After completing his two-year contract with the Lightning over the summer, Gwozdecky; his wife, Bonnie; and their golden retriever, Bea, drove back to Denver, where he had spent 19 years coaching the university’s team, the Pioneers.

He did not have a plan for the next stage of his career. A longtime former assistant, Steve Miller, had asked Gwozdecky for counsel about jobs he was considering, which included the opening at Valor. When Miller took a position at the Air Force Academy, Gwozdecky contacted Valor to ask if he could help in its coaching search.

Until Miller approached him, Gwozdecky had known little about the school, even though his home is only seven minutes from campus. How little? He raised his right hand, the thumb and index finger almost touching.

“I didn’t even know Valor had hockey,” Gwozdecky said.

He talked with Heiner for 90 minutes and then asked if they could meet again the next day because he had more questions.

“Actually, he did more interviewing of me — why I was here, the school history, our desires,” Heiner said, adding that the hockey program was at “a pretty low point” at the time.