Four WCHA coaches, including past winner George Gwozdecky of defending NCAA champion Denver, are among the list of nine candidates for the Spencer Penrose Award, given annually to the top coach in men’s Division I college hockey.
Gwozdecky, the 1993 winner as head coach at Miami, is joined by two other former winners among the nominees: Don Lucia of Minnesota, who won while coaching Colorado College in 1994, and Boston University’s Jack Parker, the 1975 and 1978 honoree, both while heading the Terrier program.
To be eligible for the award, a coach must either have been named Coach of the Year in his conference, or have led his team into the Frozen Four this season.
The Spencer Penrose Award is named in honor of the Colorado Springs, Colo., benefactor who built the Broadmoor Hotel complex, site of the first 10 NCAA hockey Championships. The 2005 Spencer Penrose Award will be presented at the American Hockey Coaches Association Coach of the Year Banquet on Saturday, April 23, in Naples, Fla.
2004-2005 Spencer Penrose Finalists
George Gwozdecky, Denver*#@
Dave Hakstol, North Dakota#
Mike Kemp, Nebraska-Omaha*
Don Lucia, Minnesota#@
Scott Owens, Colorado College#
Jack Parker, Boston University*@
Rand Pecknold, Quinnipiac*
Mike Schafer, Cornell*
Tom Serratore, Bemidji State*
* Conference Coach of the Year
# NCAA Frozen Four participant
@ Previous winner of the Spencer Penrose Award
