Rube Bjorkman

Reuben Eugene Bjorkman (born February 27, 1929) is a former head coach of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux hockey men's team. A graduate of Roseau, Minnesota High School, where he led his team to a state championship in 1946, Bjorkman was a member of the US Olympic teams in 1948 and 1952 (silver medalists). He was a three-year letter winner at the University of Minnesota.

Rube Bjorkman

Biographical details
Born	(1929-02-27) February 27, 1929 Roseau, Minnesota
Playing career
1948	US Olympic Team
1948–1951	Minnesota
1951–1952	Saint Paul Saints
1952	US Olympic Team
Position(s)	Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1961–1962	Greenway High School
1963–1964	RPI
1964–1968	New Hampshire
1968–1978	North Dakota
1980–1983	Warroad High School
Head coaching record
Overall	224–234–11 (college)
Medal record Men's ice hockey Representing the United States Olympic Games 1952 Oslo Team competition

Career

Bjorkman's high school coaching career began at Greenway High School in Coleraine, Minnesota. His 1962 team competed in the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament. His first college coaching season (1963–1964), at RPI, culminated with his team finishing third in the NCAA Championships. Following that season he was hired as the Head Hockey Coach at the University of New Hampshire where spent four years before accepting the position at the University of North Dakota.

In 1982 Bjorkman was honored by the Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association when he was named the recipient of the Cliff Thompson Award, given for long-term, outstanding contributions to the sport of hockey in Minnesota. In 1997 The American Hockey Coaches Association recognized Bjorkman with the John "Snooks" Kelly Founders Award. Named after the Boston College coach, this award honors those people in the coaching profession who have contributed to the overall growth and development of the sport of ice hockey in the United States.

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Rensselaer Engineers (ECAC Hockey / Tri-State League) (1964–1969)
1963–64	Rensselaer	18–8–0	12–6–0 / 1–3–0	t-6th / 3rd	NCAA third-place game (win)
Rensselaer:		18–8–0	12–6–0 / 1–3–0
New Hampshire Wildcats (ECAC 2) (1964–1966)
1964–65	New Hampshire	6–14–0	6–9–0
1965–66	New Hampshire	11–12–0	11–5–0
New Hampshire:		17–26–0	17–14–0
New Hampshire Wildcats (ECAC Hockey) (1966–1968)
1966–67	New Hampshire	18–7–0	5–4–0	7th
1967–68	New Hampshire	22–7–0	7–6–0
New Hampshire:		40–14–0	12–10–0
North Dakota Fighting Sioux (WCHA) (1968–1978)
1968–69	North Dakota	18–10–1	15–7–0	3rd	WCHA West Regional semifinals
1969–70	North Dakota	14–5–1	12–13–1	5th	WCHA East Regional semifinals
1970–71	North Dakota	14–17–2	10–15–1	7th	WCHA East Regional Finals
1971–72	North Dakota	21–14–1	18–10–0	3rd	WCHA second round
1972–73	North Dakota	17–17–2	13–15–2	7th	WCHA first round
1973–74	North Dakota	10–23–1	8–20–0	10th
1974–75	North Dakota	6–28–2	4–26–2	10th
1975–76	North Dakota	15–21–0	12–20–0	t-7th
1976–77	North Dakota	19–19–0	16–16–0	5th	WCHA first round
1977–78	North Dakota	15–22–1	13–19–0	t-5th	WCHA first round
North Dakota:		149–186–11	121–161–6
Total:		224–234–11
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Career coaching statistics at College Hockey News