Brad Buetow

Summary

Bradly Buetow (born October 28, 1950) is a retired ice hockey player and coach. In college, he played for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He played 25 regular season games in the World Hockey Association for the Cleveland Crusaders and 37 games for the Jacksonville Barons of the American Hockey League in 1973–74. Following his playing career, Buetow was head coach at Minnesota,[1] US International University, Colorado College, the Quad City Mallards, and the Waco Wizards.

Brad Buetow
Biographical details
Born (1950-10-28) October 28, 1950 (age 73)
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Playing career
1970–1973Minnesota
1973–1974Cleveland Crusaders
1973–1974Jacksonville Barons
Position(s)Left wing
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1974–1979Minnesota (assistant)
1979–1985Minnesota
1985–1988U.S. International
1988–1992Colorado College
1995–1996Quad City Mallards
1996–1997Waco Wizards
Head coaching record
Overall299-236-19
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1976 NCAA National Champion (assistant)
1979 NCAA national champion (assistant)
1980 WCHA tournament champion
1981 WCHA regular season champion
1981 WCHA tournament champion
1983 WCHA tournament champion
1986 Great West regular season champion
Awards
1980 WCHA Coach of the Year
1992 WCHA Coach of the Year

Career edit

Brad Buetow began attending the University of Minnesota in the fall of 1969 and started playing under head coach Glen Sonmor the following year. Buetow's playing career coincided with an unstable period in the program's history as Sonmor left in the middle of Buetow's Junior year and was replaced by Ken Yackel who lasted only the remainder of the season in his position before being succeeded by Herb Brooks.[2] Buetow tried to put the upheaval of his time at Minnesota behind him with a professional career when he signed on to play for the Cleveland Crusaders of the WHA, but he went scoreless in 25 games before finishing out the season with the AHL's Jacksonville Barons and hung up his skates when the season finished.[3]

The next season Buetow returned to the Twin Cities to serve as an assistant under Herb Brooks[4] who had taken the Golden Gophers to the first National title the year before.[5] Under Brooks Buetow was part of two more national champion teams. When Brooks accepted the position of head coach/GM for Team USA at the 1980 Winter Olympics, Buetow stepped in as interim coach for the 1979–80 season. When his old boss opted not to return, Minnesota removed the interim tag from his title. Buetow was incredibly successful in Minnesota, providing three 30-win seasons and four NCAA tournament berths in six seasons, including two WCHA regular-season titles, two WCHA tournament titles and two Final Fours. His best team was the 1980-81 unit, which swept the WCHA regular season and tournament titles and advanced all the way to the 1981 national title game. However, Gopher fans had gotten used to winning national titles, and when Buetow was unable to deliver one, he was fired by his alma mater after the 1984–85 season.[6][7]

Buetow moved west to take over at U.S. International which was set to begin play in the newly formed Great West Hockey Conference the next season.[8] The Gulls won the first conference title, going 9–3 against the competition, but immediately the conference was in trouble when Northern Arizona dropped their program at the end of the year.[9] U.S. International managed to hold on for the next two seasons but after 1987–88 both the conference and the school's Division I hockey program ceased to exist and Buetow was out of a job.[10]

Fortunately a position at Colorado College opened up and Buetow stepped in to take over for Mike Bertsch. As with many coaches in CC's recent past Buetow had a difficult time getting the team to win games but managed to get the team its first non-losing season in over a decade in 1991–92 and received the WCHA Coach of the Year for his efforts. Unfortunately, he was forced to resign after the following season when an NCAA investigation revealed that Buetow had committed recruiting violations.[11] While Buetow would continue to coach he would never again have a chance at an NCAA school.[12]

Career statistics edit

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1970–71 Minnesota NCAA 7 0 0 0 0
1971–72 Minnesota NCAA 18 1 0 1 14
1972–73 Minnesota NCAA 28 2 3 5 12
1973–74 Cleveland Crusaders WHA 25 0 0 0 4
1973–74 Jacksonville Barons AHL 37 9 10 19 69
WHA totals 25 0 0 0 4

[13]

Head coaching record edit

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Minnesota Golden Gophers (WCHA) (1979–1985)
1979-80 Minnesota 26-15-0 18-14-0 2nd NCAA Quarterfinal
1980-81 Minnesota 33-12-0 20-8-0 1st NCAA runner-up
1981-82 Minnesota 22-12-2 13-11-2 3rd WCHA Semifinals
1982-83 Minnesota 32-12-1 18-7-1 1st NCAA consolation game (loss)
1983-84 Minnesota 27-11-2 16-9-1 3rd WCHA Semifinals
1984-85 Minnesota 31-13-3 21-10-3 2nd NCAA Quarterfinals
Minnesota: 171-75-8 106-59-7
US International Gulls (Great West) (1985–1988)
1985-86 US International 20-13-0 9-3-0 1st
1986-87 US International 17-17-1 7-8-1 2nd
1987-88 US International 23-13-0 4-4-0 2nd
US International: 60-43-0 20-15-0
Colorado College Tigers (WCHA) (1988–1993)
1988-89 Colorado College 11-26-3 9-23-3 8th WCHA first round
1989-90 Colorado College 18-20-2 10-17-1 7th WCHA first round
1990-91 Colorado College 13-26-1 9-22-1 8th WCHA first round
1991-92 Colorado College 18-18-5 14-14-4 4th WCHA third-place game (loss)
1992-93 Colorado College 8-28-0 6-26-0 9th WCHA first round
Colorado College: 68-118-11 48-102-9
Total: 299-236-19

      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

[14][15]

References edit

  1. ^ "University of Minnesota Gophers Hockey". Vintage Minnesota Hockey.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  2. ^ "Minnesota Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  3. ^ "Brad Buetow". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  4. ^ "Hockey Savvy Gophers eye Maine series". Bangor Daily News. 1984-10-24. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  5. ^ "NCAA Division 1 Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archive. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  6. ^ "Brad Buetow Era: 1979-1980 through 1984-1985". Vintage Minnesota Hockey. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  7. ^ Reusse, Patrick (2014-03-31). ""The Don" again deserving of his respected title". The Star Tribune.
  8. ^ "United States International University Statistics and History". Hockey DB. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  9. ^ "Great West Standings". College Hockey Historical Archive. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  10. ^ "Hockey Dropped by USIU". LA Times. 1988-04-23. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  11. ^ ""Miracle Worker" Rescues Tiger Hockey Team". Colorado College. Archived from the original on 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  12. ^ "Brad Buetow Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  13. ^ "Brad Buetow". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  14. ^ "2013-14 Minnesota Golden Gophers Media Guide" (PDF). Minnesota Golden Gophers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  15. ^ "2013-14 Colorado College Media Guide" (PDF). Colorado College Tigers. Retrieved 2014-07-21.

External links edit

  • Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
  • The Complete World Hockey Association, 9e by Scott Surgent, Xaler Press, ISBN 1-4909674-0-0
Awards and achievements
Preceded by WCHA Coach of the Year
1979–80
1991–92
Succeeded by