DU Hockey Alums Talk During Reunion Weekend

This video does a great job of showing the reception before the game on Saturday night for DU's 60th Hockey Reunion. The pre- and post-game receptions were held in Hamilton Gymnasium.

All the players received DU throwback jerseys with their names and numbers stiched on. The jerseys were donated by DU alums Matt Carle, Paul Stastny & two other donors.

Boone Helped DU Win 1969 National Championship

(above left) One of greatest photos of DU hockey is this famous photo of Keith Magnuson and the 1969 National Championship trophy. (above right) Boone on Tim Gould's helmet

Thanks to an alert LetsGoDU's reader, we found Boone in this photo. Boone is on the helmet of DU player Tim Gould. Gould is photographed with Craig Patrick, Keith Magnuson and Tom Miller. These players formed the nucleus of DU's 1968 and 1969 National Championship teams.

Sadly, Magnuson passed away in a 2004 in a tragic auto accident. He will be missed this weekend at the 60th Anniversary celebration but not forgotten.

Craig Patrick would go on to help the USA win a gold medal in the 1980 Olympic Games (Miracle on Ice) as an assistant coach. Later he would be the General Manager for the Pittsburgh Penguins when the team won two Stanley Cups.

DU Library Digitallizing Classic Hockey Photos

(above) Legendary DU Coach Murray Armstrong won five National Championships. Also in photo Tom Zajac (foreground) and Lindsay Thomson (background)

(above) A Russian player is helped to the locker room during DU's 4-4 tie on Jan. 10, 1959

(above) The DU ice hockey team poses for a portrait around a Packard automobile at Reed Auto Sales on 5901 E. Colfax Ave in Denver. All team members wear uniforms that read: "Tom Reed Auto Sales."

(above) Craig Patrick, Tom Miller, Keith Magnuson & Tim Gould celebrate DU's second straight National Championship in 1969

The University of Denver's Media Relations is is in the process of digitizing its old athletics photos in the Special Collections Department for use on the internet. Check out the link to see dozens more hockey photos.

The photographs were compiled from several sources including the records of the Division of Athletics and Recreation held by the University of Denver Special Collections and Archives. The following image book is a compilation of the University of Denver Men's Ice Hockey photographs and will be added to over time.

Needless to say this is going to be a "Boone" to DU and college hockey buffs.

Note – Some of the attributions are vague and/or contain errors, but many of the captions can probably be updated with the help of the DU Media Guide and other sources.

A Winning Legacy
DU Claims 1969 National Championship

From: University of Denver Magazine
by Mike Flanagan

By 1969, DU owned college hockey. From Boston to the deep frozen ground of Minnesota, from the proud Ivy League to the barren landscape of North Dakota, the Pioneers were anticipated with appropriate dread. The Pioneers were coming for you.

Wonder coach Murray Armstrong was at the top of his game, his message resounding with authority and experience: As an individual player you might match up to your opponent, and then again, you might not. As a team, a true team, you could beat anyone.

Heading into the 1969 season, Armstrong was aiming for his ninth 20-win season.

"We had a great nucleus," recalls Tom Miller, BSCE '69, who played center. "Ten guys came in as freshmen and played all the way through. We went into games thinking we were going to win."

As juniors in 1967-68, they posted a 28-5-1 record, finishing first in the WCHA. From there, they were off to the NCAA tournament in Duluth, Minn., where they socked Boston College (4-1) and North Dakota (4-0) to win the national championship.

Repeating seemed a bit of a reach at the opening of the 1968-69 season, with the Pioneers dropping their first two encounters with North Dakota. Still, with standouts Keith Magnuson (defenseman), George Morrison (wing), Craig Patrick (wing), and goalie Gerry Powers, losing didn't become a habit.

In January, February and March of '69, the team went 19-3. The Pioneers finished second in the WCHA with a 14-6 conference record.

With four teams left in the final weekend of the NCAA tournament, Harvard shocked DU with a goal in the first thirty seconds, but in the second period DU unleashed hell on the Harvard goalie. The final score: DU 9, Harvard 2.

DU moved to the final battle for the NCAA title on March 15, facing Cornell, which had just beat Michigan Tech 4-3 in overtime.

DU wing Tom Gilmore popped one past Cornell's goalie in the first two minutes. The game was 1-1 after the first period. The second period quickly evolved into a contest of goaltending heroics. On a DU power play, Morrison pushed one into the corner of the goal. But, Cornell snuck one past Powers during a two-on-one break.

It was tied again (2-2) until the third period when center Bob Trembecky scored. Then, Miller delivered the knockout on a rebound. With less than two minutes left in the contest, Cornell scooted another goal past Powers. A Tim Gould rebound shot squirted past the Cornell defense, missing the empty net by inches. Denver was called for icing, the final ten seconds ticked off, and the game was over: DU 4, Cornell 3.

The victory fell on page seven of The Clarion, while draft-card burners made the front page. Another DU hockey championship was as normal as the Yankees in the World Series.

At 26-6, Armstrong had his 20 games and a few to spare.