Bowling Green State University is celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the BGSU men’s ice hockey team that won the 1984 NCAA National Championship.
The celebration will happen on campus on Saturday, Feb. 24 around game two of the Michigan Tech Series.
Back on campus to headline the celebration will be hall of fame head coach Jerry York and members of the 1983-84 Bowling Green men’s ice hockey NCAA title team.
The team will be honored at the home game against Michigan Tech on Saturday, Feb. 24. Puck drop is at 7:07 p.m.
More information about the in-game celebration will be released at a later time. You can buy tickets for Saturday’s game by clicking here.
The 1983-84 team was led by captains Mike Pikul and Wayne Wilson, both seniors on the squad. The Falcons captured a 34-8-2 regular season record and 22-4-2 CCHA record, to then go on and become the NCAA National Champions.
At one point in the season, the Falcons tallied a 17-game win streak, spanning from October 23 to January 7 and were ranked number one week after week. Their streak stopped with an overtime victory by Michigan on January 4. The Falcons went on to finish the second half of the season with an 11-3-2 record and win their third consecutive CCHA title.
The 1983-84 Bowling Green Hockey team won the first and only National Championship for BGSU in a 5-4 win over Minnesota-Duluth on March 24, 1984, in Lake Placid, New York.
The National Title game went into quadruple overtime lasting 97:11. With about two minutes left to play, Wayne Wilson dumped the puck around the boards, the UMD goalie skated behind the net to play the puck which took a bounce and popped out in front of the net.
John Samaski tapped the puck in the net to tie the game at four with 1:47 to play in regulation. Gino Cavallini called the game at 7:11 in the fourth overtime when he converted a pass from Dan Kane to back-hand the puck into the net.
To this day, the National Title game between Bowling Green and Minnesota Duluth is the longest title game in NCAA Ice Hockey history.
The 24 names on the 1983-84 squad all had pivotal roles on the ice. Five players scored 50 or more points, six others had 30 or more and five had scored in the double digits.
On the defensive end, the Falcons held opponents to three goals a game while the offensive unit averaged five goals a game. While in goal, four goaltenders were rotating in and out of the cage. Goaltender Gary Kruzich was awarded the most valuable player of the NCAA Tournament.
Dane Kane (72 points) and Garry Galley (67 points) lead the Falcons’ point production and were selected to the Titan West All-American team. The CCHA all-star team included Kane, Galley, John Samanski and Dave Ellett. The 1983-84 team was inducted into the BGSU Hall of Fame in 1993.
From the coaching staff to the players, the 1983-84 Falcons Ice Hockey team remains one of the most elite groups to come through Bowling Green State University.
Head Coach Jerry York, 1979-94 (342-248-31, 250-171-25 CCHA) was entering his fifth season and compiled an 84-65-10 record going into the 1983-84 season.
Going into his fifth season, the Falcons were back-to-back CCHA Champions and consistently ranked in the top-10 for the past two seasons.
York led the Falcons to a 34-8-2 record and a 22-4-2 CCHA record, finishing first in the CCHA. York was inducted into the BGSU hall of fame in 2003 and is currently the winningest coach in NCAA hockey with over 1,000 wins.
During the 1983-84 season, York was accompanied by assistant Coaches Buddy Powers and the late Terry Flanagan. Graduate Assistant Peter Johnson was also a member of the staff. Assistant Coach Buddy Powers is currently a Volunteer Assistant for the 2023-24 Falcon Hockey team.
