Introduction
George Gwozdecky (born July 17, 1953) is a Canadian ice hockey coach. He resigned as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL) in June 2015. He has recently accepted a job as the head hockey coach at Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, CO.
He was the head coach for the University of Denver Pioneers hockey team for 19 seasons, from 1994 until 2013. The Pioneers won 2 national championships (2004/2005) under his guidance, and won at least 20 games in each of the last 12 seasons in which he coached them. He joined the Pioneers as head coach in 1994.
He is a member of the prestigious Miami University "Cradle of Coaches", and is the only person to win the NCAA National Championship as a player (with Wisconsin in 1977), assistant coach (at Michigan State in 1986), and head coach with Denver (2004 and 2005).
He is a native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and is married to his wife, Bonnie. The couple's 23-year-old daughter Adrienne, attended the University of Denver and is a first year law student at the Georgetown University Law Center, in Washington, D.C..
College Head Coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin–River Falls Falcons (NCHA/WSUAC) (1981-82–1983-84) | |||||||||
| 1981-82 | Wisconsin–River Falls | 21-13-0 | 3rd/1st | ||||||
| 1982-83 | Wisconsin–River Falls | 24-6-1 | 2nd/1st | NAIA National Champion | |||||
| 1983-84 | Wisconsin–River Falls | 21-10-1 | 3rd/1st | ||||||
| Wisconsin–River Falls: | 66-29-2 | ||||||||
| Miami RedHawks (CCHA) (1989-90–1993-94) | |||||||||
| 1989-90 | Miami | 12-24-4 | 8-21-3 | 7th | CCHA Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1990-91 | Miami | 5-29-3 | 3-26-3 | 9th | |||||
| 1991-92 | Miami | 18-16-6 | 12-14-6 | 5th | CCHA Consolation Game (Loss) | ||||
| 1992-93 | Miami | 27-9-5 | 22-3-5 | 1st | NCAA West Regional Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1993-94 | Miami | 21-16-1 | 17-12-1 | 5th | CCHA Second Round | ||||
| Miami: | 83-94-19 | 62-76-18 | |||||||
| Denver Pioneers (WCHA) (1994-95–2012-13) | |||||||||
| 1994-95 | Denver | 25-15-2 | 18-12-2 | t-2nd | NCAA East Regional Semifinals | ||||
| 1995-96 | Denver | 22-14-3 | 17-12-3 | 3rd | WCHA Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1996-97 | Denver | 24-13-4 | 17-11-4 | t-4th | NCAA East Regional Semifinals | ||||
| 1997-98 | Denver | 11-25-2 | 8-18-2 | 8th | WCHA First Round | ||||
| 1998-99 | Denver | 26-13-2 | 15-11-2 | 3rd | NCAA East Regional Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1999-00 | Denver | 16-23-2 | 9-18-1 | 9th | WCHA First Round | ||||
| 2000-01 | Denver | 19-15-4 | 14-11-3 | 6th | WCHA First Round | ||||
| 2001-02 | Denver | 32-8-1 | 26-6-1 | 1st | NCAA West Regional Semifinals | ||||
| 2002-03 | Denver | 21-14-6 | 11-11-6 | 7th | WCHA First Round | ||||
| 2003-04 | Denver | 27-12-5 | 13-10-5 | t-4th | NCAA National Champion | ||||
| 2004-05 | Denver | 32-9-2 | 19-7-2 | t-1st | NCAA National Champion | ||||
| 2005-06 | Denver | 21-15-3 | 17-8-3 | t-2nd | WCHA First Round | ||||
| 2006-07 | Denver | 21-15-4 | 13-11-4 | 4th | WCHA First Round | ||||
| 2007-08 | Denver | 26-14-1 | 16-11-1 | 3rd | NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinals | ||||
| 2008-09 | Denver | 23-12-5 | 16-8-4 | 2nd | NCAA West Regional Semifinals | ||||
| 2009-10 | Denver | 27-10-4 | 19-5-4 | 1st | NCAA East Regional Semifinals | ||||
| 2010-11 | Denver | 25-12-5 | 17-8-3 | 2nd | NCAA Midwest Regional Final | ||||
| 2011-12 | Denver | 25-14-4 | 16-8-4 | 6th | NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinals | ||||
| 2012-13 | Denver | 20-14-5 | 13-9-5 | t-4th | NCAA Northeast Regional Semifinals | ||||
| Denver: | 443-267-64 | 294-195-59 | |||||||
| Total: | 592-390-85 | ||||||||
| National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||