Bill Riley Jr.

Bill Riley Jr. is a retired ice hockey player and coach best known for his time leading Massachusetts–Lowell to three Division II Championships.[1]

Bill Riley
Biographical details
BornMedford, MA, USA
Alma materBoston University
Playing career
1965–1968Boston University
Position(s)Forward
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1969–1991Massachusetts–Lowell
Head coaching record
Overall363–270–22 (.571)
Tournaments11–5 (.688)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1979 ECAC East Champion
1979 ECAC East Tournament Champion
1979 NCAA National Champion (D-II)
1981 ECAC East Champion
1981 ECAC East Tournament Champion
1981 NCAA National Champion (D-II)
1982 ECAC East Champion
1982 ECAC East Tournament Champion
1982 NCAA National Champion (D-II)
1983 ECAC East Champion
1983 ECAC East Tournament Champion
Awards
1977 Edward Jeremiah Award
1987 Hockey East Coach of the Year
2006 Massachusetts Hockey hall of Fame
2013 Massachusetts–Lowell Athletic Hall of Fame
2017 Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey

Playing career

Riley played three seasons for Boston University in the mid-to-late 1960s. In his first two years with the Terriers the team finished in the top 2 in the ECAC both times and reaching the NCAA Tournament both times. BU finished as the National Runner-Up in 1967 but for his senior season Riley managed to play in only 9 of 32 games and finished his playing career after the season. Riley's time with the Terriers coincided with another future hall of fame coach, Jack Parker.

Coaching career

Riley graduated with a degree in physical education[2] and immediately put his degree to work as the head coach for Lehigh University.[3] After only one season with the Mountain Hawks Riley left to take over at Lowell Tech who began playing College Division hockey two years earlier. Riley was warned bout outgoing coach Dick Morrison that Tech would 'Never be a winner.' but the 24-year-old Riley took the job anyway.[3]

In his first season Riley got the Terriers to their first winning season, going 11–6, and continued to slowly build the program. The team was rechristened as the Lowell Tech Chiefs in 1971 and promptly made the ECAC Lower Division tournament the same season.[3] Two years later the NCAA changed their classification system into numerical tiers and Lowell Tech joined the Division II ranks. In 1975, after setting a new program high of 14 wins, Lowell again changed their name, this time to the Lowell University Chiefs after merging with Lowell State.[3] Two years later Riley brought in his first major recruit, landing Craig MacTavish who led the team with 88 points in his sophomore season en route to a 27-6 record the program's first ECAC championship and National title. MacTavish would leave after the year and go on to a long NHL tenure but the Chiefs didn't slip in the standings too much, finishing with 23 wins and a 3rd place finish in the NCAA tournament. The next season Lowell was back atop the heap, winning a second conference and national title. In 1981–82 Riley's team set the program record with 31 wins, dominated the ECAC tournament and took their third D-II National Championship with a 6-1 win over Plattsburgh State. Lowell went 29-2 the following season but lost in the National Semifinal, ruining their chance at a third consecutive National Championship.

With little left to prove at the Division II level, Lowell jumped up to Division I in 1983–84 and were accepted into ECAC Hockey as a provisional member. Playing much stiffer competition, Lowell produced its first losing season in 10 years but still finished with a respectable 15–16–3 mark. The following year Lowell joined 6 other New England-based schools in forming the new Hockey East conference but it took two more years before Lowell produced another winning record.[4] When the NCAA tournament expanded to 12 teams in 1988 Lowell received its first berth into the postseason as a 6 seed, losing both games convincingly to Wisconsin. Over the next three seasons Lowell wallowed near the bottom of their conference and Riley resigned after the 1991 season in the midst of an investigation that determined he had violated NCAA regulations between 1987 and 1989 by offering lower than normal rent to players in buildings he co-owned.[5] Lowell was put on probation for 2 years following the investigation and, though the team would eventually recover, Riley's coaching career was at an end.

Awards

Riley was inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame along with his late father Bill Sr. in 2006,[6] the Massachusetts–Lowell Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013[7] and received the Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award in 2017.[8]

Personal life

Riley earned a Masters in physical education in 1972 from his alma mater and a Ph.D in sports psychology in 1981.

College Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Lowell Tech Terriers (ECAC 2) (1969–1971)
1969–70 Lowell Tech 11–6–08–6–0
1970–71 Lowell Tech 9–8–17–8–1
Lowell Tech: 20–14–115–14–1
Lowell Tech Chiefs (ECAC 2) (1971–1975)
1971–72 Lowell Tech 12–11–08–10–0
1972–73 Lowell Tech 12–10–111–9–1
1973–74 Lowell Tech 9–12–17–12–1
1974–75 Lowell Tech 14–8–013–7–0
Lowell Tech: 47–41–239–38–2
Lowell Chiefs (ECAC 2) (1975–1977)
1975–76 Lowell 11–10–111–10–1
1976–77 Lowell 17–9–116–8–1ECAC 2 Semifinals
Lowell Tech: 28–19–227–18–2
Lowell Chiefs (ECAC East) (1977–1983)
1977–78 Lowell 17–6–116–5–1ECAC II Semifinals
1978–79 Lowell 27–6–021–5–01stNCAA DII National Champion
1979–80 Lowell 23–7–019–4–0NCAA DII Consolation Game (Win)
1980–81 Lowell 27–5–018–3–01stNCAA DII National Champion
1981–82 Lowell 31–4–019–1–01stNCAA DII National Champion
1982–83 Lowell 29–2–018–0–01stNCAA DII Consolation Game (Win)
Lowell: 154–30–1111–18–1
Lowell Chiefs (ECAC Hockey) (1983–1984)
1983–84 Lowell 15–16–3†††
Lowell: 15–16–3
Lowell Chiefs (Hockey East) (1984–1991)
1984–85 Lowell 15–25–211–21–25thHockey East Consolation Game (Loss)
1985–86 Lowell 11–29–25–27–2T–6thHockey East Consolation Game (Win)
1986–87 Lowell 22–12–220–10–22ndHockey East Semifinals
1987–88 Lowell 20–17–212–14–04thNCAA First Round
1988–89 Lowell 8–24–24–21–17th
1989–90 Lowell 13–20–25–14–27thHockey East Quarterfinals
1990–91 Lowell 10–23–15–15–17thHockey East Quarterfinals
Lowell: 99–150–1362–122–10
Total:363–270–22

      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

† Lowell was a provisional member of ECAC Hockey and only played a non-conference schedule.

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References
  1. "UMass Lowell men's ice hockey Record Book". UMass Lowell River Hawks. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  2. "Legendary UMass Lowell coach Riley announced as Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey honoree". UCHO.com. February 16, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  3. "Bill Riley: The architect". Lowell Sun.com. November 18, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  4. "UMass Lowell Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  5. "2-Year Probation For Lowell Team". New York Times. March 20, 1991. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  6. "Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame RECIPIENTS". Massachusetts Hockey. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  7. "Billy Riley". UMass Lowell River Hawks. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  8. "Bill Riley honored as Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey". UMass Lowell River Hawks. February 16, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Don Roberts		 Edward Jeremiah Award
1976–77		 Succeeded by
Sid Watson
Preceded by
Jack Parker		 Bob Kullen Coach of the Year Award
1986–87		 Succeeded by
Shawn Walsh
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