DENVER – Only one other coach has had a better start to their tenure behind the Denver Pioneers hockey bench than David Carle—the legendary Murray Armstrong.
 
In his fifth season leading the Pioneers, Carle, 33, already has two Frozen Four appearances and a national championship on his resume. Last Saturday, he added his first major win milestone by picking up victory No. 100 of his career.
 
Not one to take credit for the team's success, Carle stressed that it's a group effort from the players, coaches, trainers and other support staff behind the scenes that has led to his individual success.
 
"I'm proud of that and of our staff and our players' efforts to continue what has been going on for a really long time here," said Carle, who was named the Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach on May 25, 2018. "As I told the players, they win the games, we just kind of try to put them into situations to have success. You don't win that many games without really good players and really good recruiting, so everyone plays a factor into it."
 
Carle joined Armstrong (460), Ralph Backstrom (182), George Gwozdecky (443) and Jim Montgomery (125) as Denver head coaches to win 100 career games, but only Armstrong reached the century mark faster. Armstrong achieved the feat in 143 games, while Carle hit the mark 160 games—five faster than his predecessor Montgomery (165).
 
Carle says he is the benefactor of a program that has both a strong tradition and pedigree in its past and present. The Pioneers have at least 20 wins in their last 20 full seasons—The Tenzer Streak—and have won four NCAA titles, the most among any school in that time. The program's nine national championships are tied for the most in college hockey.
 
Carle's present .667 winning percentage in only four-and-a-half seasons is second-best among all DU coaches (Armstrong, .674) and is also the second-best mark among the five bench bosses in their quest for 100 victories (Armstrong, .731).
 
"I think it speaks to the program and the stability of it," said Carle of the school's recent success. "A guy like (senior) Kyle Mayhew has been here the whole time. Our staff has really been in-tact the whole time as well, and it's an honor to be the head coach of the program. There is a lot that goes into us winning any game, but certainly the level of caliber games that we have won recently, it takes everybody, and I'm real proud to be a part of it and for everyone to be a part of it as well."
 
Armstrong also had immediate success at the helm of the program, winning three championships (1958, 1960, 1961) in his first five seasons and laying the groundwork for the program's success today.
Carle won't be able to match that championship number of Armstrong, but he is looking to guide the Pioneers to a third Frozen Four and ultimately reach a number that he and the rest of the team care the most about: being the first program to 10 national championships.
 
"Certainly, we're proud of the fact of winning hockey games and having a great year," Carle said. "The number we all care about is 10, and once we get that one I'll be a lot happier."

 
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