(AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)
UPDATE (6/21, 7 p.m. CT): George Gwozdecky will not be taking the UAH hockey head coaching job, reports Andy Baggot of the Wisconsin State Journal. “The way my career has evolved, it wasn’t the right fit,” Gwozdecky said.
UAHHockey.com has confirmed from multiple sources that former Denver head coach George Gwozdecky was in town this week to interview for the head coaching vacancy created last month when Kurt Kleinendorst stepped down to pursue opportunities in professional hockey.
One of the biggest names in college hockey and a WCHA veteran, Gwozdecky won a pair of national championships at Denver and posted 12-straight, 20-win seasons with the Pioneers before he was let go at the end of the 2012-13 season with one year remaining on his contract. He made a base salary of $221,000 in his final season with DU.
While at Denver, Gwozdecky was a friend to the UAH program hosting the Chargers a number of times for nonconference series and had a visit scheduled to Huntsville during the 2012-13 season before the program’s turmoil caused the schedule to be scrapped.
The 59-year old owns a career mark of 443-267-64 in 19 seasons including five seasons at Miami. The Thunder Bay, Ontario native guided the Pioneers to the NCAA tournament five of his last six years. Gwozdecky is also the only coach in NCAA history to win a national title as a head coach, an assistant coach (Michigan State) and as a player (Wisconsin).
The Huntsville Times has reported that UAH director of athletics E.J. Brophy hopes to have the new coach in place by mid-July at the latest and has had as many as 75 candidates express interest in the position.