Brian Cavanaugh enters his 24th season as head coach of the Canisius College ice hockey team and his fifth in a full-time capacity. He has led the Griffs to the postseason 18 times during his career, including a trip to the 2000 Easton/MAAC Championships after tying a school record with 21 wins (21-10-4). Cavanaugh joined college hockey's coaching elite in 2001-02 as he earned his 300th win behind the Griffs' bench.
Cavanaugh came to Canisius in 1980 to coach the fledgling Griffs program. The head coach for all but one season in the program's history at the varsity level, Cavanaugh has guided the Griffs to .500 or better records in 15 of his 21 seasons behind the bench. During the school's 15 seasons as a member of the ICHL and then ECAC West, Cavanaugh's teams made the playoffs 10 times, gaining five semifinal and two championship berths. In 1985-86, the Griffs posted an 18-9-2 mark and earned the school's first-ever bid to the ECAC West playoffs. The following season, the Griffs skated to a then school-record 21 victories against 11 losses and advanced to the semifinals of the ECAC West tournament. Canisius appeared in the ECAC West finals again in 1996, earning Cavanaugh conference Coach of the Year honors.
Canisius' first year in the MAAC was successful as Cavanaugh led his team to a 16-15-5 overall record in 1998-99 on the strength of a 10-3-3 spurt mid-season that earned the Griffs a trip to the conference's inaugural title game. He has led the Griffs' to playoff appearances in all five seasons of MAAC play and the Blue and Gold have had home-ice advantage in the quarterfinals three of the five seasons.
Prior to accepting the head post at Canisius, Cavanaugh served as an assistant coach at Geneseo State (1976-77) and at Brockport State (1978-80). Before joining the coaching ranks, he played for the Brockport ice hockey team. Cavanaugh was named the Golden Eagles' MVP three times and held numerous Brockport scoring records upon graduation. He earned his bachelor's degree in physical education and health education from the school in 1976.
Cavanaugh continued his studies, earning a master's degree from Brockport in 1980. His thesis, "Spectator Misbehavior at Sporting Events" was presented at an International Symposium of Sports in Trois Rivers, Quebec, and was published in 1981.
Cavanaugh has served as an instructor of physical education for both graduate and undergraduate classes at Canisius. He is the co-founder and Director of the Hockey Development Group and is a member of the American Hockey Coaches Association and USA Hockey. In January 2000, Cavanaugh was chosen to serve a three-year term on the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Selection Committee as the representative of the MAAC. Cavanaugh is also a member of the AHCA Division I Committee and a voter on the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Top 15 poll.
From 1984-86, Cavanaugh also volunteered his services as the Video Coordinator for Advanced Scouting for the Buffalo Sabres where he worked with the likes of Scotty Bowman, Joe Crozier, Jim Schoenfeld and Craig Ramsey. He coached the West Scholastic Team to medals in the both the 1997 and 1998 Empire State Games. In 1998, Cavanaugh was inducted into the Cazenovia Youth Hockey Association Hall of Fame for his contributions to hockey in South Buffalo. Brian and his wife Joan reside in North Buffalo with their daughter, Erin.
