Peter Van Buskirk

Peter Van Buskirk
Biographical details
Born	1946 (age 77–78); Hudson, Massachusetts, USA
Alma mater	University of New Hampshire ; Boston State College
Playing career
1962–1965	New Hampshire
Position(s)	Defenseman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1972–1973	Saint John's High School (assistant)
1973–1979	Hudson High School
1979–1988	Holy Cross
1991–1996	Holy Cross (assistant)
1996–1997	Holy Cross
2000–2019	Holy Cross (women)
Head coaching record
Overall	167–146–8 (.533) [men's]; 295–178–35 (.615) [women's]
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
	1983 Edward Jeremiah Award
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1966-1968
Rank	Second Lieutenant

Last updated November 24, 2024

Peter Van Buskirk is an American retired ice hockey coach. He was involved with both the men's and women's programs at the College of the Holy Cross since 1979, serving as the head coach for both at various times until his retirement in 2019.^[1] In that time, he recorded more than 400 wins between the two teams.

Career

Van Buskirk got his start in college hockey as a player for New Hampshire. After graduating in 1965, Van Buskirk served as a Lieutenant in the United States Army during the early year of the Vietnam War. After mustering out of the military, Van Buskirk continued his education at Boston State College, earning a master's in education. He began teaching afterwards and eventually returned to hockey as an assistant coach at Saint John's High School. he became the head coach at Hudson High School the next year and led the program to five regional titles over the next six years. After the Hawks won the Division I state championship in 1978, Van Buskirk was a prime candidate for college programs. When the position at Holy Cross opened in 1979 he returned to the college ranks.

In his very first season with the Crusaders, Van Buskirk got the team to post a 20-win season for the first time as well as win their first postseason game in a decade.^[2] After a two-year hiccup, his team posted a second 20-win season and Van Buskirk was named as the co-College Division coach of the year in 1983.^[3] He continued to lead the team for another 5 years, producing mostly positive results, before stepping down in 1988. Three years later, he returned as an assistant and served in that capacity until Paul Pearl took a year off to earn his master's. In his absence, Van Buskirk served as head coach and helped the team earn its first postseason win in 14 years.

He left the program for a second time in 1997 but remained with the school, helping Holy Cross found their women's program and then became its head coach in 2000. Over the next 17 seasons, Van Buskirk helped the team become one of the top teams at the Division III level. The Crusaders won 6 open championships and finished as runners-up 5 other times. In 2017 the program made the transition to Division I and continued their winning ways in the NEWHA, finishing third in the standings. The next season Holy Cross joined Hockey East, one of the premier conferences, and Van Buskirk's team struggled mightily against the stiffer competition. The Crusaders won just one game all season, but suffered a further loss after the year when Van Buskirk announced his retirement, turning the team over to Katie Lachapelle.

Head coaching record

Men's

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Holy Cross Crusaders (ECAC 2)(1979–1985)
1979–80	Holy Cross	21–9–0	15–6–0	6th	ECAC 2 East Semifinal
1980–81	Holy Cross	14–17–0	11–11–0	T–15th	ECAC 2 East Quarterfinal
1981–82	Holy Cross	16–15–2	12–10–2	15th	ECAC 2 East Quarterfinal
1982–83	Holy Cross	20–10–2	16–7–1	5th	ECAC 2 East Semifinal
1983–84	Holy Cross	10–15–3	8–10–2	17th
1984–85	Holy Cross	19–15–0	12–9–0	11th	ECAC East Quarterfinals
Holy Cross:		100–81–7	74–53–5
Holy Cross Crusaders(ECAC East)(1985–1988)
1985–86	Holy Cross	18–16–0	11–12–0	9th
1986–87	Holy Cross	17–18–1	13–13–0	8th	ECAC East Quarterfinals
1987–88	Holy Cross	18–18–0	12–14–0	8th	ECAC East Quarterfinals
Holy Cross:		53–52–1	36–39–0
Holy Cross Crusaders(ECAC East)(1996–1997)
1996–97	Holy Cross	14–13–0	11–8–0	T–7th	ECAC East Quarterfinals
Holy Cross:		14–13–0	11–8–0
Total:		167–146–8
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

Women's

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Holy Cross Crusaders (ECAC East)(2000–2015)
2000–01	Holy Cross	7–14–1	4–13–1	15th
2001–02	Holy Cross	12–12–3	7–11–0	7th	ECAC East Open Runner-Up
2002–03	Holy Cross	17–7–1	15–5–0	3rd	ECAC East Open Champion
2003–04	Holy Cross	10–13–1	7–9–1	T–6th
2004–05	Holy Cross	12–14–1	9–9–1	T–5th	ECAC East Open Runner-Up
2005–06	Holy Cross	11–14–1	10–9–0	6th	ECAC East Open Third-place game (win)
2006–07	Holy Cross	15–10–2	11–7–1	5th	ECAC East Open Third-place game (win)
2007–08	Holy Cross	16–8–3	13–4–2	3rd	ECAC East Open Third-place game (win)
2008–09	Holy Cross	24–2–1	17–2–1	1st	ECAC East Open Champion
2009–10	Holy Cross	20–4–2	15–2–2	2nd	ECAC East Open Champion
2010–11	Holy Cross	17–9–1	13–5–0	T–3rd	ECAC East Open Champion
2011–12	Holy Cross	19–4–3	14–3–1	2nd	ECAC East Open Runner-Up
2012–13	Holy Cross	16–6–5	19–4–5	4th	ECAC East Open Runner-Up
2013–14	Holy Cross	18–8–1	11–4–1	3rd	ECAC East Open Runner-Up
2014–15	Holy Cross	18–7–3	11–4–2	5th	ECAC East Open Champion
Holy Cross:		232–132–29	176–82–18
Holy Cross Crusaders(NEHC)(2015–2017)
2015–16	Holy Cross	24–3–0	14–3–0	T–2nd	NEHC Open Champion
2016–17	Holy Cross	22–5–0	14–3–0	3rd	NEHC Open Runner-Up
Holy Cross:		46–8–0	28–6–0
Holy Cross Crusaders(NEWHA)(2017–2018)
2017–18	Holy Cross	16–9–3	15–3–2	3rd	NEWHA third-place game (loss)
Holy Cross:		16–9–3	15–3–2
Holy Cross Crusaders(Hockey East)(2018–2019)
2018–19	Holy Cross	1–29–3	1–25–1	10th
Holy Cross:		1–29–3	1–25–1
Total:		295–178–35
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

Related Research Articles

Homer Walter Drew Jr. is an American former college basketball coach and administrator who coached at Washington State, LSU, Bethel College, Indiana-South Bend, and Valparaiso. He retired from college basketball in 2011 with 640 career wins, which ranked him sixth amongst all Division I coaches at the time of his retirement. Drew was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.

The Fairfield Stags men's basketball team represents Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut and competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Stags play their home games in the 3,500 seat Leo D. Mahoney Arena on campus. The team is currently coached by Chris Casey, his second year at the helm.

The Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team represents the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts in NCAA Division I competition. The team competes in the Patriot League and plays their home games in the Hart Center. The program boasts such notable alumni as Boston Celtics legends Bob Cousy and Tom Heinsohn, and longtime Providence College basketball coach Joe Mullaney.

The Holy Cross Crusaders are the athletic teams representing the College of the Holy Cross. They compete in NCAA Division I, primarily as members of the Patriot League. In ice hockey, a sport not sponsored by the Patriot League for either sex, the Crusaders are members of two other leagues, with men competing in the Atlantic Hockey Association and women in Hockey East. The men's rowing team is part of the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges. Of its 27 varsity teams, Holy Cross supports 13 men's and 14 women's sports, giving Holy Cross the largest ratio of teams-per-enrollment in the country. Holy Cross's athletic teams for both men and women are known as the Crusaders.

William Wilkinson is a retired Canadian ice hockey coach. He coached the Wayne State Warriors men's ice hockey program for its entire 9-year existence at the Division I level. Prior to that, Wilkinson coach the Western Michigan for seventeen seasons.

The Iona Gaels are the athletics teams of Iona University, in New Rochelle, New York. They compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and participate in 21 NCAA Division I programs.

The Holy Cross Crusaders football team is the collegiate American football program of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Patriot League, an NCAA Division I conference that participates in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The team plays its home games at Fitton Field on the college campus.

The Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the College of the Holy Cross. The Crusaders are members of Atlantic Hockey America (AHA), formed shortly after the 2023–24 season by the merger of their former home of the Atlantic Hockey Association with the women-only College Hockey America. They play at the Hart Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The American International Yellow Jackets men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the American International College. The Yellow Jackets are members of Atlantic Hockey America. They play at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The Holy Cross Crusaders men's lacrosse team represents the College of the Holy Cross in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college lacrosse. The program was created in 1958. Holy Cross plays its home games at Kuzniewski Field, which has a capacity of 1,000. The Crusaders have competed in the Patriot League since its 1991 founding. Through 2020, the team has an all–time record of 268–539–1.

Rick Gotkin is an American ice hockey head coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Mercyhurst Lakers men's ice hockey team, a position he has held since 1988.

Charlie Holt was an American ice hockey coach. He was the head coach of the University of New Hampshire from 1968 thru 1986. He is one of three 3-time recipients of the college ice hockey National Coach-of-the-Year Award.

Paul Pearl is an American ice hockey coach and former player. He was previously the associate head coach for Boston University, having also served as head coach for Holy Cross for 19 seasons.

Ron Fogarty is a Canadian ice hockey head coach and former player who was the head coach of the men's program at Princeton from 2014 to 2024.

Maureen Elizabeth Magarity is an American women's basketball coach, whose last job was head coach of the Holy Cross Crusaders women's basketball team from 2020 to 2024. From 2010 to 2020, she coached New Hampshire.

The Holy Cross Crusaders women's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the College of the Holy Cross. The Crusaders are the newest member of the Hockey East Association (HEA). They play at the Hart Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The 2021–22 Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey season was the 56th season of play for the program, the 24th at the Division I level, and the 19th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Crusaders represented the College of the Holy Cross and were coached by Bill Riga, in his 1st season.

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.

Peter Belisle is an American ice hockey coach and former player who was the NCAA Division III coach of the year in 2016.

The 2022–23 Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey season was the 57th season of play for the program, the 25th at the Division I level, and the 20th in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Crusaders represented the College of the Holy Cross and were coached by Bill Riga, in his 2nd season.

References

↑ "New England hockey: Holy Cross' Peter Van Buskirk calls it a career". Boston Herald. February 17, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
↑ "All Time Results" (PDF). Holy Cross Crusaders. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
↑ "American Hockey Coaches Association". Archived from the original on 2010-01-16. Retrieved 2012-07-11.

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com , or The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Steve Stirling	Edward Jeremiah Award 1982–83 (with Mike Gibbons)	Succeeded by Bob Peters

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "New England hockey: Holy Cross' Peter Van Buskirk calls it a career". Boston Herald. February 17, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2021.

[2] "All Time Results" (PDF). Holy Cross Crusaders. Retrieved November 23, 2018.

[AHCA_list-3] "American Hockey Coaches Association". Archived from the original on 2010-01-16. Retrieved 2012-07-11.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey
Playing venues	Hart Center (1975–present)
Head coaches	Bill Kane (1966–1976) Mike Addesa (1976–1979) Peter Van Buskirk (1979–1988, 1996–1997) Bill Bellerose (1988–1994) Paul Pearl (1994–1996, 1997–2014) David Berard (2014–2021) Bill Riga (2021–Present)
Seasons	1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Conference affiliations	ECAC 2 (1967–1984) ECAC East (1984–1998) MAAC (1998–2003) Atlantic Hockey (2003–present)
All-time leaders	Statistical leaders Joe Lunny (219 Points) Larry Murphy (119 Goals) Tony Quesada (61 Wins)
NCAA Tournament appearances	2004 2006
Conference Tournament titles	MAAC: 1999 Atlantic Hockey: 2004 2006
College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA

Biographical details
Born	1946 (age 77–78) Hudson, Massachusetts, USA
Alma mater	University of New Hampshire Boston State College
Playing career
1962–1965	New Hampshire

Position(s)	Defenseman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1972–1973	Saint John's High School (assistant)
1973–1979	Hudson High School
1979–1988	Holy Cross
1991–1996	Holy Cross (assistant)
1996–1997	Holy Cross
2000–2019	Holy Cross (women)

Head coaching record
Overall	167–146–8 (.533) [men's] 295–178–35 (.615) [women's]
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
1983 Edward Jeremiah Award



Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1966-1968
Rank	Second Lieutenant