Henry Andrews "Harry" Orr was a Canadian ice hockey

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who was an All-American for

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

Career

Orr was a member of

Ned Harkness Nevin Donald Harkness (September 19, 1919 – September 19, 2008) was an NCAA head coach of ice hockey and lacrosse at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Cornell University and of ice hockey at Union College. Harkness was also head coach ...

' first recruiting class when he arrived at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1963. Orr began playing with the varsity team the following fall and provided an instant impact on the blue line, scoring 16 goals as a Sophomore and finishing third on the team in scoring. As a junior Orr's scoring decreased as he focused primarily on keeping the puck away from his goaltender and Cornell became a defensive powerhouse, surrendering just 54 goals in 27 games. Orr was named to the All-ECAC First Team and the team recorded 20 wins for the first time. Orr helped the team to a second-place finish in the ECAC Tournament and was named to the All-Tournament First Team. Due to a disagreement between the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

and the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

, Cornell declined its invitation to the national tournament. The dispute was eventually settled in the offseason and Orr entered his senior season with a chance to compete for a national title, something that Harkness had promised Orr years earlier. The team continued to be the best defensive club in the nation, this time allowing just 46 goals in 29 games, setting a host of NCAA records in the process and finishing the regular season with a 24–1–1 record. Orr was named as an All-American and the ECAC Most Outstanding Defenseman. He was instrumental in Cornell's march through the playoffs, winning the program's first ECAC Championship, and then surrendering just one goal in the NCAA Tournament. Orr was named to the All-Tournament First Teams for both championships and skated away as one of the all-time Cornell greats. After graduating he played one year of professional hockey before retiring and embarking on a 30-year career in

Ministry of Natural Resources An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

. He was inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984. Harry Orr died in his sleep after a battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, Harry 1944 births 2019 deaths Deaths from cancer in Canada Canadian ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from Ontario Sportspeople from Mississauga Cornell Big Red men's ice hockey players Port Huron Flags players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans NCAA men's ice hockey national champions