Bill Horn

William Horn (born April 16, 1967) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and retired goaltender who was an All-American for Western Michigan.[1]

Bill Horn
Born (1967-04-16) April 16, 1967 (age 57)
Whitewood, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
PositionGoaltender
CaughtLeft
Played forWestern Michigan
New Haven Nighthawks
Roanoke Valley Rebels
Detroit Falcons
Rochester Americans
San Diego Gulls
Greensboro Monarchs
Wheeling Thunderbirds
Raleigh Icecaps
Columbus Cottonmouths
Winston-Salem IceHawks
St. Pete/Winston-Salem Parrots
NHL draft95th, 1986
Hartford Whalers
Playing career1985–2003

Career

Horn had a 3 successful years at ND. He was voted Top Goaltender: Bill Horn (Notre Dame)at the 1984 Air Canada Cup. He won 3 consecutive starts during the round robin play including 10 periods without surrendering a goal. Horn graduated from Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in 1985 and was recruited by Bill Wilkinson to play for Western Michigan. He became the team's starter as a freshman, taking over after the graduation of Glenn Healy, and backstopped the team to their best season in history.[2] Horn set a program record and led the nation with 25 wins, helping WMU win 32 games that year (the only 30-win season for the program as of 2021). Horn played well during the regular season, helping the team finish in a second place tie in the CCHA, but it was in the playoffs where he became a star. While WMU had been led by their powerful offense, Horn kept his team in the semifinal against Bowling Green, winning the game in overtime. He then held top-seeded Michigan State to a single goal to claim the team's first conference championship (the Broncos would not win another for 26 years). Horn was named the Tournament MVP and led his team to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. While the team was swept out of the quarterfinals, Horn received a fair bit of notoriety from his performance and was drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the succeeding NHL Draft.

Western Michigan dropped back to the middle of the pack the following year but Horn played well enough to make the All-conference second team. Both he and the team saw moderate gains in his junior season but the Broncos were unable to recapture the magic of his freshman year and the team finished with a losing record in Horn's final season. The diminishing returns after the stellar freshman season left a bit of a damper on Horn's prospects, but he still was able to carve out a decent tenure as a minor league goaltender. After a year off, he made his first appearance for the Roanoke Valley Rebels in 1990 and would find himself returning to the region many times over the succeeding decade. He joined the Michigan Falcons for their inaugural season the following year and helped the team win the inaugural Colonial Hockey League regular season title. he bounced between several leagues over the next three years, never staying in one place for too long. He retired after helping the Greensboro Monarchs make an improbable run to the Riley Cup finals in 1995.

Horn won 2 Championships in Roller Hockey International in 1993 with the Anaheim Bullfrogs and 1996 with the Orlando Jackals.

Horn returned as a player two years later, playing for three teams in the area in parts of two seasons before hanging up his pads. After several years off, he appeared in two games during the 2002–03 season for the St. Pete/Winston-Salem Parrots in their only year of existence.

After his graduation from Western Michigan Horn had started coaching the goaltending position, founding Horn Goaltending, but he began to make it a full-time position at the tail end of his professional career. In 1998 he served as a player-coach for the Winston-Salem IceHawks and continues to instruct as of 2021.[3] Horn's sons also played hockey; Brett reaching the college ranks with SUNY Potsdam and Zac last appearing for the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes of the USPHL Premier league. In 2020–21, Horn served as the goaltending coach for the Jr. Canes.[4]

He was inducted into the Western Michigan Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.[5]

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPWLTMINGASOGAASV%GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
1985–86Western MichiganCCHA3025500
1986–87Western MichiganCCHA3619160206613623.95.890
1987–88Western MichiganCCHA33151321
1988–89Western MichiganCCHA3712196218115314.21.867
1990–91Roanoke Valley RebelsECHL5118216271919414.28.900
1990–91New Haven NighthawksAHL110060505.00.833
1991–92Michigan FalconsCoHL4320133217914714.054
1992–93Detroit FalconsCoHL85214843404.21.816
1992–93Greensboro MonarchsECHL27169014658133.32.899
1992–93San Diego GullsIHL2110120502.50.911
1992–93Rochester AmericansAHL63113042204.34.8681
1993–94Wheeling ThunderbirdsECHL4200107502.80.911
1993–94Rochester AmericansAHL2599513948103.49.8731
1994–95San Diego GullsIHL82112881503.12.889
1994–95Greensboro MonarchsECHL20135111345803.07.90213
1996–97Raleigh IcecapsECHL297162151210104.01.889
1996–97Columbus CottonmouthsCHL32101581706.43.8192
1997–98Winston-Salem IceHawksUHL241212013588713.84.876
2002–03St. Pete/Winston-Salem ParrotsACHL201079604.55.813
NCAA totals13671538793354244.10.876
CoHL/UHL totals7537274402126824.004
ECHL totals13156519693743943.80.89813
IHL totals103214082002.94.895
AHL totals3213106175810803.69.8712

Awards and honors

AwardYear
AHCA West Second-Team All-American1985–86[1]
CCHA All-Tournament Team1986[6]
All-CCHA Second Team1985–86[7]

References

Awards and achievements
Preceded by CCHA Most Valuable Player in Tournament
1986
Succeeded by