Dennis Williams was hired as the ninth head coach of Bowling Green State University (BGSU) Hockey on March 27, 2024, replacing previous head coach Ty Eigner. While many Falcon hockey fans may remember him from his playing days in the late 1990s, Williams, or “Willi,” sports the same colors, but with a new outlook, looking forward to his next six years back at BGSU.
A prominent nickname, “Willi,” is Williams’ preference in designation stemming from his playing days. It is well established among those with whom he works with personally, including his players.
“I prefer “Willi,” so you can call me that,” Williams said when speaking about his name. “I always hated my coach in my younger years, so that’s why I like to be called by my nickname, “Willi’.”
While the nickname might commonly represent a player better than a coach, Williams demonstrates an aura of control and power in every room he steps into, especially with his job governing a hockey team.
“I know a lot of people who only ever see me on the bench,“ he regaled. “I get told all the time, ‘You never smile‘ or ‘You never look happy.‘ I’m as happy as could be. I always say I have to be like a duck; calm on the top, but your feet going 100 mph under the water.“
He has a reputation of being a hard-nosed coach, similar to his playing style back in the day. He is not tall, overly muscular or dense, but with a stern face and confident body language, he sets quite an intense tone over his players.
“How hard he is makes you want to work harder,“ said senior forward Jackson Niedermayer. “He is yelling and screaming, but it’s in a good way. He makes you want to work harder and he knows how to get the most out of the guys.“
A third or fourth line forward, Williams finished his playing career knowing his role: a checker, blocker and a off-the-puck player. He has taken those values to his new team as well, attempting to instill them in the squad.
“He is a very different coach,“ said Ethan Scardina, who enters his fifth year of hockey in orange and brown. “He eats, breathes and sleeps hockey, and our practices are very intense. I have never seen so many guys block shots in my career. He is pretty awesome and very gritty.“
On the ice, he is the strong disciplined skipper BSGU hockey needs to get back on track after some lackluster seasons, and off the ice, just one of the guys, acting like he never left the playing days in Bowling Green.
“He’s got two personalities to him,“ said Scardina. “He’s got the serious hockey side, and then back in the lounge, he’s just joking with us all the time, and it’s so nice to have. Then when he’s back to serious, we know and we listen to him.“
When asked for three words to describe the man, Niedermayer said “serious and intimidating,“ while rounding it off with “a goofball“ to represent the more jovial side to the program’s newest addition.
It took a few junctures along the head-coaching train to reach a point of balance with his personality and to establish his style. With the Amarillo Bulls, Bloomington Thunder, Everett Silvertips and Team Canada in the World Juniors Championships, “Willi” has earned a 544-267-14 record as a head coach, according to BGSU Athletics.
“It’s great to see the boys come in after a win and do their chant, give out the hard hat because that’s the work you’ve done all week paying off,“ said Williams. “I get to come in after the wins and think, ‘That win was great, but what’s next?’ That’s why I have had success at my other stops and how I will have success here.“
He says a focus on ever-continuing improvement is vital for his respectable resume. Even when encountering a major hiccup in the World Juniors Championships, he says he was able to persevere and make the best out of a bad situation.
“When you lose Game 1 of the World Juniors, all of Canada wants you fired,“ he laughed. “In hindsight, losing that game was the best thing for me to go through. You can’t prepare for the questions that come, and you can’t prepare for trying to get the team back on track after that horrible loss to Czechia. I got thrown into that, and it was a great experience for me and the team to climb back out of.“
A testament to his adapting ability? After losing the first pool play game in the World Junior Championships to Czechia, “Willi” and Team Canada knocked off Slovakia, the United States and, finally, Czechia to take home the gold medal.
A man in motion, he is always looking for the next step. But there is one he and his players say is a mainstay for Williams in his quest for more and more success: ice cream.
“He loves ice cream, and he’s really got a sweet tooth,“ said Scardina and Niedermayer simultaneously. “He will go on runs in the morning just so he can justify having ice cream at night.“
Williams doesn’t deny it. He is perfectly open and content with his affinity for the icy sweet treat.
“When you win, ice cream tastes good,“ said Williams. “And when you lose, ice cream puts you in a good mood. Ice cream for all the boys!“
Your two best chances at seeing Williams out and about Bowling Green are either in the Slater Family Ice Arena with his skates or his favorite ice cream place with a cone: Sundae Station at 1240 W. Wooster St.
