Chris Bergeron - Ice Hockey Coach - Bowling Green State University Athletics

Robert Morris

Oct 4 (Sat)

6:07 p.m.

Chris Bergeron

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
cjberge@bgsu.edu
Phone:
419-372-7239

In his ninth year at the helm of BGSU Hockey, head coach Chris Bergeron has directed the rise of the program back to national prominence. BGSU Hockey won just five games the year before Bergeron’s hire, but the Falcons have improved every season of his tenure, culminating with a 21-18-2 record and WCHA Championship appearance in 2016-17 campaign.

Most recently, the Falcons' 23-12-6 push in the 2017-18 campaign marked the fourth consecutive 20+ win season, and fifth straight winning season under Bergeron's lead. Continuing its winning season into the playoffs, the Falcons hosted a playoff round for the fifth consecutive season, ever since joining the WCHA and has now won a playoff series in each of the last eight seasons, a stat that no other Division I program can claim.

A highlight of the season came when the program earned its first Great Lakes Invitational championship title in Bowling Green history. The Falcons downed Michigan 6-4 in the semifinals, before coming out victorious in a 4-1 final against WCHA-foe Michigan Tech in the championship, in the first year of Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit, Mich.

Bowling Green's 12 losses in its 23-12-6 record were the fewest since 11 in the 2014-15 season, while with just six WCHA conference losses, it marked the fewest league losses since six in 1986-87 by a CCHA record of 24-6-2. Individually, Bergeron's Falcons claimed 14 WCHA Player of the Week accolades, five All-WCHA players, four WCHA Player of the Months, four Great Lakes Invitational All-Tournament Team honors, and one NCAA First Star of the Week nod in its 2017-18 reign.

In a successful 2016-17 streak for the Falcons, Bergeron led Bowling Green to its first conference championship appearance since 1988, as it faced Michigan Tech on March 18, 2017. Additionally, the Falcons went on a seven-game win streak entering the WCHA Championship, which is the longest of Coach Bergeron's career and longest of the Bowling Green hockey team since the 1987-88 campaign; a year in which the team clinched its last conference title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

In pursuit of the championship, the Falcons were awarded for their successes throughout season, as the Falcons claimed three WCHA Player of the Month honors and 10 WCHA Player of the Week accolades, while four were named 2017 All-WCHA.

With a record of 23-11-5 in 2014-15, the 23 victories represented the most for a Falcon hockey team since a 26-win season in 1995-96. It continued the positive momentum of a program that went from 10 victories in Bergeron’s first season to 14 in 2011-12 and then to 15 in 2012-13. The 2013-14 team finished above .500 for the first time since 1996-97 by going 19-15-6. Last year, the Falcons missed out on the 16-team NCAA Tournament by just .0002 points in the Pairwise Rankings, the system used to determine the qualifiers for the event.

BGSU was anchored by a penalty kill unit that ranked among the top teams in the country throughout most of the season and finished the year second in the country at 89.8 percent. BGSU also ranked among the top 20 in the country in scoring offense, scoring margin and combined special teams, while ranking seventh in win percentage. The program broke the BGSU Ice Arena attendance record when 5,353 fans packed the Madhouse on Mercer on Nov. 14 against Ohio State. Bowling Green also hosted the first outdoor hockey game in program history in a 2-2 tie against No. 19 Robert Morris on Jan. 3, 2015 at Fifth Third Field in Toledo.

Although the team did graduate four seniors from the 2014-15 squad, the Falcons earned three spots on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) All-Rookie team. Bergeron and assistant coaches Ty Eigner and Barry Schutte have built the program for long-term success.

While the win total has continued to climb, Bergeron’s teams have built a tradition of postseason success as well. Bowling Green is the only program in the country to have won at least one best-of-three playoff series in each of the past seven years.

In just his first year at the helm, Bergeron’s squad upset Northern Michigan on the road in the first round of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Tournament. The following year, the Falcons were seeded 11^th in the CCHA Tournament before again upsetting Northern Michigan on the road and then stunning top-seeded Ferris State in three games in the second round. The 2012-13 team won another road playoff series, this time beating Lake Superior State, before the 2013-14 squad earned a home series in the program’s first year in the WCHA.

That squad swept Michigan Tech at home and Bowling Green again earned a home sweep in 2014-15, when the Falcons beat Northern Michigan in the playoffs for the third time in five years. Most recently in 2016-17, the Falcons hosted Ferris State in the first round of the WCHA Playoffs, before sweeping Bemidji State in the semifinals.

Bergeron has smoothly transformed the team into a WCHA power in just four seasons. The Falcons tied for third in their inaugural season in the league and then improved to third in 2014-15. After finishing third again in the conference in 2015-16, the Falcons made a second-half rally to finish fourth overall in 2016-17.

Overall, Bergeron has a career mark of 123-131-33 but the Falcons have gone 66-44-14 in the past three seasons.

Well-known as an outstanding recruiter, Bergeron helped rebuild the Miami RedHawk program and sustained success from 2000-2010. In his time in Oxford, Ohio his teams collected a cumulative record of 226-139-37 overall and a conference record of 161-83-28. Over the last ten seasons, Bergeron helped guide the RedHawks to six NCAA Tournament appearances, consecutive Frozen Four showings in 2008-09 and 2009-10, two first places finishes in the CCHA and six seasons with 20 or more overall wins. In 2009-10, the RedHawks finished 29-8-7 (21-2-5-2) and spent all but three weeks as the No. 1 team in the country ranked by the USCHO.com Coaches Poll. During the regular season, the RedHawks mounted a 23-game unbeaten streak in conference play.

Under his guidance, Bergeron saw nine Miami forwards earn All-CCHA honors. He also saw goaltender Cody Reichard named to the All-America West Second Team while also obtaining CCHA Player of the Year honors. In six of his last seven years at Miami, Bergeron saw at least one student-athlete named to the All-American team and eight times had a player named to an All-American Team. Since 2001 and prior to the 2009-10 season, 19 RedHawks have been drafted by a NHL team and 34 have played professionally.

He was part of a staff that was honored with the CCHA Coach of the Year award four times (2000-01, 2003-04, 2005-06 and 2009-10) and the AHCA National Coaching Staff of the Year award in 2005-06.

Bergeron played at Miami from 1989-93 and was a two-year team captain, leading the team to its first CCHA Championship in program history as a senior. During that season, Bergeron scored a team-high 61 points on 21 goals and 40 assists. Along with his offensive achievements that year, the four-year letterwinner was named the CCHA's Best Defensive Forward as well as Miami's Most Outstanding Senior.

He then spent seven years playing professionally before returning to Miami as an assistant coach. During that time, he played with the Adirondack Red Wings (AHL), the Birmingham Bulls (ECHL), the Toledo Storm (ECHL), the Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL) and the Columbus Cottonmouths (CHL), being named a league all-star four times. He also has coaching experience at the professional level, having served as a player/assistant coach with the Port Huron Bordercats of the United Hockey League for two seasons.

Bergeron graduated from Miami in 1993, earning a bachelor's degree in education. He and his wife, Janis, now reside in Bowling Green with their two sons – Logan and Connor.