May 16, 2014
Humbling work, golden results: 1963-64 championship team set PC hockey foundation
College Hockey Friars
EDITOR’S NOTE: The members of the 1963-64 Providence College men’s hockey team gathered in February for a two-day reunion celebrating the 50th anniversary of the team’s ECAC Championship and the first appearance by any Friar team in an NCAA Tournament “Final Four.” The following story conveys their impact on the success and tradition of the program.
By Brendan McGair ’03
Through humbling circumstances, the 1963-64 Providence College Hockey Friars became ECAC champions and NCAA Frozen Four participants.
Perhaps just as important, what that special group accomplished 50 years ago was instrumental in catapulting Friar hockey past the grassroots level and toward national relevance. For four decades, PC has been afforded the luxury of playing its home games at an on-campus venue — one which underwent major renovations last summer.
There was no Schneider Arena to call home back in 1963-64, no bells and whistles for a group of trailblazing Friars who basically had to take what was given to them. Under the guiding hand of part-time Head Coach Tom Eccleston Jr., an educator and coach from Burrillville, R.I., PC would gather for 6 a.m. practices at the Rhode Island Auditorium three miles away from campus.
“I’ll be honest. I don’t think this team would have ever thought that we would be responsible for what’s going on today,” said defenseman Larry Kish ’64, who served as captain that season. “I think we went from a sophisticated club level to a competitive ECAC team to a team that nowadays is making upward strides in Hockey East.
“Certainly our experiences, it’s nothing like the experience that these guys are having today. We didn’t have a dressing room or home ice. We practiced outside and scrounged for equipment,” Kish continued. “The bottom line is that what we accomplished was pretty special for our team.”
Under Eccleston’s guiding hand, Providence transitioned from Division I Independent to the ECAC prior to the 1961-62 campaign. In their first two seasons of conference affiliation, the Friars posted back-to-back winning seasons – groundwork that helped lay the foundation for what was in store in 1963-64.
Featuring a mixture of Canadian imports and Rhode Island- and Massachusetts-based talent that Eccelston had scouted extensively, the 1963-64 Friars refused to believe that they were second-class citizens even though they faced long odds. If anything, competing with second-hand sticks and skates gathered by Professor Rev. Herman Schneider, O.P. ’30 helped Kish and the rest of his teammates develop a bond that would end up carrying PC to great heights.
“The guys just thought about going out on the ice and having fun,” said Bob Bellemore ’66 & ’94G, the starting goalie in 1963-64. “It was that type of team.”
“The chemistry was terrific,” said Bill Warburton ’65, a Warwick, R.I., native who made the leap to PC following a successful high school career at nearby La Salle Academy.
There was also very little question as to who the driving force was in getting the Friars on the same page. With Eccleston imparting wisdom that demonstrated he was ahead of the curve, PC compiled a stellar 19-7 record. His efforts did not go unnoticed, as he was named New England Coach of the Year.
Eccleston was behind PC’s bench for eight seasons, the final one in 1963-64.
“The things that the Russians had brought into the National Hockey League, Coach Eccleston was already doing them. The man was an unbelievable tactician,” Bellemore pointed out. “He would give us report cards after every game. You knew what you did well and what you did wrong. Not many coaches did that in those days.”
Added Kish, “I know Coach Eccleston didn’t get rich coaching us. He was a part-time coach. He tried hard to make it a real good program.”
“He kept it simple. You always knew where you stood,” said Warburton, a forward.
Those same sentiments of appreciation also were used for Father Schneider, who is viewed as the founding father of PC hockey. Without his pledge of unwavering support, there is perhaps no signature moment like the one the 1963-64 Friars produced.
“He was the guy who turned the screw, I think,” said Kish. “To see the rink in his name, all the guys would echo my feeling that it’s well deserved.”
The 1963-64 team was on a bus bound for Maine and the season opener at Colby College when word filtered out that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. The game went off as scheduled as the Friars posted a 5-2 victory.
After going 4-3 in their first seven games, the Friars caught fire with 13 wins in their next 15 opportunities. A few memories stood out. On Jan. 28, 1964, the Friars hosted Boston College at what Kish recalled a “packed” Rhode Island Auditorium. PC won, 9-8.
“It was a zoo,” said Kish, who holds the distinction as the first PC men’s hockey player to earn All-America honors.
Another feat of note took place on back-to-back nights in February. At the time, Clarkson and St. Lawrence were considered the top powers in Eastern hockey. Facing both teams on their home ice, the Friars skated away with a 3-2 victory against St. Lawrence and a 6-4 triumph over Clarkson.
“We were the first team in the East in that era to beat St. Lawrence and Clarkson back-to-back,” Kish proudly recalled.
Such confidence proved instrumental when PC tangoed again with Clarkson and St. Lawrence in the ECAC playoffs. With the games contested at the Boston Arena, PC upended Clarkson, 6-5, in the semifinals before taking down St. Lawrence in the championship game, 3-1.
It was then off to Denver to face Michigan in the national semifinals. The Friars held a 2-1 lead in the third period before the Wolverines rallied for two goals. The 3-2 loss, however, did little to diminish what this band of PC players accomplished.
“Going to the Frozen Four was unbelievable, but winning the ECACs in Boston was electrifying,” Bellemore said, echoing a sentiment undoubtedly shared by a group that created the first of decades of Friar hockey memories.
Brendan McGair ’03 is a freelance writer from Cranston, R.I.
