Donning his skates like he did in the early `80s for the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins, Bruce Crowder stepped onto the Matthews Arena ice last Wednesday for an impromptu game with the Northeastern players who had become so dear to him.
Minutes earlier, the former Northeastern men’s hockey coach had relayed the news in the Husky locker room — Northeastern Athletic Director Dave O’Brien announced Northeastern would not renew Crowder’s contract, and that a search for a replacement would begin immediately.
“He was actually away and came back early because he wanted to tell us in person rather than have us find out on the Internet or anything,” said defenseman Steve Birnstill. “He seemed like he took it well, but it’s a shame because everyone wanted him to stay.”
Crowder, hired in 1996 following five years of success at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, including a Spencer Penrose National Coach of the Year honor, entered the Husky program with promise. Nine years later, O’Brien decided it was a time for a change.
“Making this decision was very difficult,” O’Brien said in a statement last Wednesday. “[Crowder] is a hard-working gentleman who has always put the best interests of his players first. We greatly appreciate coach Crowder’s many contributions to Northeastern over the years.”
For Crowder, it was always players first. The Essex, Ontario native brought a relaxed, player-friendly style to his coaching, and with four years at the University of New Hampshire, and another five in the NHL, the players listened.
“It was sad, I felt bad for him,” said senior defenseman Tim Judy. “Him leaving has, hockey-wise, nothing to do with the seniors anymore, but over the past four years, we’ve developed a relationship with him. He’s a great guy and a great coach.”
That feeling permeated through the team’s underclassmen as well.
“He was a strong person, but he was nice,” said Birnstill, a sophomore. “You knew where he was coming from, you knew he had played in the NHL so when he told you something, you knew there was a reason for him telling you.”
The move signals an end of an era for Northeastern hockey, as Crowder departs as just the eighth coach in the program’s history.
“The one thing I’ll probably miss is the camaraderie of the different people around campus,” Crowder said when reached at his office Monday. “The thing I’ll look back at with pride is that, for the most part, our teams came to play. We might not have had the best skill or the most skill, and even if we did in some years, I can’t think of a whole lot of situations where we didn’t come to play.”
Crowder, while disappointed, made clear of his own relationship with the university.
“Personally, I don’t think it was the right decision but that’s what happens when you get in these situations and [O’Brien] gets to call the shots,” he said. “He’s the one that makes those decisions.
“I’ve said it before, I think Northeastern’s been very good to me and I think I’ve been very good to Northeastern. Sometimes, these decisions are made. Rightfully, wrongfully, they’re done with and it’s time to move on.”
The 2004-05 campaign, in which the memorable careers of captain Jason Guerriero, Tim Judy and goaltender Keni Gibson all ended, is something that will stay with Crowder forever — and he knows the players he taught should feel the same.
“For these guys, after the year they had and who they competed against, they know when they look in the mirror that they can play with anybody and that’s something that they’ll be able to to take with them forever. Especially in this year, that’s a tremendous feat [with the second toughest schedule in the nation]. Yeah, maybe we’re three games under .500 and we didn’t get the right draw in the Hockey East playoffs, but for the most part, they can hold their heads high.”
Crowder’s final year saw a return to the Hockey East playoffs for his last class of seniors, their second in four years with the team, and it was the coach’s goal all along for the rest of the league to respect the men that he sought after in recruiting.
“You look at [Guerriero, Gibson and Judy] and those are three guys that weren’t heavily recruited, but given the opportunity to come here,” Crowder said. “We were able to develop them to the point that as their senior year came around, they represented the university well and won a lot of postseason awards.”
Judy echoed the sentiments of Birnstill and other teammates.
“He came out, he enjoyed the guys, he enjoyed the locker room,” the defenseman said. “We all gave him our thanks and wished him the best of luck. I think he’ll be okay. He’s a great hockey guy, and he’ll always be around the game.”
While it was a job he wasn’t prepared to leave, Crowder said he will use the sudden free time wisely.
“I think I’m going to take it back a little bit and see what happens,” he said. “I’m not going to rush out at the first thing. Quite honestly, I needed some time.”
Ultimately, Crowder earned respect around the league – both for himself and for the team.
“For me, when I look back, obviously the people around Hockey East had a lot of respect for the players on this team. For me, looking back, that’s most rewarding, the development of this team. The way they got better, and the accolades that were bestowed on some of the individuals.”
