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Marty Howe (ice hockey, born 1937)

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This article is about the college ice hockey player. For the WHA player, see Marty Howe.
Marty Howe
Born (1937-01-15)January 15, 1937
Regina, Saskatchewan, CAN
Died August 15, 2020(2020-08-15) (aged 83)
Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Defenseman
Played for Denver
Pittsburgh Hornets
San Francisco Seals
Vancouver Canucks
Denver Invaders
National team  United States
Playing career 1958–1967

Marty Howe was a Canadian-born, American ice hockey defenseman who was a two-time All-American for Denver[1] and helped the team win consecutive national championships in the early 1960s.

Career

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Howe grew up in Regina and played for his home town junior team, the Regina Pats. He helped the club win consecutive Abbott Cups in 1955 and '56. After a bid for a third title in his final season went unfulfilled, Howe matriculated south and began attending the University of Denver in 1957. As most players did, Howe spent his first year on the freshman team as the NCAA only allowed three seasons of varsity play for student athletes. Howe watched the Pioneers win their first national championship in 1958 and knew he would have a chance to win one himself the following year.

That offseason, the WIHL dissolved as a result of a disagreement between schools over recruiting practices. Howe was one of many players used by teams like Denver or North Dakota who arrived from Canada as over-aged athletes (20 years old or more) and some in the conference, particularly Minnesota, took issue with that policy. As a result, Denver was an independent program for the 1959 season and produced a stellar record, going 22–5–1. Unfortunately, due to the ease of their schedule, Denver was left out of the NCAA tournament despite possessing the best record of any western team.

The result was a swift mending of fences and the WIHL reconstituted as the WCHA. Marty Howe, now a junior, was a star of the team, the conference and college ice hockey as a whole when he was named as the most outstanding defenseman for Denver in 1960,[2] named to the inaugural All-WCHA First Team, and earned the first of his two All-American honors. Howe helped Denver finish atop their conference and then win both conference tournament games to earn the inaugural conference co-championship. The Pioneers received the top western seed for the NCAA tournament and won two fairly close contests to capture their second national title. Howe assisted on John MacMillan's game-winning goal with just under a minute to play and earned a spot on the All-Tournament First Team.[3]

As an encore, Marty Howe helped Denver produce one of the most outstanding seasons in the history of college hockey. Denver became the first team to win 30 games in a season by going 30–1–1 and was recognized by having five players named to the six spots on both the All-WCHA First Team and the All-American West Team. Howe's named appeared on both lists for the second consecutive season and he aided the Pioneers in their defense of a conference championship. Howe's team returned to the NCAA tournament as the heavy favorite and Denver did not disappoint. Denver dropped Minnesota 6–1 in the semifinal and then produced the most lopsided victory in NCAA championship history with a 12–2 drubbing of St. Lawrence.[4] Despite the huge number of goals scored, Howe did not record a point in the title game but he was named to the All-Tournament First Team nonetheless.

After graduating with a degree in accounting, Howe continued his playing career. He appeared briefly with the Pittsburgh Hornets before travelling west and spending several seasons in the Western Hockey League. Howe retired in 1964 but returned three years later as a member of the US National Team. He played at the 1967 Ice Hockey World Championships and finished tied for second in team scoring with 5 points in 7 games.[5] The team finished 5th, a slight improvement over the previous year, but not good enough to keep Howe for another tournament.

Howe was inducted into the Denver Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.[6]

Personal

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Marty met his wife Diane while at Denver and the pair raised three daughters, Vanessa, Melissa and Diedre.

Career statistics

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    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1954–55 Regina Pats WCJHL — — — — — — — — — —
1955–56 Regina Pats WCJHL — — — — — — — — — —
1956–57 Regina Pats SJHL 51 5 19 24 89 — — — — —
1958–59 Denver NCAA — — — — — — — — — —
1959–60 Denver WCHA — 13 21 34 — — — — — —
1960–61 Denver WCHA — — — — — — — — — —
1961–62 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 26 0 3 3 25 — — — — —
1961–62 San Francisco Seals WHL 36 2 10 12 28 2 0 0 0 0
1962–63 Vancouver Canucks WHL 68 3 12 15 78 7 1 2 3 6
1963–64 Denver Invaders WHL 70 11 26 37 74 6 2 5 7 29
NCAA Totals 76 32 48 80 — — — — — —

International

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Year Team   GP G A Pts PIM
1967 United States 7 3 2 5 36

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-WCHA First Team 1959–60 [7]
AHCA West All-American 1959–60 [1]
NCAA All-Tournament First Team 1960, 1961 [3]
All-WCHA First Team 1960–61 [7]
AHCA West All-American 1960–61 [8]

References

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  1. ^ a b "1959-1960 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  2. ^ "Denver Hockey Mourns the Loss of Hall-of-Famer Marty Howe". Denver Pioneers. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  4. ^ "Denver Pioneers 2007-08 Hockey Yearbook" (PDF). Denver Pioneers. Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  5. ^ "Team USA - Ice Hockey World Championships 1967 - Player Stats". Quant Hockey. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  6. ^ "University of Denver Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2001". Denver Pioneers. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  8. ^ "1960-1961 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
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