Jeff Sauer, a long-time coach active with USA Hockey and a respected member of the IIHF family, passed away in Madison, Wisconsin on 1st February at the age of 73. The cause of death was pancreatic cancer.

“Jeff was highly respected member of the IIHF family and contributed immensely to the creation of the IIHF Disciplinary Committee. His knowledge and insight of the game and the respect he held on and off the ice was invaluable to the Committee during its formative years,” said IIHF President Rene Fasel.

“We will never forget what he did for USA Hockey and his work with disabled athletes, especially at the Winter Olympic in Sochi where he coached the U.S. sledge hockey team to a gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Paralympics. All of us are deeply saddened by this tragedy and we hope that Mr. Sauer has found eternal peace. With the passing of Jeff, we lose not only a wonderful colleague, but a true friend.”

Sauer was an integral member of the IIHF’s Disciplinary Committee in its formative years, but he came by that position as a result of decades experience as a coach at the college level in the United States.

“When you talk about positive people that genuinely care, Jeff Sauer is at the top of the list,” said Jim Smith, president of USA Hockey. “He’s a giant in our sport overall, but particularly from the USA Hockey perspective, he really made a difference on the advancement and visibility of disabled hockey."

“There are few like Jeff,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. “He brought an infectious joy to our sport every day. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Jamie, and the entire family.”

A Wisconsinite by birth, Sauer attended Colorado College in 1961 and after graduating became an assistant coach under the legendary Bob Johnson in 1965. He and Johnson formed a similar tandem at the University of Wisconsin (1966-71) before Sauer embarked on a head-coaching career of his own.

Returning to Colorado College in 1971, Sauer coached the Tigers for the next eleven years after which he went back to U of W where he stayed fully 20 years. In all, his 655 NCAA wins ranks 7th all time.

“He always cared so much about his players,” said Jim Johannson, assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. Johannson played for coach Sauer at Wisconsin. “Our sport at all levels benefited from Jeff’s unending passion and commitment.”

Sauer was head coach for Team USA variously at the 1989 Pravda Cup in Leningrad (St. Petersburg); the 1990 team at the Goodwill Games in Seattle; the 1995 team at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Stockholm; and, the 1997 Tampere Cup in Finland.

It was in the latter part of the first decade of the 21st century that the IIHF decided to create a Disciplinary Committee that would oversee its top-level events and adjudicate on on-ice matters, and when the time came to create a panel, Sauer’s name was at the top of the list, for few men knew the game as well as he.

Sauer sat on the Committee for several years and helped create a system whereby players’ actions on ice were dealt with objectively while the Committee worked within the IIHF’s guiding parameters of fair play.

In 2011, Sauer was named head coach of the U.S. national sledge hockey team, a position he held for six seasons.

As a result of his success, his longevity, and the respect which he both earned and commanded over the years, Sauer was the recipient of many honours.

He earned the Lester Patrick Trophy in 2011, an annual honour given by the NHL for contributions to hockey in the United States. He has also received USA Hockey’s Distinguished Achievement Award (2000). Sauer in an Honoured Member of the Wisconsin Hall of Fame, Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame, the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame, and the Colorado College Athletic Hall of Fame.

ANDREW PODNIEKS