Buddy Powers

Francis "Buddy" Powers is an American former ice hockey player, coach and scout. He was the head coach for Bowling Green as well as Ice Arena Director for the Slater Family Ice Arena and color commentator for Bowling Green on The Buckeye Cable Sports Network.

Playing career Powers played left wing for three seasons at Boston University (BU) from 1972 to '75. He played 90 games during his time at BU, which placed third in the 1974 and ’75 NCAA Tournaments and compiled a 49-13-1 record over his final two years with the team. After graduating from BU in 1975, Powers went on to play professional hockey in Europe. He played two years (1976–78) as a defenseman for ESV Kaufbeuren and helped the team to a Division II Championship during his first season. He finished his playing career at Krefeld, Germany in 1979-80, assisting the team to the playoff finals.

Rochester Institute of Technology Following the 1988 season, Powers accepted the head coaching position with the Division III Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). In his first and only season with RIT, he led the Tigers to a 26-8-2 record. The team won the ECAC West Championship. The team made it to the NCAA Championship game but lost to University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point by a score of 3-2.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Powers went on to become the head coach of Division I Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) for the 1989-90 season. The Engineers enjoyed improved seasons during Powers' tenure as head coach. The team qualified for the ECAC Tournament in 1990, 1992, 1993, and 1994. In 1994, the team returned to the ECAC Championship Game and the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1985. In his five seasons at RPI, Powers led the Engineers to a record of 94-63-13 including three 20-or-more-wins seasons. in 1995, Powers returned to Bowling Green, this time as head coach.

Return to Bowling Green (head coach) Powers was appointed the head coach at Bowling Green on July 12, 1994, becoming the fourth head coach in the program’s history. During the 1994-'95 campaign, Powers led the Falcons to a 25-11-2 record and a second-place finish in the CCHA. It marked their best finish in the league in eight years. He was named the CCHA’s Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award presented annually to the nation’s top head coach. Also that year, Brian Holzinger was named CCHA player of the Year. Holzinger won the NCAA All-American Award in ice hockey along with BGSU's Kelly Perrault. Holzinger became BGSU's second Hobey Baker Award winner, the other being George McPhee in 1982 during Powers' first season as BGSU's assistant coach.

Although the first half of his time as BGSU's head coach was strong, the lack of top players coming to BGSU affected his overall record; Powers finished sub-.500 in his last 5 seasons as BGSU's bench boss. Over eight seasons as BG's head coach, Powers has compiled a 135-149-26 record at Bowling Green. Powers is 12th all-time among CCHA coaches with 85 league victories with the Falcons and is 10 CCHA victories shy of entering the Top 10.

Return to Boston University (assistant coach) In August, 2009, Powers joined BU as an assistant coach. He remained with the program until 2014 when he became an amateur scout for the Dallas Stars.

International coaching career Powers served as an assistant coach at the 1989 United States Olympic Festival and as head coach at the 1993 United States Olympic Festival games. He also coached the United States during the USA Cup Challenge in 1992. Powers joined the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in 2002 and served as an assistant coach in the 2002-2003 season.

Other hockey related positions Powers served on the Board of Governors of the American Hockey Coaches Association from 1993–1996 and was the director of BGSU’s Summer Hockey School held annually during the last two weeks of July. Powers was a representative of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and BGSU on the NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Committee. He also served as Ice Arena Director at BGSU and was the color commentator for BGSU ice hockey games on BCSN.

College player statistics

Player stats Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM 1972-73 Boston University ECAC 27 5 7 12 2 1973-74 Boston University ECAC 31 5 6 11 10 1974-75 Boston University ECAC 32 4 13 17 14 Total 90 14 26 40 26

Head coaching record