O'Neill scores 500th career win

Compiled by D3hockey.com staff

Saturday's 8-2 victory over Framingham State not only gave Salem State the inside track for a second-place regular season MASCAC finish, but it also marked 500th career collegiate coaching win for Vikings' head coach Bill O'Neill.

O'Neill becomes the latest in a growing list of Division III coaches to hit a notable milestone this season. He joins Norwich men's coach Mike McShane (600), Plattsburgh State men's coach Bob Emery (500), St. Norbert men's coach Tim Coghlin (400), Williams' men's coach Bill Kangas (300), Cortland State men's coach Joe Baldarotta (300), Nichols men's coach Lou Izzi (200) and UW-River Falls women's coach Joe Cranston (200) among those who have surpassed career benchmarks this year.

Now in his 31st season as head coach of the Vikings, O'Neill's career mark stands at 500-310-54 and he becomes the 21st coach in NCAA history to reach the 500-win plateau.  With all 500 of O'Neill's victories having come at Salem State, he joins Middlebury's Bill Beaney, UMass Dartmouth's John Rolli, Gustavus Adolphus' Don Roberts, Augsburg's Ed Saugestad and Plattsburgh State's Bob Emery as the only coaches to accomplish the feat solely at the Division III level.

A graduate of Boston University, O'Neill was a member of the Terriers' 1978 National Championship team and served as a graduate assistant at Norwich prior to taking over at Salem State in 1981.  In his 31 years behind the Vikings' bench he has guided the Vikings to 26 ECAC playoff appearances, three ECAC playoff titles and 21 MASCAC conference championships.

Additionally, he has led the Vikings to six NCAA tournament appearances that included four consecutive from 1992-95, along with two Frozen Fours -- the most recent of which came in 1992.  O'Neill has been heavily involved with USA Hockey for over 25 years, where he has fulfilled a variety of roles as a respected coach and clinician.

Salem State now stands at 13-8-3 overall and 10-4-3 in the MASCAC; the Vikings will close out their regular season next Tuesday as they host Worcester State in their MASCAC finale.

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