George Kirkwood
| George Kirkwood | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
1937 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | ||
| Weight | 155 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Played for | Denver | ||
| Playing career | 1959–1961 | ||
George Kirkwood is a Canadian retired ice hockey
National Championships
in the early 1960s.
Career
Kirkwood played junior hockey in his hometown of
All-WCHA First Team[2]
but was left off of the All-American roster as some believed his success was more a function of the team's dominance rather than his own play.
In the first
All-Tournament Second Team
for his steady performance in goal.
The next season Denver was a powerhouse who dominated almost every team they faced. The team won 30 of their 32 games with Kirkwood between the pipes for every minute. Kirkwood became the first goaltender to win 30 games in a season and set program records with a
1950
.
Despite having a year of eligibility left, Kirkwood ended his career after the 1961 season, perhaps knowing that he wasn't likely to play with a team as dominant as the '61 Pioneers ever again. He was inducted into the Denver Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007 and is still remembered as one of the best goaltenders ever to play for Maroon and Gold.[3]
Statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season
|
Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1954–55 | Red Deer Rustlers | WCJHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1955–56 | Edmonton Flyers | WHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1955–56 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WCJHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1956–57 | Edmonton Oil Kings | CAHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1959–60 | Denver | WCHA | 34 | 27 | 4 | 3 | — | — | 2 | 2.50 | .900 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 | Denver | WCHA | 32 | 30 | 1 | 1 | — | 59 | 4 | 1.84 | .910 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NCAA totals | 66 | 57 | 5 | 4 | — | — | 6 | 2.20 | .904 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All- First Team
|
1959–60 | [4] |
All-Tournament Second Team
|
1961
|
[5] |
| All- First Team
|
1960–61 | [4] |
| AHCA West All-American | 1960–61 | [6] |
References
- ^ "WCHA Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- ^ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- ^ "University of Denver Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2006". Denver Pioneers. June 29, 2007. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
- ^ a b "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
- ^ "1960-1961 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database