From the time Murray Armstrong coached his last hockey game at the University of Denver in 1977, the Pioneers have introduced four head coaches, a handful of changes in logos and uniform colors and a new arena.
What never changed was the attitude Armstrong instilled in the program — that you respect the American flag and feel privileged to play hockey for the university. To this day, the Pioneers treat the national anthem as a sacred prayer.
“You stand at the blue line and you don’t move,” said Jim Wiste, captain of the 1968 NCAA championship team and the pride of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. “Our opponents jiggled around, moved their legs back and forth, but we never moved. Some teams thought we were trying to psych them out by being so still, but we were just doing what we were taught.”
Wiste and hundreds of other former Pioneers were mourning the loss of their Canadian-born teacher Thursday. A giant in collegiate hockey circles, Armstrong led DU to five NCAA titles and 11 Frozen Four appearances in 21 seasons, mostly with western Canadian players. He died Wednesday night at his home in St. Augustine, Fla. He was 94.
“Sometimes I don’t think I can say enough to compliment the man,” Wiste said of Armstrong, who was born Jan. 1 1916, in Manor, Saskatchewan. “He was a great one, on and off the ice. He was an inspiration to so many guys. Not only because of hockey. He was a teacher. He taught us so many things, and we live by those rules today.”
Nicknamed “The Chief,” Armstrong recently suffered a series of strokes. He is survived by Freda, his wife of 68 years, and his son, Rob.
“It’s a sad day for the University of Denver and Pioneer hockey,” DU coach George Gwozdecky said from Anchorage, Alaska, where his team will face the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves this weekend. “Murray was a great coach and even better mentor and man for all the young guys he touched during his years at DU. Hockey in general is going to miss him.”
Armstrong played in the NHL from 1937-46 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Americans, Brooklyn Americans and Detroit Red Wings. He joined DU in 1956 after coaching the Regina (Saskatchewan) Pats of the Canadian junior-A system. Upon accepting the position, he said he would bring the NCAA title to Denver within three years or he would quit. He did it in two years.
Armstrong led the Pioneers to national championships in 1958, 1960, 1961, 1968 and 1969. DU played in eight NCAA title games under Armstrong, who finished with an overall winning percentage of .674 (460-215-31).
His Pioneers tied the Russians twice in exhibition play and regularly beat the U.S. Olympic team. Two weeks before the 1960 Olympic Games, DU beat and tied the Team USA, 7-5 and 5-5, in an exhibition tournament at the old Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs.
The Pioneers, the only college team invited to the final Olympic tuneup, went on to tie the Russians 2-2, and defeated West Germany and Sweden by 5-3 scores. The U.S. went on to win the Olympic gold medal, while DU cruised to its second national title with a record of 27-4-3 record.
“We tied the U.S. team and beat them, and didn’t lose a game down there, so I figured we had a pretty good team that year,” Armstrong told The Denver Post a year ago.
The late Dick Connor, a former Denver Post sports writer who covered Armstrong’s team during the 1968 and 1969 championships, wrote the following upon The Chief’s retirement in 1977: “He has been to college hockey what only a handful ever are to other sports — a John Wooden to basketball, for instance, a Woody Hayes or Bear Bryant to football. An era ends. We won’t see another like him.”
A life-size bronzed sculpture of Armstrong, made by former DU hockey player Steve Landis (Class of 1967), was unveiled on Aug. 3, 1990 at the old DU Arena, and it today stands at the west concourse of Magness Arena.
Current Air Force coach Frank Serratore fought for the statue and other Armstrong-era reminders when he began a four-year stint at DU in 1990.
“When I took over, the program was on a downslide, we didn’t have a very good team, and I felt the biggest thing we needed to get back to the tradition that Murray established,” Serratore said Thursday. “I wanted that building to reek of tradition. Old DU Arena had very little history displayed.
“We went to work getting photos, making plaques and getting that stuff up. That history needed to be displayed. When you walked into DU Arena, you wanted to feel Murray Armstrong and what all he and his boys accomplished.”
That presence is felt to this day.
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
