Bemidji State's Bob Peters, who won 13 national hockey titles, dies at 84

Bob Peters, the fifth winningest coach in college hockey history, died Tuesday in Bemidji at age 84.

Peters won 744 games, 702 of them at Bemidji State. He coached the Beavers to 13 national titles at either the NAIA, NCAA Division II or NCAA Division III levels in 34 seasons.

He was also an athletic director at Bemidji State.

Only Jerry York (1,108), Ron Mason (924), Jack Parker (894), Red Berenson (848) and Rick Comley (783) had more college hockey coaching victories.

A native of Fort Frances, Ontario, Peters was a goalie at North Dakota and later was head coach there from 1964-66, reaching a Final Four in 1965. He left for Bemidji State in 1966 and coached until 2001; his first national title came in 1968 and his last in 1997.

In 1983-84 the Beavers, led by future NHL standout Joel Otto, were unbeaten in 31 games and won an NCAA Division II title.

BSU became a Division I program in 1999, and Peters coached until becoming commissioner of College Hockey America from 2001-08.