Timothy Regan (born December 28, 1949) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

who played in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL), as well as with the

Boston University Terriers The Boston University Terriers are the ten men's and fourteen women's varsity athletic teams representing Boston University in NCAA Division I competition. Boston University's team nickname is the Terriers, and the official mascot is Rhett the ...

(BU) and the

United States National Team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

. Playing for BU, Regan won two National Championships and set single season records for both

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on s ...

(GAA) and

save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal ...

. As a member of Team USA he was awarded a silver medal in the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe ...

. He received the medal despite leaving the team prior to the hockey tournament's completion in order to return to BU.

Playing career

When Regan began his collegiate career at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

freshmen A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

were not allowed to play on varsity teams. As a result, Regan played for the Terriers' freshman team. In his freshman year he posted an 8–0 record and a 1.12 GAA as the team went undefeated at 17–0. Joining the varsity team the following year, he and teammate Dan Brady formed one of college hockey's "all-time greatest goaltending tandems". During his sophomore season Regan posted a 2.82 GAA, ranking him second in the ECAC East division, as the Terriers finished third in the ECAC Championship. In the 1970–71 season, Regan's junior year, he set BU records for both GAA (1.77) and

(.929) which still stand. BU also won the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

; however, Regan was the backup during the championship run. In August 1971 Regan was asked to try out for the United States Olympic hockey team. He declined the invitation, so as not to lose his scholarship. He later noted that he felt if he had left school at that point he probably would not ever return. In 1972 a

flu Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

epidemic An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics ...

presented Regan with another opportunity to represent the United States at the

. An exhibition game was scheduled between

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

and

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

(BC). Several members of the BC team had come down with the flu, and as a result, BC withdrew from the game and suggested that Team USA play BU instead. In the game Regan was terrific despite a 4–4 final score. The following day Team USA head coach Murray Williamson asked Regan to join the team. He agreed on the condition that he was guaranteed a trip to

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, site of the Winter Games, and that if he was not playing he could return to BU should they need him. He played in 10 exhibition games with the National Team and traveled with them to Japan. When Team USA declared the roster for the Olympic tournament Regan was left off, meaning he would not get an opportunity to play in the tournament. As a result, he was asked to return to BU after Brady twisted his knee. Before the games ended Regan returned to BU and led them to their second consecutive National Championship. Regan was named Most Outstanding Player of the 1972 NCAA championship. After the Olympics ended, teammate

Robbie Ftorek Robert Brian Ftorek (born January 2, 1952) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He was enshrined as member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991. Playing career Ftorek played in the 1962, 1963 and 1964 Queb ...

brought Regan's silver medal to him. He was awarded the medal for being part of Team USA, despite his early exit from the games. Upon giving him the medal, Ftorek told him, "You're part of the program, you're part of the team, and this is yours." Regan was drafted by the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

in the seventh round, 84th overall, in the

1970 NHL Entry Draft The 1970 NHL Amateur Draft was the eighth NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 11, 1970, the day after the 1970 Expansion Draft, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Bil ...

. He played three years in the Sabres organization, primarily in the

American Hockey league The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

. In 1993 he was inducted into the Boston University Hall of Fame. After retiring from hockey, Regan worked in the lumber industry in his hometown of

Cranston, Rhode Island Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island. The official population of the city in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second largest in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island i ...

Awards and honors

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Regan, Tim 1949 births Living people American men's ice hockey goaltenders Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey players Buffalo Sabres draft picks Charlotte Checkers (EHL) players Charlotte Checkers (SHL) players Cincinnati Swords players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Providence, Rhode Island Sportspeople from Cranston, Rhode Island Ice hockey players at the 1972 Winter Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in ice hockey Medalists at the 1972 Winter Olympics NCAA men's ice hockey national champions