Army Hockey: The Greatest Dynasty You've Never Heard Of

The year was 1949. Alaksa and Hawaii were still a decade away from being admitted to the Union, the Emmy Award Ceremony was held for the very first time, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created, oil was first discovered in the Caspian Sea, and the oldest Baby Boomer was three years old.

Feeling old enough yet? Well, perhaps another factoid that will prompt you to grab a brown bag and hyperventilate is this: 1949 was also the last year that a man who did not have Riley as his last name was not the head coach of Army hockey.

Army Hockey's Infancy Has Some Intriguing Connections

West Point has had Division I hockey since 1903, and the team even played outdoors until 1930. The program underwent frequent coaching turnover in its neophyte years, as ten different bench bosses commandeered the ice warriors of the Long Gray Line from 1903-1923.

Beginning in the 1923-24 season, former Montreal Canadien and Stanley Cup winner Raymond Marchand assumed stewardship of Army hockey - and he brought along some other venerable credentials with him.

Marchand was the backup goalie for the Montreal Canadiens - the world's oldest continuously operating professional hockey franchise - behind Georges Vezina, the latter being the only goaltender to play for the Canadiens 1910 and 1925. Vezina played in 328 consecutive regular-season games and is also the namesake for the Vezina Trophy - the NHL's annual award for the league's best goalie.

Ray Marchand's Lengthy Tenure Foreshadowed A Dynasty

The United States Military Academy had just celebrated its centennial anniversary when it formed its hockey program. After vacillating through nine different coaches in its first 20 years of existence, the esteemed Marchand took over and would not relinquish his position until 1943.

Despite the fact that Army only had seven winning campaigns in Marchand's duo of decenniums leading the squad, his long reign precipitated that of 1998 International Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Jack Riley, the man who not only ruled Army hockey for multiple generations, but also ushered in one of American hockey's finest eras overall.

The Riley Dynasty Had Humble Beginnings

Len Patten was the last non-Riley who coached Army hockey. He amassed a 33-35-2 record, and then bequeathed the program to John Patrick "Jack" Riley, a Dartmouth College graduate who played on the US Olympic hockey team in 1948 after serving in the U.S. Naval Air Corps.

Unfortunately, the Americans were disqualified as a result of a dispute between two warring factions and rival American organizations - the American Hockey Association (AHA) and the Amateur Athletic Union, or AAU.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) had maintained that players could not participate in the Olympics unless they were endorsed by their own country's governing body; the AAU had operated amateur hockey since 1930, but had been expelled by the IIHF in 1929 because the AAU did not pledge support to the "professional" players on the AHA, the latter being the official governing body recognized by the IIHF before the AAU.

Therefore, the AHA was invited to participate in the 1948 Olympics - not the AAU. Right before the first game of the Olympics for the Americans, however, a compromise was reached; this bargain entailed the US participating team to an unofficial contestant, meaning that the AHA team could still play, but could not qualify for a medal. The team was effectively disqualified, including Jack Riley.

One day, though, Jack Riley would return to the national hockey team in a far more glorious fashion. Hardly dismayed by the confluence of events at the Olympics two years prior, Jack Riley was named head coach of Army hockey in 1950. Riley's first three years with the team proved to be adversarial, as the team had a record of 13-30-1.

Coach Riley's Stoicism Engineered a Breakthrough For Army In 1953-54

Fittingly, by the onset of the 1953-54 season, which immediately followed West Point's sesquicentennial anniversary, Coach Riley posted his first victorious campaign as West Point's bench boss, as the cadets finished with a mark of 10-7. It was the first winning season for Army hockey in five years.

Army hockey and Coach Riley had a losing record only twice during the next 16 years. During that stretch, Army registered a winning percentage above .600 ten different times, and Jack Riley took home a lot of hardware, which included the Spencer Penrose Award in 1957 and 1960 - the award being bestowed to the best Division I college hockey coach each year since 1951. That, however, paled in comparison to the accolade that Jack Riley attained in 1960.

In 1960, Jack Riley Accomplished Something No One Else Had Before

The United States Men's Olympic hockey team had enjoyed a considerable level of success prior to Jack Riley's stewardship of the program. The Olympic team had produced six silver medals and a bronze medal since 1920, the first year that hockey had been played on the biggest stage. But, the team never had a breakthrough triumph, and had not yet adorned players with gold medals.

That all changed in 1960, when Jack Riley was named head coach of the Olympic team. Seeking to avenge the embarrassing circumstances of the 1948 Olympics, Riley held tryouts Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota campus. The Olympics transpired at the most unlikely destination at the time - Squaw Valley, California, a state in which there would be no NHL team until 1967.

Canada and the Soviet Union were heavily favored to compete in the gold medal game, while the Americans were an afterthought, not even expected to survive the group stage.

Those notions were quickly squashed, as Coach Riley's team defeated Czechoslovakia and Australia by a combined score of 19-6, and advanced to the medal round. There, the Americans usurped Sweden, 6-3, due largely in part to the sublime tandem of brothers Roger and Billy Christian, who combined for a hat trick and three assists.

After handily defeating Germany by a tally of 9-1, the United States was set for a dream match with Canada, who had won two of the last four gold medals. In a victory that was produced almost solely by future Hall of Fame goalie Jack McCartan and his 39 saves, the Americans the Canadians by a final score of 2-1.

The Next Two Games Defined Jack Riley And His Career

The Americans, after trailing 2-1 against the Soviets, rallied to defeat their Cold War foes, in a game that would reverberate 20 years later in the "Miracle on Ice".

Just like everything coming full circle for Riley, who was on the Olympic team that was ultimately disqualified 12 years prior, the United States faced off against the Czechs for the right to don the gold medal.

This victory was far easier than their first game against the Czechoslovakians, as the Americans won decisively, 9-4, and attained their very first gold medal in hockey.

Having reached the absolute pinnacle of his profession, Jack Riley did not allow himself to become complacent, as he still went on to coach at West Point for 26 more years. Over a 36-year tenure with Army, Riley accrued 29 winning seasons, a 542-343-20 record, and ranked second all-time in in NCAA wins when he retired in 1986.

The Riley Dynasty Continued For 38 More Years

Jack Riley's sons, Rob and Brian, have since coached Army; Rob coached the tea, from 1987-87 until 2004, and his younger brother has commandeered the team since, although Brian has announced this upcoming season as his last, with longtime assistant and West Point graduate Zach McKelvie inheriting the team next year, marking both an end and a beginning.

Brian Riley's older son, Jack, may find himself in charge of the program one day. But, for now, a new era will begin next year for Army hockey - and what an incredible dynasty it was, and will always be.

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