Fred Quistgard
Induction Year: 2024
Birthday: October 19, 1959
City/Town: Stirling, New Jersey
Fred Quistgard has been developing the region’s goalies for nearly five decades and is currently goaltending coach for the Maine Mariners (ECHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins). Since the 1980s, Fred has been involved with New Hampshire goalies at the youth, high school, junior and college levels. He’s shared his talents at local clinics, private lessons, Puckstoppers Goaltending in Exeter, summer goalie schools, advice columns and USA Hockey Development Camps.
Graduating from New Hampshire College in 1982, now known as Southern New Hampshire University, Fred played goal in both hockey and lacrosse. Quistgard began coaching while still in college, volunteering at the nearby Derryfield School and with the Manchester Flames Youth Hockey Organization and worked summer goaltending schools under his first coaching mentor, Louis Chabot.
Fred next joined the St. Paul’s School hockey staff as goalie coach where his boys’ and girls’ teams were leaders in the Independent School League. Fred worked with such notables as NH Legends of Hockey Hall of Famers Bill Matthews and Sanford Sistare. Many goalies went on to play hockey at Division I or Division III levels.
Fred adopted a more formal goalie training approach as his career advanced. He ran summer goalie camps in Manchester and Dover and clinics for local youth hockey in Manchester, Concord, Rochester, Laconia, Wolfeboro and Hanover.
In addition to SNHU, he coached goalies at UNH, St. Anselm, New England College and Phillips Exeter Academy. He offered special goalie sessions for the Dartmouth women’s team, the New England College women’s team, and at Brewster Academy, Tilton Academy, Proctor Academy and the Dover Stars junior team.
As Head Coach, Fred led the undefeated NH Boys HS All-Star Team to a national championship at the 1991 Chicago Showcase and throughout the mid-’90s, his coaching helped capture the Silver Medal with the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 1994 IIHF World Championships in Lake Placid. With Fred behind the bench as Assistant Coach, the UNH women won the 1996 ECAC DI Championship. Fred became Head Coach at Bowdoin in 1997-98 where he helped the women to the ECAC semi-finals while also handling the men’s goalie coaching duties.
From 1998-2004, Quistgard coached the Union College Women’s Team, navigating that program as a Club Team in the ECAC D III that went Varsity the following season. While there, Fred was a finalist for ECAC Coach of the Year in 1998-99.
ln three seasons with the Mariners, Fred helped Jonathan Gillies, Brandon Bussi and Mike DiPietro find success with Boston’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. Gillies later moved to the NHL, first with the St. Louis Blues before being traded to the NJ Devils.