Old SLU Billiken Hockey Fans

[hockey jedi]

I know some of you are old enough to remember and were interested in the Billiken hockey teams in the 70's. They played against the best in the nation. I was doing some research and came across this. Did you know when Herb Brooks was at the University of Minnesota, he was 10-2 against the Billikens? I thought it was interesting and wanted to pass it along.

[Backesdraft]

I know some of you are old enough to remember and were interested in the Billiken hockey teams in the 70's. They played against the best in the nation. I was doing some research and came across this. Did you know when Herb Brooks was at the University of Minnesota, he was 10-2 against the Billikens? I thought it was interesting and wanted to pass it along.

DUDE! I literally introduced my daughters (13 and 10) to Miracle tonight. We wrapped it up not 90 minutes ago. They loved it and had a ton of question about Brooks and the team and it was really fun educating them on it.

Didn’t know about the Billikens thing either. That’s cool. Thanks for sharing.

[Whatashame]

Was a huge fan. My wife and I would go most weekends they were in town. They would have a full house (18000+) when they were here. It was fun hockey to watch.

[hockey jedi]

I know some of you are old enough to remember and were interested in the Billiken hockey teams in the 70's. They played against the best in the nation. I was doing some research and came across this. Did you know when Herb Brooks was at the University of Minnesota, he was 10-2 against the Billikens? I thought it was interesting and wanted to pass it along.

DUDE! I literally introduced my daughters (13 and 10) to Miracle tonight. We wrapped it up not 90 minutes ago. They loved it and had a ton of question about Brooks and the team and it was really fun educating them on it.

Didn’t know about the Billikens thing either. That’s cool. Thanks for sharing.

They had hockey powerhouses like Lake Superior State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Bowling Green and many more. Bill Selmon, the SLU coach, came from the University of North Dakota. He was a national champion player for the Fighting Sioux and head coach prior to coming to SLU just to give you and indication how good the program was. A handful of SLU players played in the NHL. When Dr. Chatfitz built the new arena on the SLU campus, I was hoping he might put a refrigerator system in the floor just in case hockey came back. St Louis is aching for NCAA college hockey, and I like what Lindenwood has done.

[dhsux]

Yep!

Those were good times!

I parallel those games with fond memories to some of the minor league baseball games of my past.

Raw and real.

[Bluesbacker]

I know some of you are old enough to remember and were interested in the Billiken hockey teams in the 70's. They played against the best in the nation. I was doing some research and came across this. Did you know when Herb Brooks was at the University of Minnesota, he was 10-2 against the Billikens? I thought it was interesting and wanted to pass it along.

Thanks for the info, did not know about the Herb Brooks record. Brought back fond memories, put a smile on my face. It was sad when SLU shutdown the program. I always thought they would be revived at some point but since it hasn't been done by now when the would of had their own barn probably won't happen now.

[stanw]

Here is a little history of the program.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lou ... ice_hockey

[a smell of green grass]

I'd get season tickets if they were available. I supported SLU Basketball for many years.

Maybe now that Canada is becoming independent, they will start a new OHL-Like league and name it NAHL.

[Old_Goat]

It was a good program. The area was ripe for D-1 hockey after the immediate success of the Blues with SC Finals appearances in first three seasons. They didn't win any, but those playoff games were close and there were excellent eventual HOF stars to see.
I recall one or two seasons where SLU hosted a 4-team mid-season tournament of some kind, I recall definitely seeing BU and Brown play in one of the games and forget whom the other opponent besides SLU was.
Eventually, the Billiken hockey attendance slowly dwindled. I think because of the need for the Arena to book other revenue events, including ABA St. Louis Spirits, other skating events, NCAA basketball tournaments, concerts, etc., the pressure was put on SLU Hockey, re practice time, revenue sharing, etc.
Although Bill Selman was a good coach, the newness an attraction for the hockey program dropped over time. The first year he basically started with all Freshman, and then it spread out & became more balanced as they became upperclassmen for the next few years. And he really only wanted Canadian kids. That was his biggest mistake for the program. (This is by no means a knock on Canadians...I too believed at the time that that was where the experienced talent was, and you needed that for sure to get the program worth watching.) But where Selman failed after about year 2 was by not picking the best 1 or also hopefully the 2nd best amateur high school player from St. Louis to play on the team. That would have helped draw more fans to buy tickets. Granted the StL area amateur program was nowhere developed to what it is now, but there were some very, very good hockey players whom were invited as non-drafted players to NHL Rookie Camps, and some went on to other college programs (usually D-2 or D-3). But nonetheless if he could have gotten to where he had 3-4 local kids on the team each year, I think the program could have lasted.
I do hope they get another shot at D-1.

[Cajanek-Spielmacher]

I also remember a tournament at the old Arena. I want to say it was The Firemans' something or other. I miss it and also was hoping for a return to D1 hockey.

[STLinCHI]

Blues tix were hard to get and SLU tix were cheap. The success of the Blues no doubt fed the appetite for hockey and many SLU games were also sold out. John Nestic was the best player the SLU program ever had and he was a joy to watch. Lindsay Middlebrook was a fantastic goalie who I remember. One year during pre-season the SLU team played a team of Blues rookies. SLU was winning the game and the pro's started to muck it up. Coach Bill Selman pulled the SLU team off the ice mid-game! I remember watching Mike Luit in goal for Bowling Green and he was just phenomenal as a collegiate goalie. When the Blues got him I was pumped! Probably wouldn't have known who he was unless the Billikens had a program.

[blues2112]

Team had a good run in the 1970s; my memory is that the tickets were $1 apiece and the Arena seemed "empty" compared to a packed Blues game.
Remember seeing Liut play for Bowling Green against the Billikens.

Then again, that was a long time ago, and I could be wrong about all of it.

https://www.hockeydb.com/stte/st.-louis ... -8200.html

Raise your hand if you're a SLU alum!

[fish]

Those were some fun games. When I was in third grade, a teammate and I got to skate warmups with them and stand on the blue line for the anthem

[27-12-16]

I have never seen a Billikins game, but my 17 year old nephew plays for the Sting in the CSDHL Major U18 and the quality of hockey is fantastic. He plans on going to Mizzou if he doesn't get drafted by the USHL.

Just bumping a legit hockey thread

[hockey jedi]

I have never seen a Billikins game, but my 17 year old nephew plays for the Sting in the CSDHL Major U18 and the quality of hockey is fantastic. He plans on going to Mizzou if he doesn't get drafted by the USHL.

Just bumping a legit hockey thread

That's cool. My god son plays for the Jr. Blues in NAHL. He's a good player, but he's going to age out. He has no interest in college. I'm disappointed because it's been so fun to watch and track him for the last fifteen years.

[dhsux]

Blues triple A team won that recent tournament in Calgary I believe.

I'm sure SLU would need a major benefactor to ever consider getting back into D1 hockey.