Head Coach George Gwozdecky
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Head coach George Gwozdecky marks his 13th season behind the bench for the seven-time national champion Denver Pioneers in 2006-07. Since Gwozdecky's arrival at DU in 1994, the Pioneers have solidified themselves as a perennial top-10 program. The Pioneers have captured two NCAA championships, three WCHA regular-season titles and two WCHA playoff titles during Gwozdecky's tenure. The Thunder Bay, Ont., native has led the Pioneers to nine 20-win seasons and five seasons with 25 or more wins.
As the only coach in NCAA history to win a hockey national title as a player, assistant coach and head coach, Gwozdecky has compiled a 276-176-36 (.602) record with the Pioneers. Gwozdecky-coached teams have reached the NCAA Tournament in seven of the last 14 years. DU has also captured eight Denver Cup titles under Gwozdecky, who boasts a 426-300-57 (.580) record in 20 seasons. Gwozdecky sports a 359-270-55 (.565) record coaching Div. 1 programs over 17 seasons, including two Spencer Penrose Awards as National Coach of the Year.
Gwozdecky's coaching expertise led the Pioneers back to national prominence with back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2004 and 2005. Entering the 2004 Frozen Four as underdogs, the Pioneers captured a come-from-behind win over UMD and then held off a 6-on-3 advantage in the final :78 seconds in a 1-0 victory over Maine in the championship game. The NCAA title was the first for DU since 1969. Gwozdecky's leadership carried the team to a 27-12-5 record, including his 200th win at DU against Northeastern on Oct. 18, 2004. For his accomplishments, Gwozdecky finished runner-up for the 2004 Spencer Penrose Award for the National Coach of the Year.
In 2005, the Pioneers became the first WCHA team since 1997 to capture the MacNaughton Cup, Broadmoor Trophy and national championship in the same season. Denver's 4-1 victory over North Dakota in the 2005 NCAA title game gave the school its seventh hockey national championship in 56 seasons of hockey. Gwozdecky was honored with the Spencer Penrose Award for National Coach of the Year for the second time and WCHA Coach of the Year for the third time. He captured his 400th career win on March 18 with a 2-1 (ot) decision against North Dakota at the WCHA Final Five.
DU's run at a third consecutive national championship ended with a respectable 21-15-3 overall mark in 2005-06. The Pioneers finished second in the WCHA regular season, but were ousted in the WCHA Playoffs. All-American defenseman Matt Carle became the first Pioneer to capture the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the nation's top player.
The Pioneers returned to the national scene in 2001-02, when they were picked to finish fifth in the annual Grand Forks Herald WCHA Coaches' Poll. Instead, his squad rewrote Denver hockey history, opening the season with nine consecutive wins, the best start in school history. Gwozdecky guided Denver to a 32-8-1 record and the Pioneers achieved their first No. 1 ranking in the modern history of the polls. DU also earned its first MacNaughton Cup since 1985-86 as WCHA champions and captured its first Broadmoor Trophy as WCHA playoff champs since 1999. It was the first time since 1990-91 that a WCHA school had won both the MacNaughton Cup and Broadmoor Trophy outright in the same season. The team was the fourth in school history to reach 30 wins in a season, and Gwozdecky earned his second WCHA Coach of the Year and was runner-up for the Spencer Penrose Award.
In 2000-01, Gwozdecky guided a young Pioneer team to a 19-15-4 mark, three wins better than the 1999-2000 squad. The Pioneers experienced the greatest turnaround of any team in college hockey in 1998-99. Denver went from a disappointing 11-25-2 record in '97-98 to finish with a 26-13-2 mark, marking the first time in the history of the WCHA that a team won more than 25 games after losing 25 the year before.
Gwozdecky led the 1996-97 Pioneers to a 24-13-4 record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Denver entered the tournament winning seven of its last eight games and was one of the hottest teams in the country before losing to eventual runner-up, Boston University, in the semifinals of the NCAA East Regional on an overtime goal.
In 1995-96, Gwozdecky led a young Denver team to a 22-14-3 overall record and a 17-12-3 mark (third) in the WCHA. The Pioneers also captured their fourth consecutive Denver Cup when they upended top-ranked Colorado College, 3-2, before a capacity crowd of 16,061 at McNichols Sports Arena. It was the largest crowd in Colorado history to witness a college hockey game.
After inheriting a team that finished ninth in the WCHA in 1993-94, Gwozdecky guided the Pioneers to the 1995 NCAA quarterfinals. The 1994-95 squad was picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll, yet Gwozdecky led the team to a second-place WCHA finish . For his efforts, Gwozdecky was honored as the WCHA's Coach of the Year. The winning percentage (.619) was the best for the program since 1985-86, and DU hosted the first round of the WCHA playoffs for the first time since 1987-88.
Gwozdecky came to Denver from Miami where he served as head coach for five seasons. In his first five years as a Div. 1 head coach, the two-time CCHA Coach of the Year posted an 83-94-19 (.468) record. During that time, Miami won the CCHA title for the first time in school history. In 1992-93, Gwozdecky guided the Redskins to their second consecutive CCHA championship berth, the school's first NCAA Tournament bid and their best record ever (27-9-5). Gwozdecky won the Spencer Penrose Award as National Coach of the Year and was named CCHA Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Gwozdecky served as an assistant coach at Michigan State following a head coaching stint at the Wisconsin-River Falls, an NAIA school, where he was 67-30-2 (.687) over three seasons.
Gwozdecky played wing for the University of Wisconsin's 1977 NCAA championship team, coached UW-River Falls to an NAIA title in 1983, and served as an assistant coach for Michigan State's 1986 team that won the NCAA crown.
To add to his distinguished list of accomplishments, Gwozdecky was honored on Oct. 22, 1994, as an inductee into the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame.
A 1978 Wisconsin graduate and four-year letterwinner, Gwozdecky earned his bachelor's degree in physical education. One year later he earned his master's of education from UW-River Falls. He and his wife, Bonnie, have a 13-year-old daughter, Adrienne.