Bob Gray (ice hockey)

Robert Gray is a Canadian retired ice hockey goaltender who was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1964 NCAA Tournament.[1]

Bob Gray
Born 1940
Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Goaltender
Played for Michigan
Fort Wayne Komets
Seattle Totems
San Francisco Seals
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 1961–1972

Career

Gray was a three-year starter for Michigan, beginning his career in 1961. On a team led by Red Berenson, Gray split time with Dave Butts and helped Michigan to a second-place finish in the WCHA, earning a spot on the All-WCHA Second Team. The Wolverines also finished as runner-up in the conference Tournament and received the second western seed for the NCAA Tournament. Michigan was stunned by a 4–5 loss to Clarkson in the semifinal and finished the tournament in third place.

After Berenson's graduation the team declined sharply, ending up in last place the following year with a record of 7–14–3. During the year Gray again split time in goal, this time sharing the net with William Bieber. Because Gray's numbers had been far superior to Bieber's, the veteran was tasked with carrying the lion's share of starts during his senior season. Gray answered the bell and the Michigan offense had a miraculous recovery, scoring almost twice as many goals per game as they had the year before. Michigan finished atop the WCHA and, during the team's 12-game winning streak, Gray had a game for ages; in a 21–0 route of Ohio State, who were in their first year of varsity play, Gray was playing as a Forward and recorded a hat-trick.[2]

In the conference tournament Michigan was nearly knocked out by Michigan Tech in the semifinal and were soundly beaten by Denver in the championship. The poor performances did not bode well for the Wolverines as they entered the 1964 NCAA Tournament. They faced ECAC Champion Providence in the semifinals and were obviously the better team, despite winning by just a single goal.[3] They faced Denver for the championship and got off to a great start, scoring the first three goals of the game while Gray stopped 15 shots in the first period alone. Denver came close to tying the game twice but a 3-goal third period from the Maize and Blue put the game out of reach and Michigan won the national championship. Gray was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

After graduating, Gray played two years of professional hockey, serving as the backup goalie for the Fort Wayne Komets when the team won the 1965 Turner Cup. His last recorded appearance was for the Reno Aces in 1972. He was inducted into the Michigan Dekers Hall of Fame in 1990.[4]

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeague GPWLTMINGASOGAASV% GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
1961–62 Michigan WCHA —————420—.905 ————————
1962–63 Michigan WCHA —————440—.902 ————————
1963–64 Michigan WCHA 24———14446542.70.914 ————————
1964–65 Seattle Totems WHL 5——————2.80— ————————
1964–65 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 9————2412.67.898 ————————
1965–66 San Francisco Seals WHL ————————— ————————
1965–66 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 29————11513.92— ————————
1971–72 Reno Aces Independent ————————— ————————

Awards and honors
Award Year
All-WCHA Second Team 1961–62 [5]
NCAA All-Tournament First Team 1964 [6]

References
  1. "Awards - NCAA (Championship) Tournament MVP". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
  2. "Wolverines Plaster Ohio State Icers, 21-0!". The Michigan Daily. February 9, 1964. p. 6. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  3. "Puckmen Take NCAA Crown". The Michigan Daily. April 1, 1964. p. 7. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  4. "Bob Gray". Dekers Club. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  5. "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  6. "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
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