University of Minnesota Athletics
Woog Recognized for Contributions to Hockey
3/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) - Former Gopher Hockey player and coach Doug Woog will be honored by the Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association on Friday with the Cliff Thompson Award, given in recognition of outstanding, long-term contributions to the sport of hockey in Minnesota.
The MHCA will present the award to Woog at the organization's annual banquet on Friday, March 6 at the St. Paul RiverCentre in conjunction with the Minnesota State High School League Boys' High School Hockey Tournament. The banquet will be held between the Class A and AA semifinal sessions.
A native of South St. Paul, Minn., Woog was a first team all-state player in three of his four seasons at South St. Paul High School, leading the Packers to four state tournament appearances. He was also a three-time all-tournament team honoree and was the tournament's leading scorer in 1962. Woog's No. 7 jersey was retired by South St. Paul High School in 2010.
Following high school, Woog was a three-year letter winner at the University of Minnesota from 1964-66 (freshmen were not allowed to play at the time) under the legendary John Mariucci. The forward tallied 101 points (48 goals, 53 assists) in 80 career games for the Maroon & Gold. As a junior in 1964-65, Woog led the Gophers in scoring with 26 goals and 47 points, earning First Team All-America and All-WCHA First Team honors. As a senior in 1965-66, he served as captain as was named team most valuable player.
After graduating with honors in 1967 with a bachelor's degree in education (Woog would later add a master's degree in guidance and counseling from St. Thomas), Woog earned a roster spot on the U.S. Men's National Team, helping the team to a fifth-place finish at the 1967 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championships in Vienna, Austria. Woog was also a candidate for the 1968 U.S. Olympic Team.
His playing days behind him, Woog joined the coaching ranks in 1971 and led the Minnesota Junior Stars (later the St. Paul Vulcans) to two Junior National titles before returning to South St. Paul High School in 1977. As head coach of the boys' hockey team for six years, Woog led the Packers to two conference titles and advanced to the state tournament four times.
In 1978, Woog was chosen to lead the West Team in the U.S. Olympic Festival where his squad won gold. At the 1989 Olympic Festival, Woog duplicated the feat by winning the gold medal with his South squad. He was the assistant coach of the 1982 U.S. National Junior Team and then served as an assistant for the 1984 Olympic team that competed in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, as well. Later in life, Woog coached the 1985 U.S. National Junior Team, served as the assistant coach for the U.S. in the 1987 Canada Cup and served as head coach of the 1989 U.S. Select-17 Team.
Woog returned to the Gophers as head coach in 1985 and led the program for 14 years including 12-straight NCAA tournament appearances (an NCAA record at the time) and six trips to the NCAA Frozen Four. Behind his coaching, the Gophers also earned four MacNaughton Cups as WCHA regular-season champions and three Broadmoor Trophies as WCHA playoff champions. Woog guided his players to a total of 13 All-America honors while he also coached Robb Stauber (1988) and Brian Bonin (1996) to Hobey Baker Award honors as the nation's top college hockey player.
The 1990 WCHA Coach of the Year, Woog's 390 career wins at Minnesota are tied with current head coach Don Lucia for the school wins record. Woog owns a 390-187-40 all-time record at Minnesota (.665).
Since stepping down as head coach, Woog has remained close to the program, working with Gopher Sports Properties and serving as on-air talent for FOX Sports North until the end of the 2013-14 season. Woog continues to work with Gopher Hockey alumni and has been running Doug Woog Hockey Camps and Power Skating Schools for more than 36 years.
Woog was inducted into the University of Minnesota `M' Club Hall of Fame in 2000 and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002. He was awarded the John McInnes Award, which recognizes "great concern for amateur hockey and youth programs," by the American Hockey Coaches Association in 2008.
Woog and his wife, Jan, have three children: Amy, Steve and Dan.
-Pride On Ice-
