Neil Celley

Neil 'The Seal' Celley is a former American ice hockey coach and player who was a member of the US national team at the 1948 Winter Olympics.[1]

Neil Celley
Neil Celley
Biographical details
BornEveleth, MN, USA
Alma materMichigan
Playing career
1945–1946Michigan
1948US Olympic Team
1948–1951Michigan
Position(s)Left Wing
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1951–1956Denver
Head coaching record
Overall76-42-6 (.637)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1951 National Championship

Career

Neil Celley joined the Michigan ice hockey team after winning a State Championship in 1945. He left the program a year later to take part in first Winter Olympics since 1936 (due to World War II) and was chosen as a member of the USOC's squad. A competing USA team was also sent to St. Moritz that year, one representing the Amateur Hockey Association that openly allowed professional players in their lineup. After tense negotiations the AHA team was allowed to play in the games but only in an unofficial capacity (they would be ineligible for a medal).[2] The USOC team was allowed to march in the opening ceremony which would be the extent to which Celley could contribute to the team.

Celley returned to Ann Arbor the following fall and finished out his college career without further interruption. He played in 3 consecutive NCAA tournaments finally winning one in his senior season. Celley was named to the All tournament team[3] and recorded a team record 37 goals and 37 assists in the regular season (later broken by Red Berenson).[4]

After graduating from the School of Education in 1951 Celley immediately began his coaching career at Denver, taking over the two-year-old program from Vern Turner.[5] While receiving his Master of Arts in 1952 Celley led the Pioneers to a second-place finish (tied) in the newly created MCHL, unfortunately his alma mater Michigan (with whom his team had tied) was selected for the 1952 tournament instead. Celley's teams would finish with a winning record every year but were never selected for the postseason tournament. In 1956, after kicking four players off the squad for violating team rules, Celley stepped down mid-season and ended his coaching career.[6]

Head coaching record[7]
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Denver Pioneers (MCHL) (1951–1953)
1951–52 Denver 18-6-19-3-0t-2nd
1952–53 Denver 17-6-110-6-04th
Denver: 35-12-219-9-0
Denver Pioneers (WIHL) (1953–1956)
1953–54 Denver 16-9-07-7-04th
1954–55 Denver 18-11-18-9-15th
1955–56 Denver 7-10-3†4-8-1†
Denver: 41-30-419-24-2
Total:76-42-6

      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

†Celley resigned shortly after removing four players from the team for violating team rules.[6]

Awards and honors
Award Year
AHCA First Team All-American 1950–51 [8]
All-NCAA All-Tournament First Team 1951 [9]
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References
  1. "Michigan the Olympics". University of Michigan. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  2. "1948 - Winter Olympics V (St. Moritz, Switzerland)". TSN. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  3. "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-06-22. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  4. "Neil Celley". University of Michigan. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  5. "Denver Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  6. "Denver Drops Four Icers; Coach Quits". The Michigan Daily. February 21, 1956. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  7. "2015-16 DU Hockey Media Guide" (PDF). Denver Pioneers. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  8. "1950-1951 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  9. "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Jack Garrity		 NCAA Ice Hockey Scoring Champion
1950–51		 Succeeded by
Frank Chiarelli
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