DU announced yesterday at 11 a.m. that Jim Montgomery will become the eighth Pioneer head hockey coach the program has seen, just two weeks after his predecessor, George Gwozdecky, was released as the men’s head hockey coach.
“From the onset of our search, Jim Montgomery was at the top of our list, and it is an absolute pleasure to welcome him to the Pioneer family,” said vice chancellor for athletics and recreation Peg Bradley-Doppes.
“Jim has all of the attributes needed to successfully take the reins of our hockey program – a commitment to excellence, integrity and superb hockey acumen to name just a few. He has won at every level, and most importantly, he has comported himself with class and dignity at every stop. With this hire, we have landed a coach who has the experience and enthusiasm to guide our talented student-athletes to excel in the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference,” said Bradley-Doppes.
Gwozdecky’s top two assistant coaches, associate head coach Steve Miller and goaltending specialist David Lassonde will stay on with the program under Montgomery. Miller was with Gwozdecky all 19 years and has been at DU for 23 seasons.
Forty-three year-old Montgomery is currently the head coach/general manager of the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League (Junior-A amateur).
He coached the Fighting Saints to the Clark Cup championships during his first season and was recognized as the USHL General Manager of the Year, an award voted on by his peers. Montgomery led the Fighting Saints to a 45-11-8 record this season and clinched the Eastern Conference Championship and regular-season USHL title.
Prior to his time with the Fighting Saints, Montgomery coached in the collegiate division as an assistant coach at Notre Dame during the 2005-2006 season and at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 2006-2010 after wrapping up a 12-year professional career.
Montgomery played 122 NHL games with five teams in six years, including the St. Louis Blues, the Montreal Canadiens, the Philadelphia Flyers, the San Jose Sharks and the Dallas Stars.
Preceding his professional career, Montgomery played at Maine, where he remains the all-time leading scorer with 301 points on 103 goals and 198 assists in 170 games over a four year career ending in 1993 and is one of only three players to have his jersey retired at Alfond Arena.
He also led the 1992-1993 team as the captain to the school’s first NCAA championship. The team went 42-1-2 that season and Montgomery was a Hobey Baker Award finalist.
“I am honored to become the eighth head coach of the University of Denver’s storied hockey program,” said Montgomery. “I look forward to building upon the tradition of excellence created over the past 60 years by Murray Armstrong, and continued through the decades with other outstanding coaches, most notably George Gwozdecky – all have been blessed with some incredibly talented student-athletes who have played at DU. The vision and leadership of Chancellor Coombe and Athletic Director Peg Bradley-Doppes for the University of Denver and its student-athletes has me excited about what we can achieve together.”
