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I am sure that anyone who had ever seen Bill Cahill behind the bench at a game, on the ice at a practice or with his team off-ice will understand that for a couple dozen women athletes in Troy right now this is a loss of much much more than just an excellent coach. Bill loved hockey, but I think more than anything he just loved being a friend and mentor to these young student athletes, and in turn their respect for him was apparent to all. Hard to imagine how anyone will fill those skates.
Makka18
10-07-2003, 11:31 AM
I played for Coach Cahill at Norwich for 3 years. His first year as head coach was my freshman year.
He was a great guy and always went the extra mile for all of his players.
I last saw him about 5 years back. I was running a hockey school out in the Albany area (Troy, NY) and ran into him at a restaurant. He just smiled and we chatted a little bit.
I was with actually with an RPI Hockey Alum, Tony DiRito, who was recruited by Coach Cahill during his first stint at RPI. Coach went out of his way the next day to come down and see us running the hockey school and to see us out on the ice again.
He really did care!
Good Luck Coach where ever you are !
You'll be Missed !
Ralph Baer
10-07-2003, 11:49 AM
Originally posted by Makka18
I was with actually with an RPI Hockey Alum, Tony DiRito, who was recruited by Coach Cahill during his first stint at RPI. Just curious. I never heard of Tony DiRito. Thus, I am sure that he never played varsity hockey at RPI. What was his connection with RPI hockey?
Makka18
10-07-2003, 03:54 PM
It's funny you say that - b/c I check stats on www.hockeydb.com all the time to track current friends playing in the pro's and have checked around for fun to see what some of my friends have done in college that went D-I....... and to my surprise, I did not see his name on any of the rosters or stats.....
We played a little together before he left Thayer Academy and went to Tabor Academy, both in Massachusetts. He won the Prep School Div I Championship, playing with Peter and Chris Ferarro, along with some other talented players at Tabor (this is back in the day when Tabor was still Div I.)
Anyway - We met up after college again. He was already running a program called The New England Edge, and I ended up comming in and running on ice camps with him for about 6-7 years before going out on my own.
We're good friends - so I never wanted to call him out on the fact that www.hockeydb.com didn't show any stats for him......
I think he should have been there sometime during the 92-94 seasons, if anything.....
But like you said, you haven't heard of him, and the website doesn't have stats for him.......
puckoach
10-07-2003, 08:17 PM
FYI
Athy Memorial Home, 111 Lancaster St., Worcester 508-756-4689
Thursday 4-8pm
We lost a great one. He will be missed by all.
USCHO GM
10-07-2003, 10:11 PM
Viewing hours will be Thursday, October 9, from 4-8pm at Athy Funeral Home at 111 Lancaster Street in Worcester, Mass.. The funeral will be held on Friday morning at 11am at Blessed Sacrament Church on Pleasant Street in Worcester, Mass.
In lieu of flowers, gifts should be made payable to Let's Go Red-Women's Hockey and sent to Let's Go Red!, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, AS&RC Building, 110 Eighth Street, Troy, NY 12180-9987.
Ralph Baer
10-08-2003, 06:56 AM
Obituary from the Albany T-U (http://www.legacy.com/timesunion-albany/LegacySubPage2.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=1460007) William D. Cahill
LATHAM William D. Bill Cahill of Latham, N.Y., the Rensselaer women's hockey coach, died suddenly Sunday night, October 5, 2003 in Albany at age 53. Born in Worcester, Mass., Mr. Cahill was a graduate of St. Peter's High School there where he was a hockey standout from 1965 through 1969 and was later inducted into the school's Guardian Hall of Fame. He went on to Norwich University where he played hockey and graduated in 1973. He later returned to Norwich as its first graduate to coach the school's hockey team. He also coached at Assumption College in Worcester. He leaves his parents, William J. and Betty (Drugan) Cahill of Worcester; his two brothers, Kevin of Worcester and Peter of Dorchester, Mass.; his four sisters, Ann of Bernardston, Mass., Patricia of Medford, Mass., Mary E. O'Sullivan of Cambridge, Mass. and Jane of Naples, Fla.; and a dear friend, Susan Liney of Troy, N.Y. The funeral Mass will be Friday, October 10 at 11 a.m. in Blessed Sacrament Church, 555 Pleasant St., Worcester. Burial will follow in St. John's Cemetery, Worcester. Calling hours at the Athy Memorial Home, 111 Lancaster St., Worcester, are Thursday, Oct. 9 from 4 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Let's Go Red-Women's Hockey, R.P.I., A.S. & R.C. Building, 110 Eighth St., Troy, NY 12180-9987.
Published in the Albany Times Union on 10/8/2003.
Any word out of Troy on the coaching situation at RPI, or how practices are going? The game against Union is just a week away, and I have a feeling that it will set the tone for the season. Should be an emotional game for the team...the rivalry with Union...potential for a first ever win against a Div 1 team...and most important of all an opportunity to win a big one for Bill.
icequeen
10-17-2003, 11:40 PM
Just wanted to wish Bill's team well on their first game. Emotionally they need to for themselves and Bill. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends and team. We met Bill at a scouting camp in Vancouver B.C. He was so kind. He took the time to come over and talk to us as we were looking so lost in the mix of parents that were agressively seeking a chance to talk to the scouts. He had a warm presence that impacted us.....we will never forget that short meeting. His kindness touched others all the way across the continent. God bless.
Ralph Baer
10-19-2003, 03:26 PM
USCHO is reporting that RPI men's assistant coach John Burke will be named the new women's coach: http://www.uscho.com/news/2003/10/19_007083.php .
Not a good start for Union, losing to Quinnipiac (which lost twice to Colgate by significant scores) 6-0. It certainly takes time to become established and it will be intersting to see how RPI stacks up against Union on saturday. The loss of Coach Cahill will be difficult to overcome but I'm sure Coach Burke will have the team prepared.
Ralph Baer
10-20-2003, 05:32 PM
RPI Press Release:
JOHN BURKE NAMED WOMEN'S HOCKEY COACH
Former men's assistant coach succeeds close friend Bill Cahill
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Director of Athletics Ken Ralph has named John Burke the acting head women's ice hockey coach. Burke takes over the team following the sudden death of Bill Cahill, who passed away of a heart attack on October 5.
"I am thrilled that John has accepted the position," Ralph said. "Bill established great momentum with our women's hockey team and John has the energy, knowledge and work ethic to continue program's progress. He is more than ready for this job and I am very happy he will continue to serve our student-athletes in this new capacity."
"I am honored to have the opportunity to take over the women's program," said Burke, who had been an assistant coach with the Division I men's program for the past eight years. "Bill was a man I really enjoyed being around and learned a lot from, not just in hockey but in life. I look forward to building on the foundation and tradition he established. It remains our goal to make Rensselaer one of the top women's hockey programs in the country."
A native of Newton, Mass., Burke began his coaching career as the head coach at Worcester Academy in Massachusetts. In his one season at Worcester he led the team to an 18-4-1 record and the 1993 Division II New England Prep School Championship, earning the New England Prep School Coach of the Year Award. He then spent the next two years as an assistant coach at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., before joining RPI's staff in 1996. Among his responsibilities with the Engineers' men's team were coaching the goaltenders, working with the defensemen and recruiting.
A 1991 graduate of Bowling Green University in Ohio, Burke was a member of the 1988 Central Collegiate Hockey Association Championship team and helped Bowling Green qualify for three consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
The Rensselaer women's team, which won a school record 20 games (20-7-0; 17-3-0 ECAC East) and advanced to the ECAC East Tournament Finals under Cahill last season, opens on Saturday night at Union College in a non-league game (7pm). The Engineers, who return 11 of their top 12 scorers and both goaltenders, will play its first home game one week later when they host Sacred Heart in a non-league affair at 7pm at the Houston Field House.
Red Cloud
10-24-2003, 10:24 PM
Good luck to the Engineers against the Dutchwomen tomorrow night! Come back with a big W for BC!
Should be a great game. Before the season started I picked this as one of two victories over Div 1 teams for RPI this year, and I'll stick with that prediction but I now think that the Engineers will only win tonight if they have improved significantly over last year. Union won easily over New England College, by a score and shot margin comparable to what RPI had against NEC last year, and there is good reason to believe NEC is a lot better team than they were last year (kept all of their top players and still had a large number of freshmen break into the line up this year). Still don't know much about the new Union players 'though: I see that Meghan O'Connor got a hat-trick last night...anyone know anything about her background?
Red Cloud
10-25-2003, 09:18 PM
A 4-4 tie for the Engineers tonight that might as well be considered a W for all intents and purposes other than the standings... from what I've heard it was a gutsy, intense performance by our girls and congratulations on their first point against a D-I squad!
puckster17
10-25-2003, 10:14 PM
o connor went to st georges..........she is my roommate.......and a spaz........she doesnt look pretty on the ice but she gets the job done
If anyone attended the game, feel free to give us the scoop. The box score hasn't been posted yet so I really can't comment on anything specifically. All I know is that Julie Aho scored the tying goal. Good to see some production from the frosh.
broomball52
10-27-2003, 05:27 PM
Julie Aho is a big time player. She made a move on RPIs second goal that was awesome. Went hard to the net to the goalies left, played the puck to herself off the boards and around the defense. Went behind the net and stuffed it in. She is playing on a like with Julie Welte and Merideth Langille.
Filling the left wing spot on the 1st/2nd line (can't really tell which is which) withKatie Woodward and Deanna Doughrety is Katie Temple. Thes two line were used almost exclusively in the late 3rd and OT.
Katie Woodward got the first goal, As mentioned Julie Aho got two and I don't recall who got the other.
The best play of the night was when Kari Rabatin layed out a Union forward along the boards with a nice (yet illegal for women) hip check. Rabatin was getting hassled all night and finally got hers back. I don't think the penalty lead to the Union 4ht goal, I think the score was already 4-2 at that point.
Union compared to last year look really good. They had a lot of jump and played RPI really close. At least two of the Union goals were garbage pick ups in front, the RPI defense needs to clear some boadies in those situations.
Obviously Union is much improved. Let's remember though that this was RPI's first game while Union had played two previous games. Also, is it correct that some of the RPI players weren't at the game because of field hockey? I know last year that Sondra Sherman didn't play the first game or two because she is also on the field hockey team.
broomball52,
Nice to hear from you. We've heard about Aho but how did the other new players look?
Katie Temple is coming from a strong D1 program and never got the chance to play. I would expect her to excel at the D3 level.
Did Sarah Daniel, Holly O'Donohue, or Katie Hammond play?
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