Notre Dame Hockey
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NOTRE DAME HOCKEY 2019-20 RECORDS BOOK IRISH HOCKEY HISTORY NOTRE DAME HOCKEY THROUGH THE YEARS his lone season between the Irish pipes. Irish hockey begins its third season as part of the Following Castner behind the Notre Dame hockey Big Ten Conference and enters its 51st season at the bench was former football All-American Tom Leib. NCAA Division I level. A two-time (1921 and 1922) All-American at right tackle, Leib’s teams were 3-8-3 between 1923-26. THE EARLY YEARS The team played one more season in 1926-27 From playing on frozen lakes around the University under the guidance of Benjamin Dubois. That team of Notre Dame campus, to an outdoor rink near went 3-7-1 before the program, due to lack of a Badin Hall along with South Bend’s Howard Park playing venue, ceased competition. Rink, the Joyce Center and now the state-of-the-art Despite sporadic attempts to revive the program Compton Family Ice Arena, the Notre Dame hockey from 1928 through the early 1960s -- including one program has experienced a little bit of everything game in which Heisman Trophy winner Angelo in its on-again, off-again 100-year-plus history. Bertelli was reported to have scored four goals While most followers of Notre Dame’s 51-year -- Notre Dame hockey would not see consistent hockey history know the story since the program action until the 1963-64 season. received Division I status in 1968, there are several earlier chapters that were the building blocks. THE CLUB YEARS Notre Dame first played collegiate hockey with A club version of hockey began an era at Notre records showing an informal game being played as Dame that helped the program eventually reach early as 1911-12 at Culver Academy, a 7-1 Irish win. Division I status. From 1963, until its move to In 1912-13, the team played a three-game schedule Division I in the 1968-69 season, the Irish sponsored going 1-2-0 in what is recognized as the first full a club hockey program that produced several of the season of Notre Dame hockey. players who would play key roles in the early varsity After that early attempt to start hockey, the years of the program in the late ‘60s. program took a seven-year hiatus, returning Around 1960, students organized, and the again in 1919-20. Two-time football All-America University recognized, the Notre Dame Hockey running back Paul Castner was seen skating on Club. Operating as a club sport, the team had a Saint Mary’s Lake when Tony Gorman, a Canadian, faculty advisor and reported to the director of joined him to show him some of the finer points of intramurals and club sports, Dominic Napolitano. the game. Before long, the duo started discussing The club began intercollegiate play in the 1963- the possibility of hockey at Notre Dame. They met 64 season. Arrangements were made to play on with the Rev. William F. Cunningham, C.S.C., who, South Bend’s artificial rink (Howard Park) and according to The Dome, “was a priest who had campus-wide tryouts were held. Ralph Cardillo played the game in the West. The Notre Dame (Guelph, Ont.) served as the first captain and Paul lads proposed a hockey team to Cunningham who Belliveau (Fitchburg, Mass.) notched the first goal. entered enthusiastically into the project.” Playing club teams from Northwestern, Illinois, the Under Cunningham, who served in a variety of Michigan State junior varsity and other Midwest roles, including coach, manager, secretary, advisor varsity squads, Notre Dame went 0-5-0. and trainer, and Castner who served as player- In 1964-65, the club program improved to 5-6-0 coach for two years and then coach following under the guidance of coach Richard Bressler. The graduation, the program grew. club also started an intramural program to give In four seasons at the helm, Castner’s teams were other students access to the game of hockey. 18-4-0 while playing against the likes of Michigan Prior to the start of the 1965-66 season, the College of Mines (now Michigan Tech), Carnegie University’s administration determined that hockey Tech, Michigan, the Michigan Aggies (now Michigan was to enter a “transition” period and the program State), Wisconsin, Culver Academy, St. Thomas and was designated as a “minor sport.” That designation Assumption. was assigned to help the program transition from a While Castner led the team on ice, Cunningham club sport to full varsity status. The hockey program played a key role off the frozen pond. According came under the direction of Notre Dame vice- to the 1921 edition of The Dome, “Rev. W. F. president Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C., and athletics Cunningham, C.S.C., manager of the team for two director Edward “Moose” Krause. seasons, is the man who much of the success can The 1965-66 team began to receive funding from be attributed. Father Cunningham is oblivious to the athletic department and continued to play ordinary difficulties and his spirit was the spirit of teams from the Midwest (Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio the team.” State) and even branched out to the East Coast, Castner was not the only football player to play a participating in a Christmas tournament at the key role in the early days of the Notre Dame hockey Boston Garden. Under coach Jerry Paquette, the program. All-America offensive lineman Hunk Irish were 6-9-3. Anderson was the goaltender on the 1920-21 team. The program really began to take shape in 1966- Anderson was followed by one of the most 67, playing mostly varsity-level programs while still famous of all Irish athletes, Jim Crowley, who being recognized as a club team. The Irish played gained fame as the halfback in the Four Horseman in the first collegiate hockey tournament played backfield. Crowley was a freshman goaltender on at Chicago Stadium hosted by the Blackhawks and the 1921-22 team that went 8-1, but his career was the Wirtz family. The Irish defeated Illinois in the put on ice, so to speak, by legendary football coach opening game of the tourney before falling 6-5 in Knute Rockne. Crowley recorded a pair of shutouts the championship game to Ohio State. and turned in a stingy 1.33 goals-against average in Notre Dame also won the Air Force Invitational at 8 Conference Championships • 11 NCAA Tournament Appearances • 4 NCAA Frozen Four 2 Appearances IRISH HOCKEY HISTORY the Broadmoor World Arena on the way to a 14-5-3 members of the Central Collegiate Hockey record. The Irish were led offensively by Phil Wittliff Association (CCHA). In 1981-82, Dave Poulin (Port Huron, Mich.), Belliveau, alternate captain Tom (Mississauga, Ont.) – a finalist for the Hobey Baker Heiden (St. Paul, Minn.), captain Jim Haley (Boston, Award – led Notre Dame to a 23-15-2 record, a Great Mass.) and defensemen Eric Norri (Virginia, Minn.) Lakes Invitational championship and a fourth-place and Frank Manning (Detroit, Mich.). Wittliff (who finish in the regular-season standings. started his Notre Dame career on the football team), Norri and defenseman Dean Daigler (Tonawanda, THE RETURN TO VARSITY YEARS N.Y.), all would go on to play on the first varsity Following a first-round playoff series win over team in 1968-69. Leo Collins (Fargo, N.D.), Ernie Michigan, the Irish defeated Bowling Green 8-5 in Gargaro (Bloomfied Hills, Mich.) and John Barry the semifinals before falling to Michigan State 4-1 in (Chicago, Ill.) were the team’s goaltenders. Norri and the title game. Collins were both members of Notre Dame’s 1966 The Irish were unable to sustain that level the next national championship football team while playing season and struggled to a 13-21-2 record. tackle and linebacker respectively. On March 16, Following Notre Dame’s loss to Bowling Green in a 1967, it was announced that the Notre Dame hockey first-round playoff series, the University announced program would move to varsity status in 1968 at the in the spring of 1983 that it would cease sponsoring time the new Athletic and Convocation Center was varsity hockey. After competing as a club sport set to open. during 1983-84, varsity hockey returned to Notre In 1967-68, the club team played its final season – Dame the following season (1984-85) when the turning in a 13-3-0 mark – before making the move Irish began competing as a non-scholarship to Division I. independent team. Smith remained at the helm through the end of THE FIRST VARSITY YEARS the 1986-87 campaign, compiling a 19-year record The University hired Charles “Lefty” Smith as the of 307-320-30. The most impressive statistic from program’s first coach for the 1968-69 season and the Smith era is that all 126 players who completed the new Athletic and Convocation Center (later their collegiate eligibility earned their college renamed the Joyce Center) opened, giving Notre degrees. Dame its first on-campus, indoor rink. In 1987, Smith turned the program over to Notre Dame competed as an independent from Ric Schafer (New Brighton, Minn.), a four-time 1968-71, compiling a record of 50-32-6, providing monogram winner for the Irish from ’70-’74 and an Smith three seasons to build a competitive program assistant coach under Smith from 1975-80. before the Irish became members of the Western Notre Dame hockey continued as an independent Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), beginning during the first four seasons of Schafer’s tenure, but with the 1971-72 season.