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Doug Woog

Doug Woog

As a player, coach and administrator, Doug Woog has achieved success in all three of these areas of hockey. The former University of Minnesota men’s hockey coach guided the Golden Gophers to an average of nearly 28 wins per season and seven league championships during his 14-year tenure (1985-1999) During this time, the Gophers made 12 NCAA appearances in 14 seasons, six NCAA Final Four appearances, and Woog became Minnesota's all-time winningest coach with a 389-187-40 record (.664).

Woog is a 1962 graduate of South St. Paul High School, where he garnered all-state hockey honors for three consecutive years and played in four Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournaments. Upon completion of his prep career, he attended the University of Minnesota and played under the legendary coach, John Mariucci. Woog led the Gophers in scoring and earned All-American honors his junior year (1965). He captained the Gophers his senior season and was named team Most Valuable Player. After graduating from Minnesota, Woog played for the 1967 U.S. National Team at the International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s World Championships in Vienna, Austria and was a candidate of the 1968 Olympic Team. 

In 1971, Woog joined the coaching ranks and directed the St. Paul Vulcans to two Junior National titles. Woog returned to South St. Paul High School in 1977 as head coach of the boys’ hockey team. Over the next six years, his Packer teams won two conference titles and advanced to the state tournament four times. 

Woog served as assistant coach for the 1984 Olympic Team that competed in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Additionally, throughout his career, Woog served in various coaching positions on many U.S. National Teams from 1978-1989 and his administrative duties have included being a national committee member for the AHAUS and Chairman of the National Skating Committee for USA Hockey. In 2000, Woog was inducted into the University of Minnesota’s Athletic Hall of Fame and in 2002 was Inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. 

In 1999, Woog resigned as the University of Minnesota’s head hockey coach to take an assistant athletic director position at Minnesota. In addition to his work at Minnesota, Woog is a television analyst for the Mens Gophers Hockey team, and runs his own "Woog youth hockey camps". 

Woog resides in South St. Paul with his wife Jan. They have three children, Amy, Steve and Dan.


Gophers Coaching Timeline

June 1985
Doug Woog, a former Gophers All-American, is hired as men's hockey coach 
after serving as an assistant coach on the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team.

October 18, 1985
Woog wins his first game as Gophers coach, a 3-0 win over Michigan Tech in the season opener.

1985-1986 season
Gophers win team-record 35 games and advance to NCAA tournament in Woog's first season, beating Denver in the third-place game in Final Four. 

February 20, 1988
Minnesota completes a sweep at Michigan Tech to wrap up the WCHA regular season title, Woog's first as Gophers coach.

March 30, 1988
Sophomore Robb Stauber wins the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's best player, the first goaltender ever to do so.

April 1, 1989 
Gophers lose to Harvard in overtime of the NCAA championship game, when Randy Skarda's potential game-winner bounces off the post. The Crimson score two minutes later for a 4-3 win.

October 23, 1993
Gophers play first game in the new Mariucci Arena, losing 8-4 to North Dakota.

Spring 1994
Woog gives former player Chris McAlpine $500 in cash for tuition, a violation of NCAA rules. Woog hides the money under a hat in his office and tells McAlpine where it can be found.

November 21, 1995-February 2, 1996
Team posts a record 19-game unbeaten streak.

March 29, 1996
Senior forward Brian Bonin wins the Hobey Baker Award.

October 21, 1996
Woog begins one-week suspension for the McAlpine incident. Woog says he gave the money to McAlpine, who's eligibility had run out, so that he could finish his classes. Team loses one scholarship.

March 15, 1998
The Gophers lose 5-4 to Minnesota-Duluth in overtime of the deciding game of a first-round WCHA playoff series. Minnesota ends the season 17-22, the first time in Woog's tenure that the team finishes below the .500 mark. The Gophers also fail to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in 13 seasons.

March 19-20, 1999
Minnesota loses 6-2 to North Dakota in the semifinals of the WCHA Final Five. The Gophers finish the season 14-19-9, giving Minnesota a second consecutive losing season for the first time since 1972-73

April 6, 1999
Woog steps down as coach to take an assistant athletic director position. Woog leaves as the all-time winningest hockey coach at Minnesota (389-187-40)

 

Playing

Season Team League GP G A Pts. PIM
1965-66 U. of Minnesota NCAA 0 9 14 23 0
1966-67 U.S. Nationals USHL Statistics Unavailable
1966-67 U.S. National Team Intl Statistics Unavailable
1967-68 U.S. Nationals USHL 0 7 9 16 30

Coaching

Season Team League GP W L T OTL Pct. Result
1983-84 U.S. Olympic Team Assistant Coach
1985-86 U. of Minnesota Head Coach 48 35 13 0 0 0.729
1986-87 U. of Minnesota Head Coach 49 34 14 1 0 0.704
1987-88 U. of Minnesota Head Coach 44 34 14 1 0 0.773
1990-91 U. of Minnesota Head Coach 45 30 10 5 0 0.722
1991-92 U. of Minnesota Head Coach 44 33 11 0 0 0.750
1993-94 U. of Minnesota Head Coach 40 24 12 4 0 0.650
1994-95 U. of Minnesota Head Coach 44 25 14 5 0 0.625
1995-96 U. of Minnesota Head Coach 42 30 10 2 0 0.738
1996-97 U. of Minnesota Head Coach 42 28 13 1 0 0.679
1997-98 U. of Minnesota Head Coach 39 17 22 0 0 0.436
1998-99 U. of Minnesota Head Coach 43 15 19 9 0 0.453