Meet the Staff

Scott Owens
The proof is in the numbers. Thirteen seasons, 299 wins. Three regular season championships, eight appearances in the NCAA’s and two Hobey Baker Award winners. Not too shabby for someone who has been referred to as a “perfect fit” for Colorado College..

The 13th head coach in the program’s 73-year history, Owens has averaged 23 victories per year since accepting the position. CC's 31 wins in 2004-05 is the team's highest ever in one year. It’s no mere coincidence that the Tigers have kept a firm foothold among college hockey’s elite, while attendance figures at the Colorado Springs World Arena continue to rank among the nation’s best.

True, Owens has compiled an impressive list of coaching credentials spanning more than two decades. But when he returned to campus in April 1999 after four successful seasons in the Junior A-level United States Hockey League, he also brought with him an intimate familiarity with the college that few other individuals could possibly possess.

A 1979 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Owens lettered for four seasons as a goaltender with the Tigers. He later spent four campaigns (1991-95) as a member of the Colorado College coaching staff, serving as recruiting coordinator and playing a key role in the program’s revival in the mid ’90s. He was promoted to associate head coach for the final two years of that stay. Before leaving to become head coach and general manager of the Des Moines Buccaneers in 1995, he had helped lead CC to its first of five consecutive appearances in the NCAA playoffs as well as two of three straight regular-season championships in the WCHA.

He understands the school, its students and its athletes. Having experienced, as a player and a coach, what works and what doesn’t at Colorado College, he knows exactly what the ingredients of success for the hockey program have been. He’s at home in the community, and his achievements everywhere he’s been are testimony to his ability to motivate players.

He appeared in 50 games for the Tigers during his collegiate playing career, backstopping 12 victories as the team’s No. 1 goalie his senior season in 1978-79. He attended and played hockey at Madison’s Memorial High School under coach Bill Howard, another former CC goaltender. Owens then played one season for the St. Cloud (Minn.) Blues of the Mid-West Junior League. He also represented the United States at the 1975 Junior World Championships, competing against teams from Canada, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Russia and Sweden.

He and his wife, Sally, were married New Year’s Eve, 2000. He has two step-sons, Evan and Sean, ages 27 and 23.

Joe Bonnett
Joe Bonnett is in his twelfth year as an assistant coach at Colorado College, where he has helped the Tigers average over 23 victories the last six seasons.

While overseeing areas of recruiting and concentrating on the defensive aspects of the game, Bonnett is known for working “hands on” with the blue-line corps and the development of individual skills. Under his guidance, CC’s team defense and penalty kill have continued to rank among the nation’s best.

Prior to joining the Tigers staff, Bonnett was the recruiting coordinator at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (1997-01). He started his coaching career as associate head coach of the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings (NAHL), guiding them to an appearance in the 1994 junior “A” national tournament. Bonnett served as a volunteer assistant at Miami from 1995–97. While there, he earned his master’s degree in sport organization and helped coach the RedHawks to their second NCAA appearance in ‘96-97.

Bonnett was a four-year letterwinner as a forward at Western Michigan University (1989–93) and an assistant captain his senior year. A 1993 graduate of WMU, where he received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education, Bonnett was named Western Michigan’s Most Improved Player as a junior in 1991-92, then was named recipient of the program’s Catherine Lawson Sportsmanship Award as a senior in 1992-93.

During the summer months, Bonnett has continued to be very active as a volunteer with USA Hockey. He has served as a head coach for Team Michigan and Rocky Mountain districts at national select -14, -15, -16 and -17 festivals. In 1999 his select-16 team Michigan won a gold medal in St. Cloud, Minn. Bonnett served as an assistant coach with the United States under-17 select team that won the gold medal at the 2003 Five Nations Tournament in Prievidza, Slovakia.

The Canton, Mich., native and his wife Laura, who celebrated their twelfth anniversary in June, are the parents of two sons, Noah and Sam, ages 8 and 5, and daughter, Vivian, age 1.

Eric Rud
Eric Rud, one of the most decorated players in the history of Colorado College hockey and a rising star in the coaching fraternity, returns to the Colorado College staff in 2011-12 after a six-year absence.

Rud served as head coach and general manager of the United States Hockey League’s Green Bay Gamblers during the 2010-11 season, guiding them to an overall record of 41-15-4 and a spot in the Clark Cup finals. He resigned in July to become an assistant coach with CC for the second time.

Known for his sharp hockey sense and positive way of connecting with players, Rud began his coaching career with the Tigers in 2004-05, when they posted a 31-9-3 record en route to the program’s most recent Frozen Four appearance. He went on to spend the next five seasons as an assistant under Bob Motzko at St. Cloud State University, where he helped the Huskies earn four appearances at the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s Final Five, as well as three trips to the NCAA Tournament.

He is reuniting with current Tiger head coach Scott Owens and assistant coach Joe Bonnett, and will work closely with volunteer goaltender coach Terry Kleisinger.
 
Last season, in addition to its glittering record and post-season success, Green Bay allowed just 131 goals, the fewest by any team in the entire USHL. Aaron Harstad, a freshman defenseman at Colorado College, played for the Gamblers.
   
A native of Inver Grove Heights, Minn., Rud played four years (1993-97) for the Tigers, who won a then-unprecedented three consecutive WCHA regular-season titles his first three and reached the Frozen Four his last two. He ranks 24th on CC's all-time assists list with 90 during his career. The two-time WCHA Defensive Player of the Year appeared in 168 consecutive games. In 1996, his first of two seasons as team captain, CC advanced to the national championship game before losing to Michigan in overtime.