Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey
The Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Denver. The Pioneers are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). They play at Magness Arena in Denver, Colorado. The Pioneers are tied with Michigan for the most all-time NCAA National Hockey Championships with nine (1958, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1969, 2004, 2005, 2017, 2022). Previously, the Pioneers were members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), from its creation in 1959 to the end of  its men's hockey competition in 2013. The Pioneers have won 15 Regular Season Conference Championships (13 WCHA, 2 NCHC) and 14 Conference Playoff Championships (15 WCHA, 2 NCHC). About 75 Pioneers have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including Keith Magnuson, Kevin Dineen, Matt Carle (2006 Hobey Baker Award winner), Paul Stastny and Will Butcher (2017 Hobey Baker Award winner). History. Source: Early years. In 1949 the DU Arena, a former WWII surplus drill hall from Idaho was reassembled in Denver with an ice plant, giving the university the ability to properly field an ice hockey  team for the first time. Before the end of the year Vern Turner, the rink manager for the Broadmoor Ice Palace and a former semi-professional goaltender was hired as the team's first coach and the Pioneers hit the ice for their first game in December, losing to the University of Saskatchewan, 17–0. Denver would, unsurprisingly, lose its first 9 games before recording the first victory against Wyoming on January 27. The following season saw much improvement with the team as it finished with an 11–11–1 record and when Turner stepped down after the year it gave Neil Celley  the opportunity to build the program. When Celley assumed the reins he was the youngest head coach in the history of college ice hockey at 24 and had won a national title with Michigan the year before, as a player. The team responded to Celley by raising their record to 18–6–1 and finishing tied for second in the inaugural MCHL standings. Unfortunately, Celley's old team was selected ahead of Denver for the NCAA tournament due to a better overall record. The Pioneers would continue to play well under Celley but their winning percentage dropped every year until 1956 when  they finished just a hair above .500. Celley resigned after that season and turned the team over to ex-NHLer Murray Armstrong. Armstrong era. Armstrong came to DU and guaranteed an NCAA title within three years, and did it in his second year. The team, using Armstrong's coaching pipeline to ex-Junior players in Canada, took a year to get going, but by 1958 the DU team started firing on all cylinders. Denver won its first conference title (tying with North Dakota) and received the second western seed for its first NCAA tournament bid. Denver did not let the  bright lights stun them as they rolled through the competition, winning both games 6–2 and taking their first NCAA National Title in Minneapolis. The next season, an argument between conference members over the recruitment of Canadian players who had played junior hockey, caused the WIHL to collapse and left Denver without a conference. Denver struggled to fill out its schedule and though DU finished with the best record of any western team (22–5–1) their competition was so paltry that the Pioneers were passed over in favor of North Dakota (who had taken three of four matches between them) for the  NCAA tournament with Big Ten champion Michigan State receiving the other bid. After that disaster, all teams that had been in the WIHL restarted the conference under a new name (WCHA) and instituted a playoff among other reforms. Because the matter of recruitment was left unchanged, Denver was able to take full advantage and build their program into the dominant power for the duration of the decade. Early 60s. Denver kicked off its first season in the WCHA by winning the regular season title and being WCHA tournament co-champions along with Michigan Tech. The WCHA had arranged its tournament  to take advantage of the NCAA bid policy that would give automatic bids to tournament champions and because there was no rival western conference the WCHA could guarantee that both of its co-champions would make the frozen four. Denver won both of its NCAA games and captured the 1960 National Title. The Tournament MOP was split for the first time that year and while it was given to three separate players, none of them wore Denver sweaters. The Pioneers followed up their second championship by thoroughly dominating the competition in 1961. In what is typically ranked among the best  seasons ever, the squad began with five victories before dropping a match to Michigan Tech on the road and then never lost another game. The '61 Pioneers scored 242 times in only 32 contests for a rate of just over 7.5 goals per game. Additionally, they allowed just 59 goals against in that time (1.84). While neither marks were records, the average scoring differential of +5.72 is still an NCAA record. Denver had the second-and third-leading scoring in the nation who were only topped by Phil Latreille scoring an all-time NCAA record of 80 goals in 21  games. Not only did the Pioneers post the first 30-win season in NCAA history but, by playing in every game, George Kirkwood set an NCAA record for wins in a season (30). Denver made sure they also did their damage when it counted the most; in the four playoff games they played (2 conference, 2 NCAA) the Pioneers won each by at least 5 goals and won all four matches by a total of 35–6. In the NCAA championship game against St. Lawrence Denver surrendered the first goal but ended the night by scoring the final nine (an NCAA  record) and won the game by 10 goals, 12-2 (also an NCAA record) and were one short of tying the NCAA record of 13 in the championship game. Denver tied the record by placing 5 players on the All-Tournament Team and set the record with 5 players on the All-WCHA First Team as well as the AHCA All-American Team and swept all 5 individual awards offered that year. Three of the players from that team eventually played in the NHL, a rare occurrence for NCAA teams at the time. After such unparalleled dominance, it was expected  that Denver would decline the following year, especially with so many of the players graduating, but the team still finished 3rd in the WCHA. One year later they won both WCHA conference titles and again made the NCAA tournament. After dropping Clarkson in a relatively easy 6–2 semifinal match Denver faced off against North Dakota for a rematch of it first title in 1958. The Fighting Sioux scored three times before 8 minutes had elapsed and, while Denver responded with two quick goals, North Dakota tacked on two more in the first to finish with a 5–2 lead. When they  added another 5 minutes into the second it looked as if they were going to walk to a national title but the Pioneers did npt quit and scored twice to cut the lead in half entering the third. North Dakota closed ranks and set up a wall in front of Rudy Unis in the final frame but still could not stop Denver from scoring, however, the Pioneers could only notch one goal and lost their first NCAA tournament game, 5–6. The team's streak of seven consecutive tournament wins from the start is still an NCAA record. Denver followed up  that disappointment with a second-place finish despite playing only 10 games and a WCHA tournament championship over Michigan. In the NCAA tournament DU produced a very similar result to the year before by dropping their semifinal opponent easily, then allowing the team they defeated in the WCHA championship to score the first three goals. This time it was the Wolverines who would take the title and send the Pioneers home disappointed. The next season Denver finished with a record of 18–8–2, one of the best in the nation, but because they only played 12 conference games and won only  4 matches they finished 6th in the WCHA and were left out of the conference playoffs. The following season Denver increased their conference schedule to 20 games but because the WCHA added Minnesota–Duluth as a member, the conference tournament now included all 8 teams. Denver was given a regional matchup against the dismal Colorado College Tigers and took the game easily to give them a shot against arch-nemesis North Dakota for an entry to the NCAA tournament. Despite being the lower seed the game was played in Denver's home stadium due in part to a terrible blizzard  that dropped more than two feet around Grand Forks. The home game may have given Denver just enough of an advantage and the Pioneers edged UND, 5–4 in overtime to return to the NCAA tournament. Once there Denver faced Clarkson for the third time in the semifinal but the Golden Knights were able to avenge their earlier losses and send DU to its first consolation game. Though they won the match the Pioneers and their fans were far from satisfied with the result. The following season Denver rose to 2nd in the conference but because the WCHA tournament was still  arranged for regional matchups the Pioneers had to play top seed North Dakota in the second round and the Fighting Sioux were able to redeem themselves with a win. Late 60s. While many programs may have been happy with the results Denver achieved in '66 and '67 the Pioneers were decidedly nonplussed. When the team began 1968 season slowly, losing three out of their first five games, they were taken to task and responded by winning every remaining game except for a stretch in late December when they played four Olympic squads. Denver finished the season atop the WCHA and  with the regional restrictions abolished they were able to take full advantage of their top seed and demolish their competition 27–7 in the three games. In the NCAA tournament Denver faced Boston College for the first time and swatted the Eagles away with a 4–1 victory despite sloppy play. The final brought North Dakota and DU together for a rubber match and the two teams fought a tough defensive battle through two periods before the floodgates opened and Denver scored four times in the final frame while Gerry Powers earned the first shutout in a championship game. The next season  was much the same; after a slow start the Pioneers ran through most of their competition, finishing second in the WCHA and taking down much weaker opponents in the conference tournament to return to the NCAA playoff. For this 1969 championship they dissected Harvard 9–2 in the opening match before facing Ken Dryden-led Cornell. The Pioneers did not have any problems scoring against the seemingly impregnable Big Red defense, building leads three times while the final one stuck and Denver won its fifth NCAA national title, 4–3. Dynasty's end. Despite losing many players from the dual national title  teams due to graduations Denver did not lose much footing and finished second in the WCHA but lost to new entry Wisconsin in the conference tournament. The next season, Denver finished second for the third straight year and were able to win another league co-championship and receive the top western seed. The Pioneers had to settle for a third place NCAA finish after losing only their second semifinal game in nine opportunities. The next season, Denver won both conference titles for the fifth time in their history but were stunned by a 2–7 loss to Cornell in the semifinal , the team's worst loss to a college team in over six years. As if their recent tournament collapses needed a concrete symbol, the DU Arena roof failed in 1972 and forced the team to play most of their remaining home games at the Denver Coliseum. While the Pioneers were able to overcome that difficulty and win the WCHA yet again and finish as the NCAA runner-up it was a battle off the ice that would eventually cost them dearly. Throughout the 1960s, the matter of recruiting Canadian major junior players was becoming an issue again, and by the  1970s, Minnesota coach John Mariucci was pushing the NCAA for change. Mariucci did not like his teenage American players, who grew up playing locally in Minnesota, playing against older Canadian players that Denver recruited, due to Denver's lack of local players to recruit. Minnesota even refused to schedule the Pioneers for years in the 1960s, which spurred the NCAA to support Minnesota's position. In 1974, the NCAA asked all schools that rostered major junior Canadian players to declare these students ineligible and in recompense, the current players would have their NCAA eligibility restored as a grandfathering ploy, with  all future major junior players remaining ineligible. While most universities acceded to the NCAA demand, Denver did not. The school refused to call its own players 'cheaters', and ended up paying the price. The university had its trip to the 1973 tournament vacated and with its pipeline from Canada cut, the team began to falter in the standings. 1974–75 saw Denver post its first losing season since Armstrong's first year and while the team was slowly recovering, DU would not make another tournament appearance until long after his retirement in 1977. Decline. Armstrong's assistant Marshall Johnston took over  and the team jumped up in the standings as the nation's top-ranked team, winning the WCHA regular season crown and breaking the school record for wins with 33 (albeit in 40 games) but DU was stopped in the WCHA second round by an upstart Colorado College team, after finding out that Denver's appeal to be eligible for the 1978 NCAA tournament was denied by the NCAA. After declining to 6th place the following season. Denver ended 1979–80 dead last in the WCHA and missed the playoffs entirely. The team rebounded the next season but afterwards, Johnston returned  to the NHL and the program was given to a third-straight former pro, Ralph Backstrom. Backstrom's entry coincided with four WCHA members bolting for the CCHA leaving the conference with only 6 schools. The co-championship format was abolished and though Denver provided some glimpse of hope in Backstrom's first season, the team slipped towards the bottom of the division for three seasons. By the end of the 1984–85 season Denver had lost eight consecutive playoff games and was in danger of becoming an afterthought in the WCHA. The 1985-1986 team provided a surprising start the  following campaign, winning seven of their first eight-game en route to the WCHA regular season and playoff championships over Michigan Tech, Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota, followed by a home NCAA 7-6 total goal series win over Cornell to make it to the Frozen Four. Denver played a school record 48 games that year, and won 34 contests (also a DU record) despite losing in the NCAA semifinal, 5–2 to Harvard in Providence. The stark turnaround garnered Backstrom the Spencer Penrose Award. The highlights were short-lived, however and over the succeeding four years Denver returned to being a  middling team in the WCHA. Backstrom left in 1990 and was replaced by Frank Serratore. While he would later achieve a great deal of success with Air Force Serratore's time in Denver was the darkest period in the history of the program. In his first season, the Pioneers won only 6 games, losing a school record 30 of 38 matches. The following season brought only marginal improvements but when the team rose above .500 in 1992–93 it looked like Serratore's job may be saved, but after slipping back to 9th in the conference the year after he was  out as coach and replaced by Wisconsin alumnus George Gwozdecky. Gwozdecky era. When Denver hired Gwozdecky they hoped they were getting the same coach that had won back-to-back CCHA Coach of the Year awards and in his first season he delivered by getting the Pioneers to win 10 more games than they had the year before and jump from 9th in the conference to a tie for second place. After a disappointing opening round loss in the WCHA playoffs the following year Denver finally returned to the NCAA tournament in 1997 and beat a very strong Vermont squad  in the first round. In 1999 the Pioneers were able to a dominant North Dakota to take their first conference championship in thirteen years but lost their first NCAA tournament game to Michigan in the first meeting between the two since the Wolverines left the WCHA. Denver stumbled over the next two years before winning their first WCHA regular season title under Gwozdecky as well as a second conference championship. Unfortunately the Pioneers found themselves pitted against Michigan in the first game and lost to the Maize and Blue yet again. The pioneers lost in the first round of the  WCHA tournament each of the next two years but their record in 2004 was good enough to get them a #2 seed despite the loss. Back-to-back titles. DU was able to defeat Gwozdecky's previous team, Miami, in a close game before advancing to face North Dakota in the West Regional Final. The top team in the nation held Denver off the scoresheet and out shot the Pioneers 23–13 in the opening two periods but the Fighting Sioux could not get the puck past Adam Berkhoel. The two teams remained scoreless until just 2:29 remained in regulation when  Luke Fulgham deflected a puck into the net and sent the Pioneers into the frozen four for the first time in 18 years. Denver met Minnesota–Duluth in the semifinal and looked like were outmatched when the Bulldogs scored twice in the first five minutes of the game. Even when Denver cut the lead in half a second power play goal by 2004 Hobey Baker winner Junior Lessard followed soon thereafter. The Pioneers, however, were not deterred and came out firing in the third, tying the score in less than four minutes and adding another two goals before the period  was half over. Duluth was so stunned by the comeback that they could only muster 6 shots in the period as Denver took the game to make their first national championship since their vacated appearance in 1973. With Maine as the only obstacle left in their path, Denver put up in front of Adam Berkhoel and allowed only 24 shots to reach their goalie, including none during a 6-on-3 power play advantage in the last minute and a half of the game. Berkhoel earned the shutout, making the lone goal from Gabe Gauthier in the first as the winner . After winning their first title in 35 years Denver raised their game, tying Colorado College for the WCHA crown and producing the #2 offense in the country. In the WCHA tournament, however, it was their defense that led the way. With rookie goaltender Peter Mannino standing on his head for two shutouts, the Pioneers allowed only two goals in four games, winning three one-goal games to take the conference championship. DU earned the #2 overall seed and had to survive a scare from Bemidji State in their first game. After allowing 3 to the much weaker Beavers, Glenn Fisher  was benched in favor of Mannino for the remaining three games and the Pioneers cruised to the championship game with 4–2 and 6–2 wins. In the Final Denver met North Dakota for the fourth time, matching the record for championship meetings with Michigan and Colorado College. The two teams exchanged goals in the first but future NHLer Paul Stastny put the Pioneers into the lead with a power play marker just after the midpoint. With their season on the line North Dakota began an onslaught on the DU net, firing 23 shots in the third but Mannino was equal to  the take and kept everything out. The Pioneers scored twice in the third to put the game away and take their seventh national championship. Playoff disappointments. The next season brought Denver its first Hobey Baker winner in Matt Carle but the team floundered in the first round of the WCHA tournament and this time their record was not good enough to get them into the championship. After another first round exit the following year Denver righted the ship and won the WCHA tournament in 2008. In the first round they found themselves facing conference rival Wisconsin, only the second time  in NCAA history that two teams from the same conference met in the opening round. Despite being favored in the game the Pioneers were beaten 2–6 and sent home disappointed. The pioneers would return to the tournament each of the next five seasons but the results were much the same, losing in the first round four times and thoroughly dismissed by North Dakota in the 2011 regionals. Despite the regular season success the early playoff exits, coupled with a contract structure dispute, led Denver to fire their head coach in 2013, only 17 wins away from tying Murray Armstrong's  program record. New coach, new conference. Gwozdecky's firing coincided with the founding of the NCHC, a power conference that was created due to Wisconsin and Minnesota leaving to restart the Big Ten hockey division. Denver was accompanied by all of its traditional rivals and began its tenure under Jim Montgomery but finishing 6th in the 8-team conference. Despite their lackluster start the Pioneers were provided with an opportunity by facing weaker-than-expected opposition in the final two games and were able to win the inaugural championship, as they had done with the WCHA 54 years earlier. The  Pioneer's NCAA run was predictably short-lived but the team seemed to have found new life under Montgomery's watch which they demonstrated by increasing their win total in each of the next three years. In addition they won progressively more tournament games, reaching the frozen four in 2016 before taking the crown the next season along with getting their second Hobey Baker Award, this one going to Will Butcher. After the team won its second NCHC tournament title in 2018 Montgomery left to join the Dallas Stars as head coach, continuing the recent trend of NHL teams hiring  college head coaches. DU replaced Montgomery with his Denver assistant, 28-year-old David Carle. Carle took Denver to the 2019 Frozen Four in his rookie season, after first and second round NCAA wins over Ohio State and American International, but the Pioneers fell in the Frozen Four semi-finals to Massachusetts, 4–3 in overtime in Buffalo, New York. Season-by-season results. Source: Denver/Colorado College rivalry. Of all the rivals that the Denver Pioneer's hockey program play against the most intense rivalry is that from Colorado College. Since Denver's hockey program started in 1949 the two  schools have played at least four times a season. In the 1993–94 season a gold pan trophy was added as a reward for the winning team thus the rivalry has been dubbed the Battle for the Gold Pan. Head coaches. David Carle is the current head coach of Denver hockey, hired in May 2018. Awards and honors. Hockey Hall of Fame. Source: United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Source: NCAA. Individual Awards. Hobey Baker Award Spencer Penrose Award Tim Taylor Award Mike Richter Award NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Scoring Champion Tournament Most Outstanding Player All-Americans. AHCA First Team  All-Americans AHCA Second Team All-Americans MCHL/WIHL/WCHA. Individual Awards. Most Valuable Player/Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Goaltender of the Year Student-Athlete of the Year Sophomore/Freshman/Rookie of the Year Coach of the Year Most Valuable Player in Tournament All-Conference. First Team All-MCHL/WIHL/WCHA Second Team All-MCHL/WIHL/WCHA Third Team All-WCHA WCHA All-Rookie Team NCHC. Individual Awards. Player of the Year Rookie of the Year Goaltender of the Year Forward of the Year Defenseman/Defensive Defenseman of the Year Offensive Defenseman of the Year  Scholar-Athlete of the Year Tournament MVP All-Conference. First Team All-NCHC Second Team All-NCHC NCHC All-Rookie Team Olympians. This is a list of Denver hockey alumni who were a part of an Olympic team. Statistical leaders. Source: Career goaltending leaders. "GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average" Denver Athletic Hall of Fame. The following is a list of people associated with the Denver men's ice hockey program who were  elected into the Denver Athletic Hall of Fame (induction date in parenthesis). Pioneers in the NHL. Active players stats. Notes: WHA. Several players also were members of WHA teams. Arenas. University of Denver Arena (1948–1997). University of Denver Arena (DU Arena) was a 5,237-seat multi-purpose arena in Denver. In addition to serving as the Pioneers' home rink, it hosted several Frozen Fours. It was razed in 1997 to make room for the $75 million Magness Arena, (part of the Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness) which opened in 1999. Originally a Naval Drill Hall built during World  War II in Farragut, Idaho, the DU Arena was donated to the University after the war and reassembled on the Denver campus in 1948–49 to house the University's then-new ice hockey program. The arena was refurbished in 1972–73 when the roof needed repairs, and 14 seven-ton steel trusses were added to shore up the roof. Additional patchwork renovations were added in the 1990s, prior to razing in 1997. The best known features of the arena were the steep bleacher balcony at the south end, and the 1970s rainbow painted on the north end wall. Famous hockey games  held there include the NCAA ice hockey finals in 1961, 1964 and 1976. Magness Arena (1999–present). Magness Arena is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose collegiate sports arena in Denver, Colorado. It was built from 1997 to 1999 as part of the Daniel L. Ritchie Center for Sports & Wellness, an $84 million, sports complex at the University of Denver. It is home to the University of Denver Pioneers ice hockey and basketball teams. The Ritchie Center replaced the former DU Arena and DU Fieldhouse, which were razed in 1997 to make way for the Ritchie Center. The basketball team  also plays smaller games at Hamilton Gymnasium, located in the Ritchie Center. The arena is named after cable television pioneer Bob Magness, who donated $10 million towards construction costs. Other Colorado Arenas. When the DU Arena roof was being fixed between 1972 and 1973, the Pioneers played home games at the Denver Coliseum. When Magness Arena was under construction from 1997 to 1999, Denver played its home games at four different arenas around the state: Denver Coliseum, McNichols Arena, Colorado Springs World Arena and at the Air Force Academy's Cadet Ice Arena. DU has also played a 2012  home exhibition game at Denver's Pepsi Center against the University of British Columbia. Denver's all-time record hockey crowd was the 2016 regular season outdoor NCHC game against Colorado College, called "The Battle on Blake" before over 35,000 fans at Denver's Coors Field baseball stadium, the most fans to ever see a home DU sporting event in Denver. DU's indoor record home crowd was the 1995 Denver Cup final at McNichols Arena, where Denver defeated Colorado College before over 16,000 fans.