Vic Heyliger

Vic Heyliger
	Vic Heyliger from the 1950 Michiganensian
Biographical details
Born	September 26, 1912; Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	October 4, 2006 (aged 94); Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.
Playing career
1934–1937	Michigan
1937–1938	St. Paul Saints
1937–1938	Chicago Black Hawks
1938–1939	Detroit Holzbaugh
1943–1944	Chicago Black Hawks
Position(s)	Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1939–1943	Illinois
1944–1957	Michigan
1961–1963	West Germany National Team
1965–1966	US National Team
1968–1974	Air Force
Head coaching record
Overall	353-158-21 (.683)
Tournaments	16-4 (.800)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
	1948 NCAA National Championship; 1951 NCAA National Championship; 1952 NCAA National Championship; 1953 MCHL Regular Season Championship; 1953 NCAA National Championship; 1955 NCAA National Championship; 1956 WIHL Regular Season Championship; 1956 NCAA National Championship
Awards
	1954 Spencer Penrose Award; 1974 US Hockey Hall of Fame; 1980 University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor; 1982 Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey Award; 1988 John MacInnes Award
Records
	Most NCAA ice hockey championships: (6); Most consecutive NCAA ice hockey championships: (3); Most consecutive Frozen Four appearances: (10)

Victor Heyliger (September 26, 1912 – October 4, 2006) was an American ice hockey player and coach. He played 33 games in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Black Hawks between 1937 and 1944 and then worked as the head coach in several places, including the University of Michigan ice hockey team from 1944 to 1957.^[1]

Career

Born in Concord, Massachusetts, he attended the Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts and as an All-American at Michigan set a school record of 116 goals. He played for the Chicago Black Hawks in 1938 and 1944,^[2] bookending his tenure as coach at the University of Illinois from 1939–43,^[3] posting a record of 59–29–4.^[4]

Returning to Michigan as coach of the Wolverines, he led the team to six NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championships in his thirteen years from 1944 to 1957: 1948 (the first NCAA title), 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956. His teams reached the Frozen Four in each of the first ten seasons it was held.

In 1954, he received the Spencer Penrose Award from the American Hockey Coaches Association as the University Division Coach of the Year. Heyliger had an overall Michigan record of 228–61–13. After coaching the U.S. national team in 1966, he coached at the United States Air Force Academy from 1966–74, where he was 85–77–3.^[5]

He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in its second class of inductees in 1974. In 1988, he was awarded the John MacInnes Award by the AHCA, an honor that recognizes those individuals who have displayed an interest in amateur hockey and youth programs, as well as fostering high graduation rates among their players.

He died at his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, aged 94.^[6]^[7]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1928–29	Concord High School	HS-NH	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1929–30	Concord High School	HS-NH	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1930–31	Concord High School	HS-NH	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1931–32	Concord High School	HS-NH	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1932–33	Groton School	HS-MA	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1934–35	University of Michigan	NCAA	—	19	11	30	—	—	—	—	—	—
1935–36	University of Michigan	NCAA	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1936–37	University of Michigan	NCAA	—	43	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1937–38	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL	7	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
1937–38	St. Paul Saints	AHA	3	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
1938–39	Detroit Holzbaugh	MOHL	27	5	13	18	38	2	1	1	2	2
1943–44	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL	26	2	3	5	2	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals			33	2	3	5	2	—	—	—	—	—

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Illinois Fighting Illini Independent (1939–1943)
1939–40	Illinois	3–11–0
1940–41	Illinois	17–3–1			Western Intercollegiate Champion
1941–42	Illinois	10–4–2			Western Intercollegiate Champion
1942–43	Illinois	10–2–0			Western Intercollegiate Champion
Illinois:		40–20–3
Michigan Wolverines Independent (1944–1951)
1944–45	Michigan	3–6–0
1945–46	Michigan	17–7–1			Western Intercollegiate Champion
1946–47	Michigan	13–7–1
1947–48	Michigan	20–2–1			NCAA National Champion
1948–49	Michigan	20–2–3			NCAA Consolation Game (Win)
1949–50	Michigan	23–4–0			NCAA Consolation Game (Win)
1950–51	Michigan	22–4–1			NCAA National Champion
Michigan:		118–32–7
Michigan Wolverines (MCHL) (1951–1953)
1951–52	Michigan	22–4–0	9–3–0	T–2nd	NCAA National Champion
1952–53	Michigan	17–7–0	12–4–0	T–1st	NCAA National Champion
Michigan:		39–11–0	21–7–0
Michigan Wolverines (WIHL) (1953–1957)
1953–54	Michigan	15–6–2	12–3–1	2nd	NCAA Consolation Game (Win)
1954–55	Michigan	18–5–1	13–5–0	2nd	NCAA National Champion
1955–56	Michigan	20–2–1	15–2–1	1st	NCAA National Champion
1956–57	Michigan	18–5–2	13–4–1	2nd	NCAA Runner–Up
Michigan:		71–18–6	53–14–3
Air Force Falcons Independent (1968–1974)
1968–69	Air Force	6–12–0
1969–70	Air Force	11–17–1
1970–71	Air Force	15–11–2
1971–72	Air Force	25–6–0
1972–73	Air Force	16–16–0
1973–74	Air Force	12–15–0
Air Force:		85–77–3
Total:		353–158–21
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

^[8]^[9]^[10]

References

^ "Vic Heyliger". HockeyDB.com.
^ "Vic Heyliger". Hockey-Reference.com.
^ Charles Bartlett (December 5, 1941). "HEYLIGER SEES BIG FUTURE FOR COLLEGE HOCKEY: Illini Coach Says It May Rival Golf". Chicago Daily Tribune. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.
^ "Vic Heyliger". Legends of Hockey.
^ "16 Greatest Coaches". Inside College Hockey. September 17, 2003.
^ "Legendary Michigan Coach Vic Heyliger Dies: Led Wolverines To Six NCAA Titles, Was First Air Force Varsity Coach". USCHO.
^ "Vic Heyliger, former national hockey team coach, dies at 87". Associated Press Archive. October 4, 2006.
^ "Vic Heyliger Year-By Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
^ "Michigan Wolverines Through the Years" (PDF). Michigan Wolverines. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
^ "2013-14 Air Force Media Guide". ISSUU.com. Retrieved 2014-07-11.

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by John Mariucci	Spencer Penrose Award 1953–54	Succeeded by Cooney Weiland
Preceded by John "Snooks" Kelly	Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award 1982	Succeeded by John Mariucci

[1] "Vic Heyliger". HockeyDB.com.

[2] "Vic Heyliger". Hockey-Reference.com.

[3] Charles Bartlett (December 5, 1941). "HEYLIGER SEES BIG FUTURE FOR COLLEGE HOCKEY: Illini Coach Says It May Rival Golf". Chicago Daily Tribune. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012.

[4] "Vic Heyliger". Legends of Hockey.

[5] "16 Greatest Coaches". Inside College Hockey. September 17, 2003.

[6] "Legendary Michigan Coach Vic Heyliger Dies: Led Wolverines To Six NCAA Titles, Was First Air Force Varsity Coach". USCHO.

[7] "Vic Heyliger, former national hockey team coach, dies at 87". Associated Press Archive. October 4, 2006.

[8] "Vic Heyliger Year-By Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2014-07-11.

[9] "Michigan Wolverines Through the Years" (PDF). Michigan Wolverines. Retrieved 2014-07-11.

[10] "2013-14 Air Force Media Guide". ISSUU.com. Retrieved 2014-07-11.

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v t Illinois Fighting Illini men's ice hockey
Venues	University of Illinois Ice Arena (1937–1943)
Coaches	Ray Eliot (1937–1939) Vic Heyliger (1939–1943)
Seasons	1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43
Notable Players	Amo Bessone Norbert Sterle
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Urbana and Champaign, Illinois

v t Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey
Venues	Weinberg Coliseum (1914–1973) Yost Ice Arena (1973–present)
Coaches	Joseph Barss (1922–27) Eddie Lowrey (1927–44) Vic Heyliger (1944–57) Al Renfrew (1957–73) Dan Farrell (1973–80) Wilf Martin (1980) John Giordano (1980–84) Red Berenson (1984–2017) Mel Pearson (2017–2022) Brandon Naurato (2022–present)
Seasons	1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Conference affiliations	MCHA/WIHL/WCHA (1951–1958, 1959–1981) CCHA (1981–2013) Big Ten (1958–1981, 2013–present)
Rivalries	Michigan State Minnesota Notre Dame
Culture & lore	Great Lakes Invitational The Big Chill at the Big House Cold War Faceoff on the Lake
All-time leaders	Statistical leaders Brendan Morrison (284 Points) Denny Felsner (139 Goals) Marty Turco (127 Wins)
National championships	1948 1951 1952 1953 1955 1956 1964 1996 1998
Frozen Four appearances	1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1962 1964 1977 1992 1993 1995 1996 1997 1998 2001 2002 2003 2008 2011 2018 2022 2023 2024
NCAA Tournament appearances	1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1962 1964 1977 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2016 2018 2021 2022 2023 2024
Conference Tournament titles	CCHA: 1994 1996 1997 1999 2002 2003 2005 2008 2010 Big Ten: 2016 2022 2023
Hobey Baker winners	Brendan Morrison (1997) Kevin Porter (2008) Adam Fantilli (2023)
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI

v t Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey
Playing venues	Cadet Ice Arena (1968–present)
Head coaches	Vic Heyliger (1968–74) John Matchefts (1974–85) Chuck Delich (1985–97) Frank Serratore (1997–present)
Seasons	1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Conference affiliations	Independent (1968–99) College Hockey America (1999–2006) Atlantic Hockey Association (2006–2024) Atlantic Hockey America (2024–present)
Rivalries	Army Black Knights Colorado College Tigers Battle for Pikes Peak
All-time leaders	Chuck Delich (279 Points) Chuck Delich (156 Goals) Andrew Volkening (69 Wins)
NCAA Tournament appearances	2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2017 2018
Conference Tournament titles	Atlantic Hockey: 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2017 2018
United States Air Force Academy Colorado Springs, CO