Editor's Note: The final installment of LetsGoDU's four-part series focuses on the common bonds that exist between the upcoming 60th anniversary reunion of DU Hockey and the Snoopy Tournament. Included are thoughts from all of the alumni players from this year’s Snoopy team. Thanks again to DJ Powers who has given us this wonderful glimpse into DU's rich hockey tradition.Exclusive to LetsGoDU
By DJ Powers
Staff Writer - NCAA
Hockey's Future (http://www.hockeysfuture.com)
Future Considerations (http://www.futureconsiderations.ca)
This October, the University of Denver will celebrate 60 years of Pioneers hockey. While this reunion celebration spans the entire history of the program and takes place about once every ten years, another DU hockey reunion takes place every July in Santa Rosa, CA. called the Snoopy’s Senior World Hockey Tournament (aka The Snoopy Tournament).
The commonality between the Pioneers hockey 60
th anniversary reunion and the Snoopy Tournament are the many alumni involved. All of the alumni who participate in the Snoopy Tournament played under the legendary Murray Armstrong and some were even members of DU’s earliest NCAA Championship teams.
Of the 15 players who donned the crimson and gold jersey at the Snoopy Tournament this year, nine were DU alumni.
The Snoopy Tournament, in many ways, is an annual reunion to the men who participate in it each year. It is about being reunited with a fellow Pioneer and being with family. To understand just how close these men are, all you have to do is watch how they interact with one another – both on and off the ice. It is a fraternity that is unlike any other.
“This (Snoopy Tournament) for us is so special,” said Wayne Smith. “This is our group in our particular period, so we have great, close relationships within this particular group and so this almost serves as our annual get-together for a reunion.”
All nine alumni players gave their personal insights into what the 60
th anniversary reunion means to them at last month’s Snoopy Tournament. While not all of them will be attending the October celebration, most will.
“Well we’re looking forward to the 2009 reunion,” Norm
Kvern glowingly intoned. “It’s the 60
th anniversary of DU hockey and we’re encouraging all alumni, their spouses, and their friends to please come out and have a great time because it’s going to be a wonderful reunion and be a lot of fun for everybody. We live in Denver, so we’ll host anybody and a cocktail party too. We’ll share a few cold beers at the Campus Lounge, the Stadium Inn and where ever else that may be required.”
“I’ll be there at the reunion and very much looking forward to it,” added Bill
Pettinger. “I booked it about three months ago and just really looking forward to getting reacquainted with all of the guys.”
What makes reunions such as these so special are the many fascinating, humorous and heart-warming stories. Simply put, even the best writers in the world could never dream up most of this stuff. When you hear the stories, you also see the emotions too, whether it’s about the newest word that Murray Armstrong had put into their vocabulary or going back to the day that Keith
Magnuson was taken from them.
“I think it’s wonderful that so many of the people are getting together again and having a lot of fun and recounting old tales, past glories and the humorous moments,” said Smith. “Whether I’ll be there or not, I don’t know right now, but we kind of think that we will be. We may make a special trip to Denver because that’s where our children and grandchildren are, so we may work something out depending on what our schedules are. We’d like to be there.”
Players such as Ron Grahame are even making it a family affair.
“I will be at the reunion with my wife, Charlotte and my son, Jason, who graduated in ’03. 60 years is pretty special. I’m hoping that there are a lot of DU alums that will come back and kind of get to get reacquainted with each other and find out what everybody is doing. I think it’ll feel like people never left and that they do come back. It would be very special if they would do that. I don’t think there are any real goals, other than the fact of trying to get alumni back to the campus who haven’t been there for a long time to see the campus and just to get reacquainted. I don’t think there’s anything that’s special about what the alumni in 60 years are trying to do for the current program, but it’s going to be nice because it’s during the season. They can see a game and see how the game has changed.”
The reality that this particular group will dwindle in the coming years is something that they have all accepted and try not to think about. And it is also an indication that these reunions in Denver will see fewer of the original Pioneers in the years to come as well.
““I think it’s great because when we get to this age, we get to see these eight or nine guys that we don’t get to see that don’t still play hockey,” said Wayne
Wiste. “So going back there and seeing everybody for the last time will be great because we all have our health going down and it may have something working with me too. So that’s why I’m really anxious to be going back, to see some of those guys that I haven’t seen in a long time.”
“I hope to see a lot of people that I really don’t know like people from the 60’s to today and the people that were there before us, so I hope a lot of people will show up,” added John
MacMillan. “It may cause a lot of camaraderie that may not be there simply because I don’t know anybody that played in the 70’s and might know some of the guys that played on the early teams, the really early teams, but I don’t know. A lot of those guys are gone or not doing well (health-wise). I think it could be a lot of fun, which may cause what Donny (Cameron) is trying to build here (at the Snoopy Tournament), and really support the team for
Gwozdecky there.”
One player who will not be attending the 60
th anniversary reunion is
defenseman Bob Peers, but he also has a pretty good reason too.
“I think that’s great to have a program that is as strong as it has been over that period of time. I think Michigan is the one program that we look at record-wise that have achieved a similar thing, but Michigan is also a bigger school. I think the University of Denver on a whole, for a relatively small school to have national champions, a hockey scene and what they’
ve had is a major accomplishment. I think the recognition that it’s getting is really great, but I’m not going. Dolli’s mother is having her 100
th birthday that same weekend. So that’s important to both of us.”
All of the alumni on the DU Snoopy Tournament team know just how much work and how many people were involved in making the upcoming 60
th anniversary reunion celebration possible, and players such as Jim
Wiste and Don Cameron wanted to be sure to acknowledge some of them.
“There’s a lot to coordinate that people don’t realize that goes into it and yet it’s only for two or three days,” explained
Wiste. “So I’m looking forward to it. Peg (Bradley-
Doppes) has been so helpful and the school has been unbelievable. They should be thanked for it because they have spent so much for everything and have helped us so much. I think that should be put across. Ronnie Grahame has helped a lot and he’s with the university. George has given us ice time too. They could just say to us “do what you have to do,” but they’
ve done more than that and I think that’s important. That’s also what makes us feel good and makes us want to do things for them as well.
"We’re going to see guys that we haven’t seen in a long time. I’m going to meet players that I’
ve never met that played for DU. I think our tradition is there. Here at the Snoopy Tournament we’re known as the University of Denver team and 80 to 90 percent of our players are from DU. I was just talking with some people and I was telling them that I think what helps an organization is their tradition, whether it be pro or just college. The schools that seem to do well have good traditions and I think that’s so important down the line when you look at a
Notre Dame or a Michigan."
"Michigan might be our rivals (at the Snoopy Tournament), but you have to respect them for their tradition. We have that too and we want to continue it. I’m from Saskatchewan, so the day that I came down here I was a young boy from a small town who was all of a sudden in Denver. I’
ve made my home here and my life has changed. When you look back at it, Murray always said “things will never be the same for you because you’re going to change, whether it be hockey or your life or your style or things like that.” So I think these are things that we don’t have enough time to go over in every respect because you’re thinking about things like the friendships. I think the biggest thing is that you don’t see players in a long time and they’re like brothers. I think the DU tradition is one of the strongest in hockey. If not, we’re in the top five and we’re on the map. I think hockey put DU on the map.”
“I’m really looking forward to it, added Cameron. “The people behind it have worked really, really hard. Most of the alumni have been back at one time or another, but this one is covering a lot of years. So it’ll be interesting. They’ll be some things that I’m sure will happen, like the 60s teams will gather, and the teams before us and the teams after us will gather too. And then there will be times when we all will get together. One of the beauties about DU hockey is that it spans so many years. We certainly know the names of the guys from the 50s and we’
ve met most of them. They would maybe able to relate to us a little bit. We would be able to relate to the guys after us and they relate back to us, so after awhile it’s just that same ‘
ol thing. It’s that common bond and the pride of playing in a great program. You also get see everyone in person at DU. So when we have the reunion it will be quite nice.”
While the upcoming 60
th anniversary reunion is sure to rekindle and even begin new friendships between the many generations of players who will be present, it will also remind us all of the importance of preserving a cherished and illustrious tradition that is known as DU hockey.
In some ways, the Snoopy Tournament serves as an endearing albeit little known testament to that tradition. And as long as DU continues to have teams in the tournament, the past will continue to live on and come to life with those who make the pilgrimage to California each summer to participate in this very unique hockey reunion.
