August 15, 2007
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MacInnes, Broten Get Hall Nod
CHN Staff Report
EVELETH, Minn. — Former Minnesota star Aaron Broten, and two-time national championship coach John MacInnes were among four inductees named to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2007.
Former NHL stars Bobby Carpenter and John Vanbiesbrouck were also named.
The quartet will be formally inducted during a ceremony Friday, Oct. 12, at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D. The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game, pitting defending national champion Michigan State against host North Dakota, will be played at the Ralph Engelstad Arena on
Saturday, Oct. 13.
A native of Roseau, Minn., Broten enjoyed a highly successful two-year playing career (1979-81) at Minnesota before joining the professional ranks. At Minnesota, he set a record for points by a rookie (25-47—72) en route to being named the WCHA Freshman of the Year. The following season, he recorded a still-standing Golden Gopher-record 106 points and 59 assists (47-59—106) to lead the team to the WCHA title and the NCAA championship game.
After leaving Minnesota, Broten went on to play 748 career games in the NHL. During his 12-year career (1981-92), he played for five different NHL teams, including the Colorado Rockies/New Jersey Devils franchise, Minnesota North Stars, Quebec Nordiques, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets.
Broten's brother Neal, a member of the 1980 gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic team and the inaugural Hobey Baker Award winner in 1981, is also in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
John MacInnes led the Huskies to three NCAA championships and 555 wins in 26 seasons (1956-82). MacInnes led the Huskies to national championships in 1962, 1965 and 1975, while also winning seven WCHA titles during his tenure. A two-time NCAA Coach of the Year and six-time WCHA Coach of the Year, MacInnes was the winningest coach in college hockey at the time of his retirement.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, MacInnes began playing hockey in the Toronto Bantam leagues and worked his way through the entire junior hockey system. He was a goalkeeper at the University of Michigan, helping the Wolverines to a pair of league titles and a third-place finish at the 1950 NCAA championship. MacInnes also played for the Boston Bruins and the Detriot Red Wings before becoming director of the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Amateur Hockey League in 1950. He remained in that position until coming to Michigan Tech.
MacInnes was instrumental in forming the Great Lakes Invitational (GLI) in 1965 as a way of promoting the game of college hockey in the U.S. The annual tournament held in Detroit is still hosted by Michigan Tech and also features Michigan, Michigan State and an invitational team.
"Coach MacInnes was to college hockey what Paul 'Bear' Bryant was to college football," said current Michigan Tech head coach Jamie Russell. "Not only was he extremely successful, he was a great ambassador for the sport of college hockey. This is an honor long overdue to such a huge promoter of college hockey in the United States."
Michigan Tech commemorated MacInnes' name with the changing of the Student Ice Arena to the John J. MacInnes Student Ice Arena in August of 1991. In addition, the John MacInnes Memorial Cup is given out during Michigan Tech's annual Winter Carnival series every February to the winner of the two-game, total-goal series.