Gordon McMillan
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Gordon Warner "Gymie" McMillan (4 January 1927 – 18 May 2021) was a
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
player who was a member of the
Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...
team that won the first NCAA
Frozen Four The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I cham ...
ice hockey championship in 1948. He played four years of hockey at Michigan from 1946-1949 and broke the school's scoring record with 210 career points.


Moose Jaw Monarchs

McMillan grew up in
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are k ...
, where he played center for the Moose Jaw Monarchs. In April 1945, the Monarchs traveled to
Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to ...
to play the Lethbridge Native Sons for the western Canada juvenile hockey championship. McMillan, described as the team's "star centre" and a "starry redhead who is the mainspring of the Moose Jaw attack," was left behind in Moose Jaw because his father was seriously ill. However, he arrived in Lethbridge by plane on the morning of the first game, and scored four goals and an assist, as his heads-up hockey and "fast break-aways kept the crowd in a dither." The Monarchs won the series in two games, and McMillan was the high scorer with six goals and an assist. One month after the championship, McMillan's 42-year-old father, a hockey coach who had been recently discharged from the
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
, died in Moose Jaw.


University of Michigan

In the fall of 1945, McMillan enrolled at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
to play hockey for Wolverines' coach
Vic Heyliger Victor Heyliger (September 26, 1912 – October 4, 2006) was a National Hockey League center and the head coach of the University of Michigan ice hockey team. Career Born in Concord, Massachusetts, he attended the Lawrence Academy in Groton, Ma ...
. McMillan played four years of hockey at Michigan, from 1946-1949, and was the team's leading scorer all four years. As a freshman in January 1946, McMillan and teammate Wally Grant both scored
hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
s in a game against
McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
from
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...
. As a junior in 1948, McMillan broke Michigan's all-time scoring record, which had been set by the team's coach, Vic Heyliger, with 116 points. McMillan, who would exceed the record by nearly 100 points by the time he was finished, broke the record with Heyliger on the bench as coach in a February 1948 game against Michigan Tech; McMillan earned six points on four goals and two assists in the game. The 1948 team led by McMillan, Wally Grant, Wally Gacek and Al Renfrew won the first NCAA
Frozen Four The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I cham ...
ice hockey championship. Four teams were selected to play in the first NCAA ice hockey championship, held at the
Broadmoor World Arena The Broadmoor World Arena was a skating rink and hockey arena located at The Broadmoor Resort & Spa in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Originally an outdoor equestrian center and riding academy, the building was enclosed and converted into an ice a ...
in
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. The four teams to play in the inaugural
Frozen Four The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I cham ...
were Michigan,
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
, Dartmouth and Colorado College. In the championship game against Dartmouth, McMillan scored two goals, as Michigan won 8-4. McMillan and teammate Wally Gacek scored goals five seconds apart in the third period against Dartmouth, which remains a record for the fastest consecutive goals in the championship round.http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/m_ice_hockey_champs_records/2006/2006_d1_m_ice_hockey_champ_records.pdf The hockey title capped off a year in which Michigan had also won the Rose Bowl and the conference basketball championship. As a senior in 1949, McMillan had career highs with 36 assists and 60 points. (His career-high in goals was 30 in 1948.) Though Michigan did not repeat as NCAA champions in 1949, they did advance to the
Frozen Four The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I cham ...
. They were beaten by Dartmouth 4-2 in a semi-final game. In his final game in a Michigan jersey, the Frozen Four consolation game in March 1949, McMillan scored a hat trick, earning five points on three goals and two assists. McMillan's four-year scoring record at Michigan was as follows:


Professional hockey

McMillan played professionally in the 1949–50 season for the Windsor Ryan Cretes in the International Hockey League. He played in 12 games and scored 3 goals and 6 assists.


See also

*
University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor The University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs.
*
1948 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament The 1948 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1947–48 NCAA men's ice hockey season, the 1st such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 18 and 20, 1948, and concluded with Michigan defeating Dartmouth 8-4. ...
* 1949 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMillan, Gordon 1927 births 2021 deaths Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey players Ice hockey people from Moose Jaw Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Windsor Gotfredsons players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions