John Mariucci
Encyclopedia
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player, administrator and coach. Mariucci was born in Eveleth, Minnesota
Eveleth, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,865 people, 1,717 households, and 971 families residing in the city. The population density was 611.0 people per square mile . There were 1,965 housing units at an average density of 310.6 per square mile...
. He attended the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
where he played for both the hockey and football teams. He was named an All-American in hockey in 1940. Mariucci was inducted into the inaugural 1973 class of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame
United States Hockey Hall of Fame
The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the rich history of the game in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials and teams....
and was elected to the NHL Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
as a builder in 1985.
Playing career
After starring for the Eveleth hockey and football teams, Mariucci would go onto college at the University of MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
where he would play both sports - leading his football squad to an undefeated AAU
Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities is an organization of leading research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education...
championship in 1940. Mariucci played for the Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
for five seasons and would be the team captain in 1945-46 and 1947-48. Mariucci would be known primarily as a defensive-minded bruiser, finishing with only 11 goals and 34 assists in 223 games, but would total 308 penalty minutes
Penalty (ice hockey)
A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,...
. He would lose three seasons to the war (1942-43 through 1944-45), but would play two seasons for the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League. Mariucci's best season with the Black Hawks would come in 1946-47 when he would play in 52 of the team's 60 games and finish with 9 goals and 11 assists and his 110 penalty minutes would be second in the league to Gus Mortson
Gus Mortson
James Angus Gerald "Old Hardrock" Mortson is a former NHL defenceman.-Awards and achievements:*1947 Stanley Cup Championship *1948 Stanley Cup Championship...
.
On October 28, 1948, Chicago would trade Mariucci to the St. Louis Flyers
St. Louis Flyers
The St. Louis Flyers were a minor league ice hockey team, based in St. Louis, Missouri, playing home games at the St. Louis Arena in the city's Central West End, across from Forest Park....
of the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
for cash. After one season in St. Louis, on September 4, 1949, Mariucci would be traded to the Minneapolis Millers
Minneapolis Millers (AHA)
The Minneapolis Millers were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Minneapolis Arena. The Millers originated in the Central Hockey League as a semi-professional team from the 1925-26 season. The team moved to the American Hockey Association along with...
in the United States Hockey League (USHL)
United States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League is the top junior ice hockey league in the United States. The USHL has 16 member teams located in the Midwestern United States, consisting of players who are 20 years of age and younger...
, again for cash. He would spend the 1950-51 season with the USHL St. Paul Saints
St. Paul Saints
The St. Paul Saints are a professional baseball team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the United States. The Saints are a member of the North Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...
and would then return to the Millers (this time in the All-American Hockey League) for the 1951-52 season before retiring.
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Coaching career
After his professional playing career ended, Mariucci became the head coach of the Minnesota Golden GophersMinnesota Golden Gophers
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are the college sports team for the University of Minnesota. The university fields both men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country, gymnastics, golf, ice hockey, swimming, tennis, and track and field. Men's-specific sports include baseball, football, and...
hockey team. He was noted for not attempting to sign Canadian players for his hockey teams, but instead relying on home-grown talent from Minnesota. This helped to grow youth and high school hockey programs in the state of Minnesota. He was coach at the university from the 1952–53 season until the 1965–66 season, except for the 1955–56 season in which he was the head coach of the US Olympic team that won a silver medal. Mariucci's best Gopher team would come in 1954-55 when Minnesota would advance all the way to the NCAA finals before losing to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
, 5-4 in overtime.
In 1967, he was named the assistant to general manager for the Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
with Glen Sonmor
Glen Sonmor
Glen Sonmor is a former professional hockey player, scout and coach.-Early life:In high school, Sonmor played for Moose Jaw and was a multi-sport star; playing point guard in basketball, quarterback in football and left wing in hockey, as well as pitching in semi-pro baseball...
becoming the Gophers' coach. He eventually would work for Lou Nanne
Lou Nanne
Louis Vincent Nanne is a retired ice hockey defenceman and general manager who has made significant contributions to hockey in the United States.- Early life :...
, one of his Gopher Hockey players, and held the position with the North Stars until his death in 1987. He returned to the international scene as the head coach of the United States team at the 1976 and 1977 Ice Hockey World Championships
Ice Hockey World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual international tournament. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European...
.
The University of Minnesota honored him by first renaming the hockey arena in Williams Arena
Williams Arena
Williams Arena, located on the Twin Cities main campus of the University of Minnesota is the home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers men's and women's basketball teams, and the men's and women's hockey teams until 1992, when the hockey teams received their own buildings...
after him and later when a new hockey arena was opened in 1993, the school transferred his name to that one as well, Mariucci Arena
Mariucci Arena
Mariucci Arena is the home arena for the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team of the University of Minnesota. The arena is located on the Minneapolis campus and seats approximately 10,000 fans...
. In 1983, the John Mariucci Award, began to be awarded to the Minnesota High school coach of the year, as selected by the state's hockey coaches. Mariucci is immortalized as the "Godfather of Minnesota Hockey".
Career statistics
--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1938-39 U. of Minnesota NCAA 0 0 0 0 0
1940-41 Providence Reds AHL 17 3 3 6 15
1940-41 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 24 0 5 5 33 5 0 2 2 16
1941-42 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 46 5 8 13 64 3 0 0 0 0
1942-43 U.S. Coast Guard Cutters EHL 0 0 0 0 0
1943-44 U.S. Coast Guard Cutters EHL 0 0 0 0 0
1945-46 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 50 3 8 11 58 4 0 1 1 10
1946-47 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 52 2 9 11 110 -- -- -- -- --
1947-48 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 51 1 4 5 63 -- -- -- -- --
1948-49 St. Louis Flyers AHL 68 12 30 42 74 7 0 1 1 12
1949-50 Minneapolis Millers USHL 67 8 24 32 87 7 0 2 2 23
1950-51 St. Paul Saints USHL 59 2 28 30 85 4 0 0 0 0
1951-52 Minneapolis Millers AAHL 39 18 31 49 45
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NHL Totals 223 11 34 45 328 12 0 3 3 26
External links
- Gopher Hockey History Coaches Info
- http://www.mshsca.org/hockey/mariucciaward.html