Bob May (ice hockey)

Bob May
Biographical details
Born	June 8, 1927; Sprague, Manitoba
Died	July 20, 2014 (aged 87); Plymouth, Minnesota
Playing career
1949–1951	North Dakota
Position(s)	Defenceman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1954–1955	Wayzata High School
1955–1957	Roosevelt High School
1957–1959	North Dakota
1959–1960	Minneapolis Millers
1974–1981	Wayzata Checkers
1994–1996	Wayzata High School (girls)
Head coaching record
Overall	44–17–2 (college)
Tournaments	3–1
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
	1958 WIHL Champion; 1959 NCAA National Champion
Awards
	1981 UND Athletic Hall of Fame; 2002 UND Athletic Hall of Fame; 2013 MGHCA Hall of Fame

Robert H. May (June 8, 1927 – July 20, 2014) was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach most well known for his brief tenure at North Dakota where he won the program's first National Champion in 1959.^[1]

Career

May played for North Dakota for two seasons in the early 1950s and was named captain his final year. After graduating May turned to coaching, first leading Wayzata High School then Roosevelt High School before he was named as the bench boss for his alma mater.^[2] May was appointed coach of the Fighting Sioux when the university's president chose him instead of Ken Johannson, when the athletic directors were undecided.^[3]

May's first season brought incredible success as the Fighting Sioux won their first conference title and reached the 1958 NCAA Championship game. The WIHL was dissolved the following year, but that didn't stop May's team. They were once again invited to the tournament, bringing home the program's first national title.^[4]

May left the program to become the coach of the Minneapolis Millers for a year before he entered dental school.^[5] He became the team dentist for the Minnesota North Stars in 1968 and served in that capacity until 1983. In 1974 he became the coach of the newly formed Wayzata Checkers girls ice hockey team and led the team for its first seven seasons. In that time his team won a state title, three national titles and took first place in the 1979 Friendship Tournament held in Helsinki. Later in life he was brought back to Wayzata High School the second time to coach the first two seasons of the girls ice hockey team. He was able to help the squad to a conference championship in his second year.

Dr. Bob May served in the Army, reaching the rank of colonel. Over the course of his life May wrote four books, including; "The Hockey Drill Book," "The Hockey Road: From High School, to College, to Pro," and "Girls Hockey in Minnesota; Where To Go From Here?". May was twice inducted into the North Dakota Athletic Hall of Fame, in 1981 as an individual and in 2002 as part of the championship team. He was also a charter member of the MGHCA Hall of Fame in 2013.

Personal life

Bob May died in 2014 at the age of 87 from pulmonary fibrosis. He was survived by his wife Beverley and their daughters Jan and Cathy.

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
North Dakota Fighting Sioux (WIHL) (1957–1958)
1957–58	North Dakota	24–7–1	15–5–0	t-1st	NCAA Runner-Up
North Dakota:		24–7–1	15–5–0
North Dakota Fighting Sioux Independent (1958–1959)
1958–59	North Dakota	20–10–1			NCAA National Champion
North Dakota:		20–10–1
Total:		44–17–2
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

References

^ "Legendary coach Dr. Robert May passes away at 87". UND Sports. 2014-07-21. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
^ "UND's first title-winning men's hockey coach dies". InForum. 2014-07-21. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
^ Hartman, Sid (June 7, 1957). "The Roundup". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 19.
^ "Bob May Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
^ "DR. BOB MAY". MGHCA. Retrieved 2017-06-12.

[1] "Legendary coach Dr. Robert May passes away at 87". UND Sports. 2014-07-21. Retrieved 2017-06-12.

[2] "UND's first title-winning men's hockey coach dies". InForum. 2014-07-21. Retrieved 2017-06-12.

[3] Hartman, Sid (June 7, 1957). "The Roundup". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 19.

[4] "Bob May Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2017-06-12.

[5] "DR. BOB MAY". MGHCA. Retrieved 2017-06-12.

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v t e North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey
Formerly the North Dakota Flickertails and North Dakota Fighting Sioux
Venues	Winter Sports Building (1936–1972) Ralph Engelstad Arena (old; 1972–2001) Ralph Engelstad Arena (new; 2001–present)
Head coaches	Joe Brown (1929–1932) Noland Franz (1932–1933) Buck Cameron (1935–1936) John Jamieson (1946–1947) Don Norman (1947–1949) Fido Purpur (1949–1956) Al Renfrew (1956–1957) Bob May (1957–1959) Barry Thorndycraft (1959–1964) Bob Peters (1964–1966) Bill Selman (1966–1968) Rube Bjorkman (1968–1978) John Gasparini (1978–1994) Dean Blais (1994–2004) Dave Hakstol (2004–2015) Brad Berry (2015–present)
Seasons	1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 Program Suspended (1933–34) 1935–36 Program Suspended (1936–37 through 1945–46) 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Conference affiliations	Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) (1951–1958, 1959–2013) National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) (2013–present)
Rivalries	Denver Minnesota Wisconsin
All-time leaders	Statistical leaders Greg Johnson (272 Points) Ben Cherski (131 Goals) Karl Goehring (80 Wins)
National championships	1959 1963 1980 1982 1987 1997 2000 2016
Frozen Four appearances	1958 1959 1963 1965 1967 1968 1979 1980 1982 1984 1987 1997 2000 2001 2005 2006 2007 2008 2011 2014 2015 2016
NCAA Tournament appearances	1958 1959 1963 1965 1967 1968 1979 1980 1982 1984 1987 1990 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2021 2022 2024
Conference Tournament titles	WCHA: 1967 1968 1979 1980 1987 1997 2000 2006 2010 2011 2012 NCHC: 2021
Hobey Baker winners	Tony Hrkac (1987) Ryan Duncan (2007)
Mike Richter winners	Zane McIntyre (2015)
University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND