Bob Armstrong (ice hockey, born 1961)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bob Armstrong
Born (1961-10-02)October 2, 1961
Ithaca, New York, USA
Died January 28, 2012(2012-01-28) (aged 50)
Williamsville, New York, USA
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 188 lb (85 kg; 13 st 6 lb)
Position Defenseman
Shot Left
Played for Clarkson
Playing career 1980–1984

Robert A. Armstrong was an American retired ice hockey defenseman who was an All-American for Clarkson.[1]

Career[]

Armstrong graduated from Ithaca High School in 1979 and then spent a year at Northwood Prep School. While there he worked as a driver at the 1980 Winter Olympics and served as an usher during the semifinal matchup between the United States and the Soviet Union, perhaps the most famous ice hockey game in history.[2]

He began attending Clarkson University in the fall of 1980 and joined the team as it was on the ascent. Clarkson made appearances in the NCAA Tournament in each of Armstrong's first two seasons and, though he was a bit player as a freshman, Armstrong had a much more integral role in 1982. After several of the top players graduated that year, Clarkson declined in Armstrong's junior season. He was named team captain for his senior year and the team rebounded. Armstrong led the defense in scoring and Clarkson finished 3rd in the ECAC Tournament, their best finish in over a decade.[3] The team made its third national tournament with Armstrong and pushed a very strong Minnesota–Duluth to the brink, nearly overcoming a 4-goal deficit with a 6–3 win in the quarterfinals. Armstrong had scored with 61 seconds left but the team was unable to tie the series before time ran out.[4]

Armstrong's playing career ended upon his graduation. While working for Stearns & Wheeler as an engineer, Armstrong began coaching high school hockey and baseball. He was involved with several youth teams in the Buffalo area.

Armstrong died unexpectedly at the age of 50 at the Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital.

Statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1980–81 Clarkson ECAC Hockey 36 3 4 7 28 — — — — —
1981–82 Clarkson ECAC Hockey 35 5 16 21 48 — — — — —
1982–83 Clarkson ECAC Hockey 31 6 11 17 30 — — — — —
1983–84 Clarkson ECAC Hockey 34 9 20 29 72 — — — — —
NCAA totals 136 23 51 74 178 — — — — —

Awards and honors[]

Award Year
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 1983–84 [5]
AHCA East First-Team All-American 1983–84 [1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  2. ^ "Robert A. Armstrong, professional engineer; Oct. 2, 1961 -- Jan. 28, 2012". The Buffalo News. January 31, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  3. ^ "Clarkson Men's Hockey 2017-18 Media Guide". Clarkson Golden Knights. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  4. ^ "Clarkson returning to DECC after 25 years to face UMD". Duluth New Tribune. October 30, 2009. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  5. ^ "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""