Celebrate the Legacy Team of the Week
November 14, 2012 02:30 PM
1980 CCHA Champions - Northern Michigan Wildcats
Led by senior forward Bill Joyce, junior captain Walt Kyle, sophomore forward Steve Bozek, senior defensemen Tom Laidlaw and Don Waddell and senior goaltender Steve Weeks, Northern Michigan finished the 1979-80 regular season in first place (17-3-0) in the six-team CCHA, five points ahead of second-place Ohio State.
In the playoffs the Rick Comley-coached Wildcats knocked off fourth-seeded Bowling Green at home, 11-3 and 3-3, in a two-game total goals semifinal. In the CCHA Championship in Marquette, Northern Michigan beat third-seeded Ferris State, 7-3 and 8-6, in a two-game total goals series.
In the NCAA Tournament in Providence, R.I., the Wildcats beat Minnesota, 4-3, and Cornell, 5-4, before losing to North Dakota in the final, 5-2. Northern Michigan reached the NCAA Final quicker than any college program in history and was the highest NCAA Tournament finish for any CCHA team at that time.
Comley was named CCHA Coach of the Year that season and also received the Spencer Penrose Memorial Trophy as the Division I National Coach of the Year. Joyce finished the season with 41 goals and 96 points, Bozek finished with 42 goals and 89 points and Weeks was named CCHA Player of the Year.
Walt Kyle is currently the head coach of Northern Michigan, while his brother John, also a member of the 1980 Wildcats championship team, is an assistant coach.
As part of the ‘Celebrate the Legacy’ final season, the CCHA is looking for all the players who have their name engraved on the Mason Cup, the CCHA’s playoff championship trophy.