UIC Flames men's ice hockey
| UIC Flames men's ice hockey | |
|---|---|
| University | University of Illinois at Chicago |
| Conference | CCHA |
| Headย coach | N/A |
| Arena | UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois |
| Colors | Navy 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
[edit]IllinoisโChicago 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 1982โ83 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 1984โ85 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 21โ17โ1 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 1โ10 in tournament play, never making it out of the opening round. When the 1995โ96 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
[edit]Source:[10]
| Season | Conference | Record | Pct. | Position | Conference Tournament |
Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966โ67 | NCAA | 1โ6โ0 | .143 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1967โ68 | NCAA | 12โ5โ0 | .706 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1968โ69 | NCAA | 12โ4โ0 | .750 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1969โ70 | NCAA | 11โ6โ0 | .647 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1970โ71 | NCAA | 10โ12โ1 | .457 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1971โ72 | NCAA | 9โ7โ0 | .563 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1972โ73 | NCAA | 11โ11โ0 | .500 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1973โ74 | NCAA | 17โ5โ2 | .750 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1974โ75 | NCAA | 12โ10โ0 | .545 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1975โ76 | NCAA | 17โ11โ1 | .603 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1976โ77 | NCAA | 14โ12โ0 | .538 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1977โ78 | NCAA | 14โ10โ0 | .583 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1978โ79 | NCAA | 17โ12โ1 | .583 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1979โ80 | NCAA | 14โ13โ0 | .519 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1980โ81 | NCAA | 9โ17โ0 | .346 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1981โ82 | Independent | 7โ24โ0 | .226 | โ | โ | John Kantarski |
| 1982โ83 | CCHA | 6โ28โ2 | .194 | 12th | โ | Val Belmonte |
| 1983โ84 | CCHA | 5โ29โ1 | .157 | 11th | โ | Val Belmonte |
| 1984โ85 | CCHA | 17โ23โ0 | .425 | 5th | t-5th | Val Belmonte |
| 1985โ86 | CCHA | 14โ25โ1 | .363 | 7th | t-5th | Val Belmonte |
| 1986โ87 | CCHA | 21โ17โ1 | .551 | 4th | t-5th | Val Belmonte |
| 1987โ88 | CCHA | 18โ20โ1 | .474 | 6th | t-5th | Val Belmonte |
| 1988โ89 | CCHA | 23โ14โ5 | .607 | 3rd | 4th | Val Belmonte |
| 1989โ90 | CCHA | 10โ27โ1 | .276 | 9th | โ | Val Belmonte |
| 1990โ91 | CCHA | 13โ23โ2 | .368 | 8th | t-5th | Larry Pedrie |
| 1991โ92 | CCHA | 10โ20โ6 | .361 | 7th | t-5th | Larry Pedrie |
| 1992โ93 | CCHA | 10โ25โ2 | .297 | 9th | t-7th | Larry Pedrie |
| 1993โ94 | CCHA | 11โ26โ2 | .308 | 9th | t-7th | Larry Pedrie |
| 1994โ95 | CCHA | 11โ22โ4 | .351 | 8th | t-6th | Larry Pedrie |
| 1995โ96 | CCHA | 9โ24โ3 | .292 | 11th | โ | Larry Pedrie |
| 30 Seasons | โ | 365โ488โ36 | .431 | โ | โ | 3 Coaches |
All-time coaching records
[edit]| Tenure | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966โ1982 | John Kantarski | 16 | 187โ165โ5 | .531 |
| 1982โ1990 | Val Belmonte | 8 | 114โ183โ12 | .388 |
| 1990โ1996 | Larry Pedrie | 6 | 64โ140โ19 | .330 |
| Totals | 3 coaches | 30 seasons | 365โ488โ36 | .431 |
Flames in the NHL
[edit]| Player | Position | Team(s) | Years | Games | Stanley Cups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wade Campbell | Defenseman | WPG, BOS | 1982โ1988 | 213 | 0 |
| Shawn Cronin | Defenseman | WSH, WPG, PHI, SJS | 1988โ1995 | 292 | 0 |
| Mike Rucinski | Center | CHI | 1987โ1989 | 1 | 0 |
| Ray Staszak | Forward | DET | 1985โ1986 | 4 | 0 |
Source:[11]
References
[edit]- โ UIC Brand Guide (PDF). November 10, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- โ "Hockey returns to UIC as student-organized club". UIC News. April 21, 2004. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- โ "2012โ13 CCHA Media Guide". CCHA. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- โ "Val Belmonte Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- โ "U. of Illinois-Chicago all-time player list". hockeydb.com.
- 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.
- โ "Larry Pedrie Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- โ "Hockey Appears Finished At Uic". Chicago Tribune. March 26, 1996. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- โ "Despite surge in talent, Illinois lacking college hockey". Chicago Tribune. October 4, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- โ "John Kantarski Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- โ "U. of Illinois-Chicago". Hockey DB. Retrieved March 14, 2019.