Bio

Bill O'Neill has been the head coach of the Salem State University ice hockey program since 1981. O'Neill became just the seventh coach in NCAA Division III history to earn 500 career victories in 2012. He has guided the Vikings to 26 ECAC playoff appearances since his arrival on campus. He has also directed SSU to a pair of NCAA Division 3 Final Four appearances (1992 & 1994), six NCAA tournament bids, three ECAC East playoff titles and 20 Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championships.

O'Neill, a native of Lynn, MA, who grew up in Danvers, MA, was a defenseman for the 1977-78 Boston University national championship team. After trying out with the NHL's Boston Bruins, O'Neill began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at Norwich University in 1980 under current UMass Amherst head coach Don "Toot" Cahoon.

A graduate of St. John's Preparatory School and a member of its Athletic Hall of Fame, O'Neill has directed SSU to five 20-win seasons en route to compiling a 499-308-54 overall record.

O'Neill, who is currently listed among the winningest active NCAA Division 3 men' s ice hockey coaches has been involved in USA Hockey over the past quarter century, serving the organization as a highly respected coach and clinician.

O'Neill and his wife Liz reside in South Salem and have three children Andrew, Rachel and Will.  Andrew, a graduate of SSU and a former team captain for his dad, is an assistant hockey coach at Salem State.  Rachel is a graduate of UMass Amherst; while Will played defenseman for the University of Maine Black Bears.