J. Murray Massier (born February 1937) is a Canadian retired ice hockey

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1958 NCAA Tournament.

Career

After winning consecutive

Abbott Cup The Abbott Memorial Cup, commonly referred to as the Abbott Cup, was awarded annually from 1919 through 1999 to the Junior "A" ice hockey Champion for Western Canada. The Cup was named after Captain E.L. (Hick) Abbott who was a noted hockey pl ...

s with the

Regina Pats Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to: Places Canada * Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province ** Regina (electoral district) ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina France * Régina, French Guiana, a commune United States * R ...

, Massier began attending

Denver University The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

in the fall of 1956. With NCAA rules limiting players to just three years of varsity play, Massier played with the school's freshman team before joined the varsity squad the following season. In 1957, Massier was one of several sophomores, all part of

Murray Armstrong Murray Alexander Armstrong (January 1, 1916 – December 8, 2010) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ice hockey Head Coach. Playing career Armstrong played junior hockey with the Re ...

's tremendous first recruiting class, who helped the program go from 5th in the

WIHL The Western International Hockey League (WIHL) was a senior level ice hockey league that featured teams from the Western United States and Western Canada. It operated from 1946–62 and 1963–88. It grew out of the West Kootenay League, whi ...

to 1st (tied). The first conference title for the team earned them their first NCAA tournament bid as well with Massier being a huge reason why. In the tournament Denver swept aside Clarkson in the semifinal and advanced to face

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

for the championship. Just before the mid-way point of the game the Fighting Sioux held a 1–0 lead but Denver scored three times in quick succession, including two primary assists from Massier, to take the lead. After UND closed the gap in the third period Massier led another three-goal charge, contributing a goal and an assist, to put the game away. Massier's 4-point night earned him a spot on the All-Tournament First Team and was named the Most Outstanding Player. That summer the WIHL was dissolved due to an ongoing argument between Denver and

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

over recruiting practices. As a result, the Pioneers had no limitations on their schedule and played as many home games as possible. This led to the team finishing with the best record among western schools, 22–5–1, but the NCAA selection committee was not impressed by Denver's ploy. North Dakota was chosen over Denver and when the Fighting Sioux won the championship that season there were many in Denver crying 'foul'. Despite still having a year of eligibility remaining, Massier left school after 1959 to pursue a professional career, becoming one of the earliest known cases of that circumstance. He joined the

Denver Mavericks The Denver Mavericks were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League (1945–2001), International Hockey League during the first half of the 1959–1960 season. They played at the Denver Coliseum in Denver, Colo ...

, an expansion team in the IHL, and despite finishing 3rd in team scoring he was gone after the inaugural season.

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Massier, Murray 1937 births Living people Canadian ice hockey forwards Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey players Minneapolis Millers (IHL) players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions Regina Pats players Ice hockey people from Regina, Saskatchewan