After a 19-year tenure as the Denver men’s hockey head coach which included two national championships, 59-year-old George Gwozdecky has been fired and the school will pay the remaining year on his contract, according to multiple sources.
Gwozdecky was set to complete the final year on a 12-year contract after next season, but before the season, he told multiple media outlets, including the Denver Post, that he thought an extension was forthcoming.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to be the varsity hockey coach at the University of Denver for the past 19 years,” Gwozdecky said in the school’s release. “I’m extremely proud of the work that we have done to continue to build on the great Pioneer hockey tradition. Our consistency of success on the ice and in the classroom over the years has been a focal point of our work and I am very proud of what we have achieved. I will forever cherish the relationships that we have built in the Denver community with our fans, our staff and most importantly our former and current players. I want to wish them all the best.”
The Pioneers, who have boasted back-to-back 20-win seasons in the past 12 seasons, are the only Division I team to have achieved this feat, however they recently lost the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the past six years, which is said to be a reason why Gwozdecky was fired, according to sources quoted in the Post.
In his tenure at DU, Gwozdecky compiled a 443-267-64 record, including two national championships, three WCHA regular season championships and four WCHA playoff titles. Since his arrival in 1994, Gwozdecky has made the Pioneers a perennial top-10 team
“We certainly wish George the best in his future endeavors and we are thankful for his 19 years at the helm of our hockey program,” said vice chancellor for athletics and recreation Peg Bradley-Doppes in interviews with other outlets.
“He certainly had his fair share of success, returning the program to the pinnacle of the collegiate hockey world during our great run in the middle of the previous decade. In addition, he has always run our program with class and professionalism, which has certainly made our fans proud to be Pioneer supporters.
“We must now turn our attention toward a new direction for our hockey program with another innovative coach taking the lead for our inaugural season in the newly formed National Collegiate Hockey Conference,” Bradley-Doppes said.
Many former DU hockey players weighed in on the news after the release yesterday.
Former defenseman Matt Laatsch who was part of the 2004 and 2005 national championships and a captain for the second, now a scout for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks expressed his disappointment in the decision to release Gwozdecky.
“I don’t think there’s many coaches in last 20 years that have won two national championships or (three) WCHA regular-season championship and (four) WCHA playoff titles,” said Laatsch in an interview with the Denver Post. “People can say what they want, but he’s Pioneer hockey.
“Sad day for me and sad day for a lot of teammates. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Coach and his entire staff, past and present. Coach and those guys made the program what is is. Just a shame, a shame.”
Laatsch’s former teammates Nick Larson and Greg Keith each expressed similar sentiments to the Denver Post.
“What Gwoz has done for the hockey program — most coaches could only aspire to do that. For him to turn the University of Denver into an NCAA Tournament juggernaut is relevant,” said Larson to the Post. “I think it’s really sad this is the direction the school is headed. Gwoz is as first-class and honest as anybody I know. If I were to run a program, I would model it after him. [DU] will have a tough time running a program as clean and having the success he’s had. It’s a really sad day for George and his staff.”
“Our team was special, we knew we could play with the best and win. Gwoz was able to get the best out of our guys and focus us on winning a national championship. He taught us to believe in ourselves,” said Keith to the Post.
Denver will host a press conference today at 11 a.m. and more coverage is to follow on duclarion.com.
