DENVER – University of Denver hockey head coach
David Carle has been named a finalist for the 2023-24 Spencer Penrose Award, given annually to the NCAA Division-I men's hockey coach of the year.
Carle, 34, is one of eight finalists for this year's honor that was released on Tuesday by the American Hockey Coaches Association. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, April 10 prior to the NCAA Men's Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the award will be presented during the annual AHCA Convention in Naples, Florida, on May 1.
The Anchorage, Alaska, native is in his sixth year at the helm of his alma mater and has guided the Pioneers to their third NCAA Frozen Four in that time. Denver owns a 30-9-3 record this season, marking the program's third consecutive 30-wn campaign—the first time in school history it has reached the threshold in back-to-back-to-back years. It is also the 22nd straight full season where DU has recorded 20 or more victories, extending its "Tenzer" Streak as the longest active stretch in college hockey that dates to 2001-02.
Denver finished second in the NCHC standings during the regular season with 45 points and a 15-7-2 record in conference play. In the postseason, the Pioneers swept Minnesota Duluth in two games in the NCHC Quarterfinals before defeating St. Cloud State in the conference semifinals and Omaha in the championship game to pick up their third NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship. Overall, it was DU's 18 conference tournament title in the team's 75-season history.
The Pioneers are in their 33rd national tournament, and they advanced to their 19th Frozen Four and fifth trip in the last eight years (seven tournament appearances) by winning the NCAA Northeast Regional last weekend in Springfield, Massachusetts. Denver, which leads the nation by averaging 4.71 goals per game, played its first 2-1 hockey contests of the season as the squad defeated Massachusetts in double-overtime on Thursday before beating Cornell on Saturday.
Carle picked up his 126th career victory on Nov. 25 against Yale, surpassing his predecessor, Jim Montgomery, for sole possession of fourth place on the school's all-time wins list. He coached his 200th game—all at DU—on Dec. 9 at Western Michigan to become just the fifth Pioneers coach to reach the milestone. His .675 winning percentage through the first 200 games was the second-best mark among Denver coaches, as only Murray Armstrong was better through his first 200 a .735 while also winning three national titles.
Overall, Carle owns a 146-62-16 all-time record and his current .688 winning percentage is presently the best among coaches in Denver hockey history; Armstrong is second with a .674 winning percentage.
Carle is looking for his second national title as a head coach and his third overall. He became the fourth-youngest coach in college hockey history to win an NCAA championship in 2022 (32 years, five months, zero days) and also won a title as an assistant on Montgomery's staff in 2017.
The Pioneer coach won a gold medal as well this season for Team USA at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden in December and January, leading the Americans past the host Swedes in the final for the country's sixth gold in the last 20 years.
Carle has previously been a finalist for the Spence Penrose Award in 2019 and 2022. Four Pioneers coaches have previously won the award: Murray Armstrong (1961), Ralph Backstrom (1986), George Gwozdecky (2005) and Jim Montgomery (2017).
UP NEXT: The No. 1-seed Denver takes on fellow No. 1 Boston University in the NCAA Frozen Faceoff Semifinals at 3 p.m. MT on Thursday, April 11 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The winners of the two semifinals will play in the NCAA Championship Game on Saturday, April 13 at 4 p.m. MT.
