships | NAIA: 1968 - 1969 - 1970 - 1971 - 1973 - 1979 - 1980 D–III: 1986 D–II: 1984 -1993 - 1994 -1995 - 1997 |
| Frozen Four appearances | 2009 |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | 2005 - 2006 - 2009 - 2010 - 2021 |
| Conference Tournament titles | CHA: 2005 - 2006 - 2009 |
| Bemidji State University - Bemidji, Minnesota | |