Holy Cross Athletics

David Berard completed his seventh season as the head coach of the men's hockey program in 2020-2021. Berard has 29 years of collegiate hockey experience. In his first six seasons at Holy Cross, the Crusaders are 80-104-34 overall and have posted a 70-68-32 record in Atlantic Hockey. In his seven total seasons as a head coach in Atlantic Hockey, Berard's teams have gone 99-114-37 with an 84-75-35 league record.

As a head coach, Berard has to his name: 118 Atlantic Hockey Academic All-Stars, 17 Crusaders who have gone on to play professionally after graduation, 12 AHCA All-American Scholars, 5 Atlantic Hockey All-League selections, 5 players who have attended NHL Development Camps, 4 top-five finishes in seven seasons as a head coach in Atlantic Hockey, 3 Walter Brown Award Semi-Finalists, 3 wins over nationally-ranked non-league opponents, 2 Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team selections, 2 Crusaders who have gone on to sign AHL contracts after graduation, 1 Atlantic Hockey Goaltending Champion, and 1 Atlantic Hockey Sportsmanship Award.

Berard's teams have set the following school records: lowest single-season team GAA of 2.35 (2014-15), single-season shutout record of 5 (2017-18), individual single-season shutout record of 5 and career shutout record of 11 (2017-18), 4 consecutive winning seasons in Atlantic Hockey regular season play (2014-18), 3 consecutive First Round byes in the Atlantic Hockey playoffs (2015-18), and 2 Crusaders named semi-finalists for the Walter Brown Award in the same year (2017-18).

BEFORE HOLY CROSS:

In 2012-13, Berard was named Interim Head Coach at UConn four weeks into the season.  He led the team to a 19-10-3 overall record and a 16-8-3 mark in Atlantic Hockey play.  The Huskies finished in fourth place, earned a first-round playoff bye and advanced to AHA Semi-Finals.  It marked the team’s first winning season and the program’s most overall wins since the 1999-2000 season.  The team also won the most non-conference Division I games in school history during that year.

Berard also had three different stints on the hockey staff at Providence, for a total of 16 seasons.  He was an assistant coach at Providence from 1994-1996 and again from 1998-2011.  He also served as the Director of Hockey Operations for one season in 2013-14.  In total, Berard helped the Friars reach three Hockey East Championship Games, winning in 1996, and compete in three NCAA Tournaments (1996, 2001, 2014).  

Berard was instrumental in bringing a number of talented players to Providence; recruiting three AHCA All-Americans, seven Hockey East All-Stars and five Hockey East All-Rookie team selections. Additionally, Berard recruited twenty-three players who were National Hockey League draft picks and coached thirteen players who eventually played in the NHL.  Furthermore, two of Berard’s recruits have represented the United States at the IIHF Under-20 World Championships.
    
Berard served as the top assistant coach at Lake Superior State University for two years from 1996-1998.  He served as recruiting coordinator during his time with the Lakers, while helping the team to an overall record of 34-32-9.  Berard began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Colby College for two years from 1992-1994, in which he helped the program qualify for the ECAC East Playoffs for the first time in ten years during the 1993-94 season.

Throughout his career, Berard has been heavily involved in player development for USA Hockey at the national, district and local levels.  He has coached at numerous USA Hockey National Select Festivals and New England Player Development Camps.  From 2003-2008, Berard served as the Director of Player Development for the New England District.  In the summer of 2004, Berard served as an assistant coach for the USA Hockey Under-17 Select Team, which won the silver medal at the Five Nations Tournament in Germany.  From 2008-2012, Berard was a coach for the USA Hockey Warren Strelow National Goaltending Mentor Program.
    
A goaltender in his playing days at Providence, Berard was a member of one of the most successful classes to wear a Friar uniform, amassing a total of 87 wins over their four-year career. Berard was a member of three teams that reached the Hockey East Tournament semifinals and two teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament.