BERNE – Ruedi Killias, the former national team coach of Austria and Switzerland, passed away on Wednesday in Berne at age 66 after a short illness.

Born on February 18, 1943, in Chur, Switzerland, Killias had the third-longest tenure as the Swiss national team coach after Ralph Krueger and Simon Schenk. He led the team from 1973-1977.

Killias took over the team during the darkest years of Swiss hockey, just after the team dropped from the A-pool to the C-pool in a two-year span. He brought the team back to the B-pool in his first year and established the team at that level. His best finish at the World Championship program was ninth place in 1975, which earned the Swiss a berth in the 1976 Olympics.

Killias also coached the Austrian and the Italian national teams. During his era in Austria from 1980-1986, he led the Austrians to the B-pool and to the 1984 Olympics.

In 1989 he won the Austrian championship with Innsbruck as a coach and 1991 the Swiss championship with SC Bern as a manager.