Two University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team awards now bear the names of a pair of former Bulldog linemates and will be part of a new display at AMSOIL Arena.
Beginning in 2016-17, the Keith "Huffer" Christiansen Award (which was previously known as the Mike Seiler Award) will be bestowed on UMD's Most Valuable Player while the Bulldog Community Service Award has been changed to the Pat Francisco Award. Christiansen centered a line in 1966-67 that featured Francisco, a fellow senior, at one of the wing positions.
Christiansen burst onto the UMD scene shortly after it had upgraded to the NCAA I ranks and immediately helped propel the program into the national spotlight. He holds the distinction of being the first UMD athlete in any sport to have his/her jersey officially retired (No. 9 in 1988) as well as being the first Bulldog to ever lead the WCHA in scoring (he did it twice), be named that league's Most Valuable Player (1966-67) and reign as the team's top point producer for four consecutive seasons (1963-67). Christiansen, who would go on to captain the silver medal-winning U.S. club at the 1972 Winter Olympics and be a charter member of the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame (1991), won the Bulldog Most Valuable Player Award as a freshman, sophomore and senior.
Francisco played for four seasons with his hometown Bulldogs and during his farewell collegiate go-around in 1966-67 finished third in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association scoring race. But as much of an impact he had on the ice, the former Bulldog assistant team captain, volunteer assistant coach and recipient of UMD's Top Senior Scholar-Athlete Award has made an even bigger – and more lasting -- mark with his long-standing commitment to community involvement.
These two renamed awards, along with the Jerry Chumola Award (Rookie of the Year), Goldie Wolfe Award (Most Inspirational Player) and Mike Sertich Award (Most Improved Player) will now have a permanent home in the east hallway at AMSOIL Arena. In addition, a listing of all UMD team captains and Bulldogs who have received various national honors (Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, Academic All-Americans, etc.) will also be on display. The official unveiling will take place at 4 p.m. on Jan. 6 at AMSOIL Arena with all five of the award namesakes (or a representative) in attendance. The top-ranked Bulldogs are scheduled to take on National Collegiate Hockey Conference rival Colorado College later that evening as part of Bulldog Hockey Alumni Night.
"Our Alumni group has been working on getting a more public recognition of these long-time team awards and the recipients for some time," said Rick Menz, UMD Men's Hockey Alumni Club director. "It is with great pleasure that we have renamed two of the awards after two individuals who are not only legendary Bulldog players, but also respected members of the community. This continuing link between UMD athletics and the community is something we are quite proud of, and we will do everything we can to impress upon the current and future players its importance.
