Right-winger Bruce Crowder was born in Essex, Ontario on March 25 1957 and played three years at the University of New Hampshire. Though he was a late round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, he never played for them. After two years with the Flyers farm club in Maine, Crowder signed a free agent contract with the Boston Bruins on September 28th 1981.
Crowder spent just 15 games in the minors in 1981-82, with the rest of his time spent in Beantown with the Bruins, a team that also employed his younger brother, Keith. In 63 games he scored 16 goals and 27 points as a rookie and contributed another 8 points in 11 playoff games. His second season was even more impressive as Crowder upped his goal totals to 21 and points to 40. However his third year with Boston was a disappointment. He scored just 6 goals and 20 points. As a result of his diminishing returns the Bruins made Crowder available in the 1984 Waiver Draft and he was claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
With the Penguins Crowder played 26 games but couldn't get his offensive production back online. With just 11 points in the 1984-85 season, Crowder left the game of hockey.
Crowder wasn't away from the ice for long, however. Crowder joined the coaching staff of the University of Maine in 1986 and stayed with the club til 1990. Crowder then moved on to Lowell as an assistant and he soon graduated to the Head Coach position. After a decorated stay with the school that saw him win Coach of the Year honors, Crowder accepted the Head Coaching post at Northeastern.
