Jump to content

1960–61 Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey season

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1960–61 Denver Pioneers
men's ice hockey season
National champion
WCHA, champion
WCHA Tournament, co-champion
NCAA Tournament, champion
Conference1st WCHA
Home iceDU Arena
Record
Overall30–1–1
Conference17–1–0
Home21–0–1
Road7–1–0
Neutral2–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachMurray Armstrong
Captain(s)Bill Masterton[1]
Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey seasons
« 1959–60 1961–62 »

The 1960–61 Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey team represented University of Denver in college ice hockey. In its 5th year under head coach Murray Armstrong the team compiled a 30–1–1 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the third time in four years. The Pioneers defeated St. Lawrence 12–2 in the championship game at the DU Arena in Denver, Colorado. Denver set a record for the most wins by a team in one season, breaking the previous high of 27 they had earned the previous year.

Season

[edit]

Denver's program was riding high after winning the NCAA tournament the year before as well as having the first player in program history earn an NHL contract following the championship.[1] Head coach Murray Armstrong was not willing to rest on his laurels, however. After the team's first national title in 1958 the program was shut out of the tournament the following year and, not wanting to see a repeat performance, Armstrong watched his team get off to a fast start with three wins at home before embarking on a brief but arduous road trip.

Their first stop was in North Dakota where they easily took two games from a weak Fighting Sioux squad before heading to Houghton to face a tough Michigan Tech team that given them fits the year before. The Huskies took the first game, holding Denver to a season-low 2 goals, but the Pioneers evened the score the next night with a 5–2 win.

Two days later Denver was back home where they would remain for essentially the next two months. Denver playing too many of their games at home was the main cause of their missing the 1959 tournament despite having the best record in the country. Even with that recent history the Pioneers had skewed an already home-favored schedule for 1961 with 20 games at home and only 8 on the road. They were able to do this in part because they now belonged to the WCHA rather than being an Independent program and as a result they would only have to be one of the two best squads in the 7-team conference to have home-ice in the playoffs.

With all of these advantages built into their schedule Denver took full advantage and ran roughshod over their opponents. After sweeping four games in 5 days against Michigan State and Michigan (though they got a scare with an overtime win in the final match), Denver welcomed the Huskies for a rematch at the end of December and took both games to place themselves firmly atop the conference standings. After a series against a Canadian senior team that provided Denver with its only tie of the season, the Pioneers dominated North Dakota in two games before welcoming the US National Team. Though Team USA had just won the gold medal most of the players from that squad were no longer on the team and the perceptibly weaker group was easily defeated in both games.

After their first of two home-and-home meetings with in-state rival Colorado College, Denver hosted the Warroad Lakers for a three-game series and totally dominated the visitors by scoring 9 goals in each game. In mid-February Denver finally left Colorado for two games against a strong Michigan squad and took both contests before ending their regular season with a second series against the CC Tigers.

The one team from the WCHA that they did not face during the season was Minnesota. This was due to the on-going feud between the two programs over recruiting practices. Both teams were able to benefit from this since the two teams were the strongest in the WCHA and finished in the top two of the conference. Denver won their second consecutive WCHA title with their 17–1 conference record and played Michigan Tech at home in the WCHA tournament. For the first game of the total-goal series Denver dominated the Huskies, winning 9–1 and followed that up with an equally impressive 8–2 victory the following night. Denver's 17–3 victory was the widest margin for any 2-game series in the history of the WCHA tournament as well as being tied for the most goals scored by one team in a two-game series.[2]

Denver received the top western seed while WCHA co-champion Minnesota was afforded the #2 seed. Partially due to Denver and Minnesota having not played against one another all season the NCAA took the unprecedented step of placing both WCHA teams in the same semifinal game. This was the first time two teams from the same conference or region would play in an opening round of the NCAA tournament, an occurrence that would not happen again until 2008. Despite their being the top two teams from the WCHA from the drop of the puck it was obvious that Denver was far superior to the Golden Gophers. Minnesota did well to hold the Pioneers to six goals in their 6–1 victory that sent Denver back to the title game. In the championship match Denver faced Tri-State League champion St. Lawrence and were heavily favored to repeat as national champions. Despite that it was the Saints who scored first, less than 90 seconds into the contest. Denver was able to tie the score less than two minutes later and then built a two-goal lead before the Larries cut the lead to one with just under seven to play in the first period. After the second goal against Denver clamped down on the Saints' attack and controlled the rest of the game. In the final 45 minutes of play Denver scored the final 9 goals of the game (an NCAA tournament record) to win by an astounding 10-goal margin (also a record). Team captain Bill Masterton scored a hat trick with two assists and was named the tournament MOP. Denver's thoroughly dominating performance in the two games got five members of the team onto the All-Tournament first team (tied for the most in NCAA history): Marty Howe, Grant Munro, Trent Beatty, Bill Masterton and Jerry Walker with only Minnesota's Mike Larson stopping their bid for a sweep. Additionally George Kirkwood and George Konik made the second team.

The 1961 Denver team set several new NCAA records, including most wins by a program with 30. Their 30–1–1 record was the second best winning percentage (.953) for an NCAA champion at the time and currently sits at 4th-best in history (behind only 1949 Boston College, 1970 Cornell and 1993 Maine as of 2018) Denver also scored at one of the highest goals per game pace in NCAA history with a whopping 7.56. Additionally they were the best defensive team to that point, allowing only 59 goals against in 32 contests for a team goals against average of 1.84. Denver's average margin of victory of 5.72 goals was the second-largest average in NCAA history at the time and still stands as the largest ever for a championship team. Jerry Walker's 85 points that season were a record for any WCHA player and were not beaten until the conference expanded to many more games in the mid-1970s while his WCHA-record 56 goals still stands as of 2018. George Kirkwood set an NCAA record for wins in a season with 30 and finished with a then-record career winning percentage of .894 which was broken by future Hall-of-Famer Ken Dryden.

Denver's unparalleled performance throughout the season caused the WCHA voters to name 5 players to the All-WCHA First Team: George Kirkwood, George Konik, Marty Howe, Bill Masterton and Jerry Walker while a record 5 Pioneers appeared on AHCA All-American West Team with Grant Munro being selected rather than Konik.

The 1960-61 Denver team is commonly regarded as the best in the history of the program and one of the greatest teams in NCAA history.[3]

Standings

[edit]
1960–61 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PCT GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Denver†* 18 17 1 0 .944 127 31 32 30 1 1 242 59
Minnesota* 20 14 6 0 .700 100 68 29 17 11 1 126 111
Michigan 24 15 8 1 .646 97 79 28 16 10 2 108 89
Michigan Tech 24 13 11 0 .542 92 58 29 16 13 0 132 78
North Dakota 24 7 16 0 .313 81 133 29 9 19 1 100 151
Michigan State 20 5 15 0 .250 55 90 27 11 16 0 121 115
Colorado College 22 4 18 0 .182 68 161 24 4 20 0 76 175
Championship: Minnesota, Denver
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion

Schedule

[edit]
Date Opponent Site Result Record
Exhibition
November 26 vs. DU Hilltoppers* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 10–3 
Regular Season
December 2 at Regina Capitals* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 10–2  1–0
December 3 at Regina Capitals* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 2–0  2–0
December 9 vs. Colorado College* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 8–4  3–0
December 12 at North Dakota Winter Sports Building • Grand Forks, North Dakota W 7–2  4–0 (1–0)
December 13 at North Dakota Winter Sports Building • Grand Forks, North Dakota W 5–1  5–0 (2–0)
December 16 at Michigan Tech Dee Stadium • Houghton, Michigan L 2–3  5–1 (2–1)
December 17 at Michigan Tech Dee Stadium • Houghton, Michigan W 5–2  6–1 (3–1)
December 19 vs. Michigan State DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 10–2  7–1 (4–1)
December 20 vs. Michigan State DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 9–0  8–1 (5–1)
December 22 vs. Michigan DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 8–1  9–1 (6–1)
December 23 vs. Michigan DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 4–3 OT 10–1 (7–1)
December 26 vs. Michigan Tech DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 5–1  11–1 (8–1)
December 27 vs. Michigan Tech DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 2–0  12–1 (9–1)
January 4 vs. Moose Jaw Pla-Mors* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 5–2  13–1 (9–1)
January 6 vs. Moose Jaw Pla-Mors* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado T 3–3 OT 13–1–1 (9–1)
January 13 vs. North Dakota DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 15–1  14–1–1 (10–1)
January 14 vs. North Dakota DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 6–2  15–1–1 (11–1)
January 27 vs. US National Team* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 10–0  16–1–1 (11–1)
January 28 vs. US National Team* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 6–2  17–1–1 (11–1)
February 3 vs. Colorado College DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 11–1  18–1–1 (12–1)
February 4 at Colorado College Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado W 7–5  19–1–1 (13–1)
February 8 vs. Warroad Lakers* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 9–1  20–1–1 (13–1)
February 10 vs. Warroad Lakers* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 9–2  21–1–1 (13–1)
February 11 vs. Warroad Lakers* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 9–2  22–1–1 (13–1)
February 17 at Michigan Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan W 8–1  23–1–1 (14–1)
February 18 at Michigan Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan W 4–2  24–1–1 (15–1)
March 3 vs. Colorado College DU Arena • Denver, Colorado W 8–1  25–1–1 (16–1)
March 4 at Colorado College Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado W 13–3  26–1–1 (17–1)
WCHA Tournament
March 10 vs. Michigan Tech* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado (WCHA Final Game 1) W 9–1  27–1–1 (17–1)
March 11 vs. Michigan Tech* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado (WCHA Final Game 2) W 8–2  28–1–1 (17–1)
NCAA Tournament
March 17 vs. Minnesota* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado (National Semifinal) W 6–1  29–1–1 (17–1)
March 18 vs. St. Lawrence* DU Arena • Denver, Colorado (National championship) W 12–2  30–1–1 (17–1)
*Non-conference game.
Source:[1]

Roster and scoring statistics

[edit]
No. Name Year Position Hometown S/P/C Games Goals Assists Points PIM
1 George Kirkwood Junior G Edmonton, AB Alberta 32 – – – –
2 George Konik Senior D Flin Flon, MB Manitoba 27 12 19 31 40
3 Jack Wilson Sophomore D Big River, SK Saskatchewan – – – – –
4 Norb Kemp Senior G Regina, SK Saskatchewan – – – – –
5 Marty Howe Senior D Regina, SK Saskatchewan – – – – –
6 Grant Munro Senior D Regina, SK Saskatchewan 32 11 16 27 38
7 Terry Lomnes Senior LW Camrose, AB Alberta – – – – –
8 Ken Williamson Junior C Winnipeg, MB Manitoba – – – – –
9 Bill Masterton Senior C Winnipeg, MB Manitoba 32 24 56 80 4
10 Marshall Johnston Sophomore D Birch Hills, SK Saskatchewan – – – – –
11 Jerry Walker Senior F Regina, SK Saskatchewan 32 56 29 85 –
12 Paul Josephson Senior C Saskatoon, SK Saskatchewan – – – 33 –
13 John Art Sophomore D/RW Regina, SK Saskatchewan – – – – –
14 Gerald Duffus Sophomore LW Saskatoon, SK Saskatchewan – – – – –
15 Max Geisthardt Senior LW Regina, SK Saskatchewan – – – – –
16 Trent Beatty Junior RW Kerrobert, SK Saskatchewan – – – – –
17 Gregory Lacomy Sophomore F Winnipeg, MB Manitoba – – – – –
18 Dick Jacob Junior F Crescent City, CA California 9 0 1 1 2
19 Paul DiNapoli Junior G Belmont, MA Massachusetts – – – – –
Total

[4]

Goaltending statistics

[edit]
No. Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
1 George Kirkwood 32 – 30 1 1 – – 4 .910 1.84
4 Norb Kemp – – – – – – – – – –
20 Paul DiNapoli – – – – – – – – – –
Total 32 – 30 1 1 – – 4 – –

1961 championship game

[edit]

W1 Denver vs. E1 St. Lawrence

[edit]
March 18[5] Denver 12 – 2 St. Lawrence University of Denver Arena


Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st SLU John Mason R. Mason and Corby 1:22 1–0 SLU
DEN Bill Masterton Beatty and Walker 3:19 1–1
DEN Trent Beatty Masterton and Munro 7:21 2–1 DEN
DEN Jerry Walker – GW Beatty 12:09 3–1 DEN
SLU Buster Dower Slater 13:14 3–2 DEN
DEN Jerry Duffus Williamson and Art 14:51 4–2 DEN
DEN Bill Masterton Walker and Munro 15:49 5–2 DEN
2nd DEN Trent Beatty Masterton and Walker 25:33 6–2 DEN
DEN Grant Munro Lomnes 26:57 7–2 DEN
DEN George Konik – PP Josephson and Wilson 31:31 8–2 DEN
DEN Ken Williamson – PP Art and Wilson 37:47 9–2 DEN
3rd DEN Bill Masterton – PP Konik 50:46 10–2 DEN
DEN Grant Munro – PP Josephson 52:15 11–2 DEN
DEN Terry Lomnes unassisted 56:57 12–2 DEN

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Denver Hockey 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). Denver Pioneers. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  2. ^ "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 129-144" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  3. ^ "The 10 Greatest College Hockey Teams of All Time". Bleacher Report. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  4. ^ "Denver Pioneers 1960-61 roster and statistics". EliteProspects. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  5. ^ "Denver Pioneers 2007-08 Hockey Yearbook" (PDF). Denver Pioneers. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 4, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1960–61_Denver_Pioneers_men%27s_ice_hockey_season&oldid=1170772140"