There are many players who have scored goals in the history of the Suffolk University men’s hockey  program.

Then there is Brian Gruning. The deceptively quick and savvy center had the uncanny ability to put the puck in the net, from close range and far away, with remarkable consistency. As a freshman, joining the team after the Christmas break, he scored 23 goals and handed out 18 assists for 41 total points.

That was only the beginning for this scoring sensation. According to the NCAA, Gruning led the nation (Division I, II and III) in goals scored (48), and was second in total points (86) in his senior season (1991-92).

Gruning is Suffolk’s second all-time career scoring leader with 226 points (119 goals, 107 assists), just behind Brian Horan (302 points—169 goals, 133 assists), a member of Suffolk’s inaugural Hall of Fame class.

With the combination of his scoring and playmaking skills, Gruning helped the Rams reach the ECAC tournament in each of his final three seasons. During his junior year, Suffolk advanced to the final round of the ECAC tournament, persevering with a team-oriented and hustling style of play at both ends of the ice.

A two-time ECAC All-Star selection, Gruning once scored five goals in regulation during the Rams’  dramatic 6–5 overtime road victory against Worcester State College. In another Rams’ overtime win, an 8–7 thriller at home against Tufts University, he scored the tying goal with only a few seconds remaining on the clock.

Gruning was the recipient of the ECAC North Player of The Year Award in 1992, the third Suffolk player to be so honored in four years. In 1992, Gruning received the Charles Law Outstanding Student-Athlete Award.

He now makes his living as a computer programmer in the healthcare industry.

Watch Brian Gruning's Video Induction Here