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
Head coachN/A
ArenaUIC Pavilion
Chicago, Illinois
ColorsNavy blue and fire engine red[1]
   

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]

Illinois–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 1982–83 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 1984–85 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 21–17–1 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 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 1–10 in tournament play, never making it out of the opening round. When the 1995–96 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 2017 the Chicago-area and the entire state of Illinois has been left without a Division I program since the flames went belly-up.[9]

Season-by-season records[edit]

Source:[10]

Season Conference Record Pct. Position Conference
Tournament 		Coach
1966–67 NCAA 1–6–0 .143 — — John Kantarski
1967–68 NCAA 12–5–0 .706 — — John Kantarski
1968–69 NCAA 12–4–0 .750 — — John Kantarski
1969–70 NCAA 11–6–0 .647 — — John Kantarski
1970–71 NCAA 10–12–1 .457 — — John Kantarski
1971–72 NCAA 9–7–0 .563 — — John Kantarski
1972–73 NCAA 11–11–0 .500 — — John Kantarski
1973–74 NCAA 17–5–2 .750 — — John Kantarski
1974–75 NCAA 12–10–0 .545 — — John Kantarski
1975–76 NCAA 17–11–1 .603 — — John Kantarski
1976–77 NCAA 14–12–0 .538 — — John Kantarski
1977–78 NCAA 14–10–0 .583 — — John Kantarski
1978–79 NCAA 17–12–1 .583 — — John Kantarski
1979–80 NCAA 14–13–0 .519 — — John Kantarski
1980–81 NCAA 9–17–0 .346 — — John Kantarski
1981–82 Independent 7–24–0 .226 — — John Kantarski
1982–83 CCHA 6–28–2 .194 12th — Val Belmonte
1983–84 CCHA 5–29–1 .157 11th — Val Belmonte
1984–85 CCHA 17–23–0 .425 5th t-5th Val Belmonte
1985–86 CCHA 14–25–1 .363 7th t-5th Val Belmonte
1986–87 CCHA 21–17–1 .551 4th t-5th Val Belmonte
1987–88 CCHA 18–20–1 .474 6th t-5th Val Belmonte
1988–89 CCHA 23–14–5 .607 3rd 4th Val Belmonte
1989–90 CCHA 10–27–1 .276 9th — Val Belmonte
1990–91 CCHA 13–23–2 .368 8th t-5th Larry Pedrie
1991–92 CCHA 10–20–6 .361 7th t-5th Larry Pedrie
1992–93 CCHA 10–25–2 .297 9th t-7th Larry Pedrie
1993–94 CCHA 11–26–2 .308 9th t-7th Larry Pedrie
1994–95 CCHA 11–22–4 .351 8th t-6th Larry Pedrie
1995–96 CCHA 9–24–3 .292 11th — Larry Pedrie
30 Seasons — 365–488–36 .431 — — 3 Coaches

All-time coaching records[edit]

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1966–1982 John Kantarski 16 187–165–5 .531
1982–1990 Val Belmonte 8 114–183–12 .388
1990–1996 Larry Pedrie 6 64–140–19 .330
Totals 3 coaches 30 seasons 365–488–36 .431

Flames in the NHL[edit]

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

Source:[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ UIC Brand Guide (PDF). November 10, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  2. ^ "Hockey returns to UIC as student-organized club". UIC News. 2004-04-21. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  3. ^ "2012–13 CCHA Media Guide". CCHA. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  4. ^ "Val Belmonte Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  5. ^ "U. of Illinois-Chicago all-time player list". hockeydb.com.
  6. ^ "Belmonte quits UIC hockey job". Chicago Sun Times. 1990-04-12. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  7. ^ "Larry Pedrie Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  8. ^ "Hockey Appears Finished At Uic". Chicago Tribune. 1996-03-26. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  9. ^ "Despite surge in talent, Illinois lacking college hockey". Chicago Tribune. 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  10. ^ "John Kantarski Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  11. ^ "U. of Illinois-Chicago". Hockey DB. Retrieved March 14, 2019.

External links[edit]

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