Brian Mueller (ice hockey)

Brian Mueller is an American ice hockey coach and former defenseman who was a two-time All-American for Clarkson.[1]

Brian Mueller
Born (1972-06-02) June 2, 1972 (age 52)
Liverpool, New York, USA
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 227 lb (103 kg; 16 st 3 lb)
Position Defenseman
Shot Left
Played for Clarkson
Springfield Falcons
Richmond Renegades
Manitoba Moose
Québec Rafales
Hershey Bears
HC Thurgau
HPK
Saginaw Gears
Port Huron Border Cats
Detroit Vipers
NHL draft 141st overall, 1991
Hartford Whalers
Playing career 1990–2000
Medal record
Representing  United States
Men's ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Germany

Career

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Mueller was drafted by the Hartford Whalers after a successful season of junior hockey and began attending Clarkson University the following fall. He arrived in Potsdam immediately after the Golden Knights' run to the frozen four, adding depth to the team as a freshman.[2] Over the winter break, Mueller was also selected as a member of Team USA for the 1992 World Junior Championships. While he went scoreless in 7 games, he was part of the defensive corps that shut down opponents for 5 wins and enabled the US to win the bronze medal, just the second medal the team had earned in the 16-year history of the tournament.

For his sophomore season Mueller increased his point total and helped the Golden Knights win the conference tournament. unfortunately, for the second straight year, Clarkson flamed out in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. In his first two seasons Mueller had been a stable defender for the Golden Knights but he turned into an offensive dynamo during his junior year. He finished second in the nation for scoring by defensemen and was named an All-American. Unfortunately for Mueller, Clarkson lost in the conference semifinal and ended up getting left out of the national tournament.

Mueller nearly repeated his offensive production as a senior but was able to help the team finish atop ECAC Hockey. Clarkson was again felled in the semifinal but they were able to secure a bid to the 1995 NCAA Tournament. The Golden Knights got a home game for the opening round, however, they were set against defending champion Lake Superior State. While the Lakers weren't as good as the year before, they were battle tested and the team managed to fight back against Clarkson and win a hard-fought road game 5–4.

After graduating, Mueller began his professional career spending most of his first two seasons with the Springfield Falcons. He headed to Europe in 1997 and spent most of the year with HPK before returning to North America. Mueller rounded out his career with a parts of two seasons in lower-level minor leagues and retired in 2000.

After his playing days were over, Mueller turned to coaching, working with junior players in Michigan Wisconsin and Illinois. He was named Vice President of Hockey operations for a program in the Chicago area and led teams to two national junior championships in 2012 and 2016. After the second title, Mueller was hired by the Pittsburgh Penguins as a head coach and executive director of the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex Hockey Academy and continues to work in that role as of 2021.[3]

Statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1990–91 South Kent School CT–HS 32 21 30 51
1991–92 Clarkson ECAC Hockey 29 4 13 17 32
1992–93 Clarkson ECAC Hockey 32 6 23 29 12
1993–94 Clarkson ECAC Hockey 34 17 39 56 60
1994–95 Clarkson ECAC Hockey 36 12 42 54 56
1995–96 Springfield Falcons AHL 51 7 12 19 49 2 0 0 0 0
1995–96 Richmond Renegades ECHL 3 1 1 2 2 3 0 2 2 0
1996–97 Springfield Falcons AHL 42 7 20 27 28 7 0 2 2 0
1996–97 Manitoba Moose IHL 6 1 1 2 2
1996–97 Québec Rafales IHL 10 0 0 0 0
1997–98 Hershey Bears AHL 2 0 0 0 0
1997–98 HPK SM-liiga 27 2 4 6 26
1997–98 HC Thurgau NLB 1 0 2 2 0 5 3 0 3 14
1998–99 Saginaw Gears UHL 51 12 20 32 38
1998–99 Port Huron Border Cats UHL 7 0 7 7 10
1998–99 Detroit Vipers IHL 12 1 2 3 4 1 0 1 1 0
1999–00 Saginaw Gears UHL 26 3 10 13 36
NCAA totals 131 39 117 156 160
AHL totals 95 14 32 46 77 9 0 2 2 0
IHL totals 28 2 3 5 6 1 0 1 1 0
UHL totals 84 15 37 52 84

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
1992 United States WJC   Bronze 7 0 0 0 0

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 1993–94 [4]
AHCA East First-Team All-American 1993–94 [1]
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 1994–95 [4]
AHCA East First-Team All-American 1994–95 [1]
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team 1995 [5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  2. ^ "Clarkson Men's Hockey 2017-18 Media Guide". Clarkson Golden Knights. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  3. ^ "Hockey Staff Bios". Pittsburgh Penguins. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  5. ^ "All-Tournament Honors" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
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