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UIC Flames men's ice hockey

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UIC Flames men's ice hockey
UIC Flames athletic logo
UniversityUniversity of Illinois at Chicago
ConferenceCCHA
Headย coachN/A
ArenaUIC Pavilion
Chicago, Illinois
ColorsNavy blueย andย fire engine red[1]
ย ย ย 
Conference tournament champions
WIHA: 1979

The UIC Flames men's ice hockey was an NCAA Division I ice hockey team that played in the CCHA for most of their 15-year tenure.

History

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Illinoisโ€“Chicago began sponsoring men's ice hockey in 1966 and stayed with the lesser-classified teams when the NCAA created the tier system in the 1970s.[2] After fifteen years in the second tier the Flames jumped to Division I, playing as an independent for one season before joining the CCHA for the 1982โ€“83 season.[3] With their new coach Val Belmonte[4] the team had difficulty competing in a major conference in the early years, finishing dead last in the CCHA their first two seasons. By 1984โ€“85 the Flames had climbed into the middle of the conference standings aided by top 10 scorer (and future NHLer) Ray Staszak, and their all-time leading defenseman Darin Banister.[5] Two years later the Flames produced their first winning season, going 21โ€“17โ€“1 and winning their first postseason game (though they still couldn't get out of the conference quarterfinals). UIC finally managed to get into the CCHA semifinals in 1989 but after a dreadful season the following year Belmonte was out as coach.[6]

Larry Pedrie was brought in as the next head coach[7] and while the Flames saw a slight improvement in his first season UIC would remain a bottom-feeder for the duration of his tenure. The Flames had a sub-.400 record every season over the next six years and, though they would make the CCHA tournament every year from 1991 through '95, they went 1โ€“10 in tournament play, never making it out of the opening round. When the 1995โ€“96 season rolled around the Flames were seven years removed from a winning season and virtually irrelevant in college hockey circles. More importantly the program had lost the university around $600,000 the year before and UIC did not have another major program to balance out the books.[8] With the administration believing basketball to be a better investment the ice hockey program was discontinued after the season.

UIC Hockey was broadcast from 1983-84 through the final season of 1995-96 with Les Grobstein handing play by play. Chris Madsen and John Kelley filled in when Grobstein had a conflict with UIC Basketball.

The Flames would return to the ice in 2004 as a club team, but as of 2025 the Chicago area and the entire state of Illinois has been left without a Division I program since the Flames program ended.[9]

Season-by-season records

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Source:[10]

Season Conference Record Pct. Position Conference
Tournament
Coach
1966โ€“67NCAA1โ€“6โ€“0.143โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1967โ€“68NCAA12โ€“5โ€“0.706โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1968โ€“69NCAA12โ€“4โ€“0.750โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1969โ€“70NCAA11โ€“6โ€“0.647โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1970โ€“71NCAA10โ€“12โ€“1.457โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1971โ€“72NCAA9โ€“7โ€“0.563โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1972โ€“73NCAA11โ€“11โ€“0.500โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1973โ€“74NCAA17โ€“5โ€“2.750โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1974โ€“75NCAA12โ€“10โ€“0.545โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1975โ€“76NCAA17โ€“11โ€“1.603โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1976โ€“77NCAA14โ€“12โ€“0.538โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1977โ€“78NCAA14โ€“10โ€“0.583โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1978โ€“79NCAA17โ€“12โ€“1.583โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1979โ€“80NCAA14โ€“13โ€“0.519โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1980โ€“81NCAA9โ€“17โ€“0.346โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1981โ€“82Independent7โ€“24โ€“0.226โ€”โ€”John Kantarski
1982โ€“83CCHA6โ€“28โ€“2.19412thโ€”Val Belmonte
1983โ€“84CCHA5โ€“29โ€“1.15711thโ€”Val Belmonte
1984โ€“85CCHA17โ€“23โ€“0.4255tht-5thVal Belmonte
1985โ€“86CCHA14โ€“25โ€“1.3637tht-5thVal Belmonte
1986โ€“87CCHA21โ€“17โ€“1.5514tht-5thVal Belmonte
1987โ€“88CCHA18โ€“20โ€“1.4746tht-5thVal Belmonte
1988โ€“89CCHA23โ€“14โ€“5.6073rd4thVal Belmonte
1989โ€“90CCHA10โ€“27โ€“1.2769thโ€”Val Belmonte
1990โ€“91CCHA13โ€“23โ€“2.3688tht-5thLarry Pedrie
1991โ€“92CCHA10โ€“20โ€“6.3617tht-5thLarry Pedrie
1992โ€“93CCHA10โ€“25โ€“2.2979tht-7thLarry Pedrie
1993โ€“94CCHA11โ€“26โ€“2.3089tht-7thLarry Pedrie
1994โ€“95CCHA11โ€“22โ€“4.3518tht-6thLarry Pedrie
1995โ€“96CCHA9โ€“24โ€“3.29211thโ€”Larry Pedrie
30 Seasons โ€” 365โ€“488โ€“36 .431 โ€” โ€” 3 Coaches

All-time coaching records

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Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1966โ€“1982John Kantarski16187โ€“165โ€“5.531
1982โ€“1990Val Belmonte8114โ€“183โ€“12.388
1990โ€“1996Larry Pedrie664โ€“140โ€“19.330
Totals 3 coaches 30 seasons 365โ€“488โ€“36 .431

Flames in the NHL

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Player Position Team(s) Years Games Stanley Cups
Wade Campbell Defenseman WPG, BOS 1982โ€“1988 213 0
Shawn Cronin Defenseman WSH, WPG, PHI, SJS 1988โ€“1995 292 0
Mike Rucinski Center CHI 1987โ€“1989 1 0
Ray Staszak Forward DET 1985โ€“1986 4 0

Source:[11]

References

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  1. โ†‘ UIC Brand Guide (PDF). November 10, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  2. โ†‘ "Hockey returns to UIC as student-organized club". UIC News. April 21, 2004. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  3. โ†‘ "2012โ€“13 CCHA Media Guide". CCHA. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  4. โ†‘ "Val Belmonte Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  5. โ†‘ "U. of Illinois-Chicago all-time player list". hockeydb.com.
  6. โ†‘ "Belmonte quits UIC hockey job". Chicago Sun Times. April 12, 1990. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017 โ€“ via HighBeam Research.
  7. โ†‘ "Larry Pedrie Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  8. โ†‘ "Hockey Appears Finished At Uic". Chicago Tribune. March 26, 1996. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  9. โ†‘ "Despite surge in talent, Illinois lacking college hockey". Chicago Tribune. October 4, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  10. โ†‘ "John Kantarski Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  11. โ†‘ "U. of Illinois-Chicago". Hockey DB. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
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