Ice Hockey
Ice hockey is DU's flagship spectator sport, regularly selling out the 6,026 seat Magness Arena on campus, the showpiece of the Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness (completed in 2000). DU's Hockey Program has been playing NCAA Division I hockey since 1949-50. The Pioneers are one of the most successful programs in the history of collegiate hockey. They are ranked (with North Dakota) second in all time NCAA National Hockey Championships with seven (1958, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1969, 2004, 2005) Only Michigan (9) has more championships. The Pioneers have appeared in 14 NCAA Frozen Four Championships. Since the creation of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in 1959, the Pioneers have won 10 WCHA Regular Season Championships (now the recipients of the MacNaughton Cup) and 13 WCHA Playoff Championships (now the recipients of the Broadmoor Trophy).
Denver's ice hockey alumni include over 60 NHL hockey players, including Hall of Famer Glenn Anderson, and current NHLers: 2007 Calder Trophy nominee Paul Stastny of the Colorado Avalanche, Tyler Bozak of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jason Zucker of the Minnesota Wild, Drew Shore of the Florida Panthers. Patrick Weircioch of the Ottawa Senators, Chris Butler of the Calgary Flames and 2006 Hobey Baker Memorial Award Winner Matt Carle of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Previous DU players who starred in the NHL besides Anderson include Keith Magnuson, Craig Patrick, Cliff Koroll, Peter McNab, and Kevin Dineen, who now coaches the Florida Panthers of the NHL. Legendary hockey coaches at Denver include three former NHL players - Murray Armstrong, Marshall Johnston and Ralph Backstrom. The current hockey coach is George Gwozdecky.
DU hockey will enter a new era in 2013 when it leaves its longtime home of the WCHA to launch the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). The new conference was formed as a direct reaction to the Big Ten Conference's announcement that it would start a men's hockey league in 2013. The six charter members of the NCHC—DU, Colorado College, Miami (OH), Minnesota–Duluth, Nebraska–Omaha, and North Dakota—have combined for 17 NCAA championships in the sport. These schools were soon joined by St. Cloud State and Western Michigan to bring the league's membership at launch to eight.
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Famous quotes containing the word ice:
“People in Stamps used to say that the whites in our town were so prejudiced that a Negro couldn’t buy vanilla ice cream. Except on July Fourth. Other days he had to be satisfied with chocolate.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)