Aug. 11, 2005
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame hockey head coach Jeff Jackson and the 2005-06 Irish hockey will “Drop The Puck,” on the new era in Notre Dame hockey on Tuesday, September 6th at the “Drop The Puck” Dinner to be held at the Joyce Center. The keynote speaker for the evening is the winningest coach in National Hockey League history, Scotty Bowman, the only coach ever to lead three teams – Montreal, Pittsburgh and Detroit – to a total of nine Stanley Cup championships during his illustrious 30-year coaching career.
The evening, sponsored by the South Bend Tribune and Famous Dave’s, will begin at 5:30 p.m. with an open skate for fans on the Joyce Center ice. From 6:00 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., Notre Dame players and staff will be available for autographs. The dinner and speaking portion of the night will begin at 7:00 p.m.
Fans who renew season tickets or purchase season tickets for the 2005-06 season will receive a free ticket to the “Drop The Puck” Dinner. Tickets for the general public are $30.00 for adults and $20.00 for children and senior citizens. Along with a ticket to the dinner, fans will receive two tickets to the annual Blue/Gold game on Saturday, Oct. 8 and two tickets to one of Notre Dame’s games versus Princeton (Oct. 28 or 29). To purchase or renew season tickets for 2005-06, or to purchase tickets for the dinner, contact the Notre Dame ticket office by calling 574-631-7356.
Scotty Bowman is the National Hockey League’s winningest coach with 1,244 regular-season wins. He also coached three NHL teams – Montreal, Pittsburgh and Detroit – to nine Stanley Cup championships.
|
 |
Bowman, who retired from coaching after leading the Detroit Red Wings to the Stanley Cup in 2002, holds the all-time NHL records for regular season victories (1,244) and playoff wins (223) for a total of 1,467 and a .685 winning percentage. He entered the coaching ranks with the St. Louis Blues in 1967-68, the first year of the franchise, and led them to the Stanley Cup finals in each of the team’s first three years.
In 1971, the Montreal native, returned home to coach his hometown Montreal Canadiens, leading the fabled Canadiens to five Stanley Cup championships (1973, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979), along with six divisional titles in eight seasons.
From Montreal, Bowman moved on to Buffalo where he served as general manager and coach from 1979-87 of the Buffalo Sabres. He temporarily left coaching in 1987 to work for CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada telecasts as an analyst until moving to Pittsburgh in 1989-90, joining the Penguins as director of player personnel. With his help and guidance, Pittsburgh won its first Stanley Cup in 1991. That summer, Bowman was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a Builder of the game. He would move behind back behind the bench following the death of Penguin head coach Bob Johnson in the fall of 1991 and guide Pittsburgh to its second Stanley Cup. He remained with the Penguins for the 1992-93 season, guiding them to franchise highs in wins (56) and points (119), only to see them upset by the New York Islanders in the Patrick Division finals.
He moved on to Detroit in 1993-94 and spent nine seasons behind the Red Wings’ bench, leading them to their first Stanley Cup in 42 years in 1997. Bowman and his Wings repeated in 1998 and then the veteran head coach closed his career with a ninth Stanley Cup, his third with Detroit, in 2002.
A two-time winner of the Jack Adams Award (1977 and 1996) as the NHL’s top coach, Bowman also was awarded the 2001 Lester Patrick Award for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.
Besides the Hockey Hall of Fame, Bowman has also been inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame (1999), the Buffalo Hall of Fame (2000), the Michigan Jewish Hall of Fame (2001) and in 2003, he was inducted to Canada’s Walk of Fame. His son, Stanley, is a 1995 graduate of Notre Dame.