More than 160 former DU hockey players are set to return to Denver for alumni weekend as part of a yearlong celebration of the team’s 70th anniversary season. Here’s a trip down memory lane with perspectives from seven former players, one from each decade, on how the storied program has evolved through the years with the same championship mindset.
1950s — Rodney Schneck
One look at old photographs of the Pioneers’ first national championship goaltender prompts the following question: Where are all his pads?
Schneck, an Alberta native, manned the DU pipes from 1956 to 1959 from with no shoulder protection or mask. And when Schneck was inevitably injured by flying pucks, there was no backup on the roster to fill his spot.
“When I got hit a few times, they would stop the game,” Schneck said. “The doctor would stitch me up and we would start again.”
Schneck, 83, called the Pioneers’ first championship “just superb” and he was back on campus Thursday to tour the hockey facilities. So much has changed — yet not everything.
“The players are bigger, faster, sharper and physically more fit because we have a lot of new science,” Schneck said. “But it’s still the same game and you’ve got to enjoy it.”
1960s — Forward Cliff Koroll
The turning point for DU’s 1968 national championship run can be traced back to a Christmas tournament held at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs where the Pioneers faced the Russian national team in the final.
Former DU forward Cliff Koroll (1964-68) of Saskatchewan said the Pioneers lost in an 8-2 blowout, but the team took note of the Russians’ incredible preparation. DU coach Murray Armstrong even adapted some aspects for his team.
“He started us on an off-ice program where before practice we would have to run a mile and do 100 pushups,” Koroll said. “We got in a lot better shape and we never lost a game after that. I think we won 24 games in a row to win the NCAA championship.”
1970s — Ron Grahame
Grahame grew up in British Columbia as a junior hockey player dreaming of playing collegiately in the U.S. and bolstered his recruitment by sending hand-written letters to the coaches at Michigan and Denver.
The Wolverines said Graham was too late for admission. However, Coach Armstrong had already traveled to see Graham play in person, and responded with his own letter and scholarship offer. The pair did not speak face-to-face until Graham arrived on campus.
Graham, a DU goalie (1969-73), earned All-American honors while the Pioneers made the NCAA postseason in three of his four seasons. Looking back now, Armstrong’s old-school coaching methods made Graham chuckle.
“Murray called goalies ‘almost hockey players,’” Graham said. “Your job was to stop the puck, and Murray used to say, ‘Excuses are for losers.’ So, if you felt like there was something that contributed to why the goal went in, you were probably better off to keep your mouth shut and say, ‘I should have had it.’”
1980s — Rod Summers
The former home of DU hockey was a converted airplane hangar with the student section located on a balcony above the visiting team’s goal. Summers, a DU defenseman (1986-90) from British Columbia, recalled it being packed for nearly every home game.
“It would get so rowdy at times that they had a netting to pull across the student section, so that they wouldn’t throw projectiles,” Summers said. “It was just an old barn that had a lot of history. We thought it was the greatest thing.”
DU reached the NCAA postseason just once in the decade with a surprise run to the 1986 Frozen Four during a program rebuild under coach Ralph Backstrom. Conditioning was paramount, as Summers said: “I trained as hard playing at DU as anywhere else I played.”
But the evolution of college hockey makes him a realist nowadays.
“I don’t think I could have played in today’s game,” Summers said. “I’m a big guy and I was part of the clutch-and-grab days of slowing people down. Now, the game is so fast and they’re so skilled.”
1990s — Angelo Ricci
Ricci, a Chicago native and forward, transferred midway through his freshman season from Wisconsin to join the DU program under Frank Serratore, whom Ricci played for previously in juniors. Their reunion was mired by a darker time for DU hockey. In 1991, Ricci’s sophomore season, the team finished with only nine wins.
“Denver was in a sort of down period at that time in the early 90s,” Ricci said. “Our freshman and sophomore years were pretty tough, but then we started to pick it up. … We struggled, but it wasn’t without trying.”
It wasn’t until Ricci’s senior season in 1995 under first-year coach George Gwozdecky that DU made the leap back into contention with a first-round NCAA tournament victory against New Hampshire.
“It was great to see the program get back on track,” Ricci said. “To help maybe propel it to the next level in the mid-90s and after was satisfying for us to go out on a good note and help build the tradition.”
2000s — Chris Butler
DU had won back-to-back national championships when Butler, a defenseman and St. Louis native, arrived on campus as a freshman in the fall of 2005. It didn’t take long to understand what led to the Pioneers’ success under Gwozdecky.
“Everything for us started in practice,” Butler said. “We always had different battle days and drills, but everything revolved around competition. That meant if you lost, you had to do a little skate, or pick up bottles, or hang the other guys’ gear up; little stuff like that. It bred a culture of wanting to win, wanting to work hard and competition.”
Butler now sees shades of that same culture under current coach David Carle.
“I’ve known the Carle family for a long time and to see what he’s done for that program; I think they have the right man in charge,” Butler said. “I think David is going to be one of those guys like George who is going to be there for a very long time and leaves a very significant footprint on the organization.”
2010s — Grant Arnold
Arnold, a forward from Centennial, graduated one season before the Pioneers’ last national championship in 2017 and folks around him were gracious in their sympathy. Arnold’s perspective, though, might surprise.
“When those guys won it the next year and I got 15 texts from the guys saying, ‘You were a huge part of this. You should get a ring, too.’ That was so awesome,” Arnold said. “Obviously, I would like to be the guy holding the trophy, but the guys holding skates that night aren’t the only ones who won a national championship. That was the vibe and energy.”
Arnold will be in attendance at alumni weekend to share a similar sentiment with those Pioneers who came before him.
“It’s going to be really special,” Arnold said. “When I was a captain at DU, I really understood the alumni and how much they care. You’re not just family with the guys you played with and the tradition is a lot longer and bigger than you individually.”