The following article appeared in the Tuesday, April 1 edition of
THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL BULLETIN:
 
        GAUDET LEAVING BROWN TO COACH THE BIG GREEN
        By Sherry Skalko, Journal-Bulletin Sports Writer
 
                PROVIDENCE - After nine years at the helm, Brown head
hockey coach Bob Gaudet will be behind the bench of a different color next
season as he takes over as head coach of Dartmouth College, his alma mater.
 
                Gaudet replaces Roger Demment who, after six seasons as
coach of the Big Green, moved into an administrative position in the
department of physical education and recreation.
 
                Gaudet said the Ivy-to-Ivy League move is one of personal
consideration rather than professional.  Both Gaudet and his wife, Lynne,
graduated from the Hanover, N.H. college, and his first son, Joey, 9, was
born there while Gaudet was an assistant coach.
 
                "We already have a connection with Dartmouth and it's a
good family situation," he said.  "It's not a step up professionally.  It
was a family decision."
 
                Gaudet has had two other job offers during his tenure at
Brown, the last from Ohio State in the summer of 1995.  Gaudet rejected
those offers because, at the time, it wasn't a right fit for his family
which includes two other children -- Jimmy, 8, and Kelly, 2.
 
                The opportunity came as a surprise to Gaudet, who wasn't
looking for a new job, especially at another Ivy League school.
 
                "I thought my next stop would be at a scholarship school,"
he said.
 
                Dartmouth did offer him a long-term contract, but other
than that, Gaudet's job at Dartmouth will be the same as at Brown.  He will
face the same administrative challenges -- no scholarships, high academic
requirements and the cost of tuition -- and will be recruiting the same
type of students.  The one advantage at Dartmouth may be the facility --
Thompson Arena -- which was state of the art when it was built in the
mid-70s and hosted sell-out crowds of 5,000 while Gaudet tended goal from
1977-1981.
 
                "My memories there were always positive.  There are a few
warts and a few hurdles and what have you, but I played in front of 5,000
people sometimes.  I hope with some work that will come back," he said.
 
                Gaudet isn't using last season's paltry 4-16-2 ECAC record
(7-19-3 overall) as an excuse to sneak out of town.  After all, the place
he would be sneaking to hasn't fared much better.  Dartmouth finished last
season only 2 points ahead of the Bears at 5-15-2 (10-17-2 overall) and
also missed the playoffs.
 
                Last season was the worst for Gaudet since he arrived at
Brown for the 1988-89 season.  After that 1-25 year, Gaudet led the Bears
up the ECAC ladder to fifth place in 1992 and to second in 1995.  Under his
guidance, the Bears won two Ivy League titles (1991, 1995) and participated
in the 1993 NCAA Tournament, the school's first trip there since 1976.  He
was named ECAC Coach of the Year after the 1995 season by dispelling a
sixth-place preseason prediction with a second-place finish.
 
                In his nine-year tenure, Gaudet compiled a 93-142-31
record.  His first and last wins at Brown were against the same team --
Dartmouth.
 
 
Bill Corrigan
 
LET'S GO BRUNO!
 
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