CHN Coach of the Year: Jim Montgomery

CHN Staff Report

PRINCETON, N.J.  In just four seasons as head coach at Denver, Jim Montgomery has led the team to four straight NCAA tournaments and two straight Frozen Fours.

This season, the Pioneers have surpassed 30 wins for the first time since their last national championship season in 2005.

When Denver decided not to bring back successful coach George Gwozdecky in 2013, the move was controversial in the eyes of many. But there's no question Denver made a tremendous hire in Montgomery.

Also See: Year-by-Year List of : Year-by-Year List of CHN Award Winners

Denver will face Notre Dame in the Frozen Four semifinals next Thursday. Whether the team takes the final step under Montgomery remains to be seen, but there's no question they are prepared, and demonstrated that at the Midwest Regional last weekend, in two dominating wins against Michigan Tech and Penn State.

"Last year I was on cloud nine," Montgomery said about reaching the Frozen Four in 2016. "Our team didn’t come down from cloud nine until the Saturday last year of the Frozen Four. Right now, I am not on cloud nine. I am already starting to think about Notre Dame. The experience of having been there, you are just hungrier to go further and to finish it off."

Montgomery was a standout player at Maine, winning a national championship there in 1993, when he famously had a third-period hat trick to rally his team past Lake Superior State in the final game. He had 20 or more goals in each of his four seasons at Maine, including 32 in his senior year.

He went on to a lengthy pro career, including 122 NHL games. He started his coaching career as an assistant with Notre Dame and Rensselaer, and then became a head coach in the USHL where he won two championships in three seasons.