Frank Pond

Francis Raymond Pond was an American ice hockey center and coach. He led the University of Minnesota to consecutive intercollegiate championships both as a player and head coach in the 1920s and 30s.

Career A native Minnesotan, Pond began attending the state's flagship university in 1920. While the school had a club team at the time, the program was promoted to major varsity status during his sophomore year. Pond tried out for the team that year but was unable to make the cut. He made a second attempt the following year and earned a spot with the club. Pond helped the team finish atop the ranking of all western teams with a 10–1–1 record to earn the first Intercollegiate title for the program. He was elected team captain for his senior season and guided the Gophers to a second tile, going 13–1–0 and being regarded by some as the top team in the nation (though 14–1 Yale would beg to differ).

Pond returned to the team in 1930 as the team's head coach. Taking over after the resignation of Emil Iverson, Pond had a difficult first season, losing 7 of his first 9 games but got the team to improve as the year went along. The hard work paid off in his second season behind the bench when Minnesota won an intercollegiate title and finished 2nd in the national ranking behind only Harvard. He guided Minnesota to two more western titles over the next two years but a poor start in 1935 prevented the Gophers from being able to capture four straight crowns. After five seasons as coach, Pond resigned and left behind a sparkling legacy with the ice hockey program.

Career statistics Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1922–23 Minnesota Independent — — — — — — — — — — 1923–24 Minnesota Independent 14 10 3 13 2 — — — — — Note: assists were not an official statistic at the time.

Head coaching record