Willard Ikola

Willard Ikola
Date of birth	July 28, 1932
place of birth	Eveleth , Minnesota , USA
size	173 cm
Weight	70 kg
position	goalkeeper
Career stations
1950-1951	Detroit Auto Club
1951-1953	University of Michigan
1955-1958	Team USA

Willard Ikola (born July 28, 1932 in Eveleth , Minnesota ) is a former American ice hockey goalkeeper and coach . As a player he won the silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics , and as a coach he was successful in high school.

Career

Ikola learned the sport of ice hockey in Eveleth. From 1946 to 1950 he played for Eveleth High School and won three Minnesota high school championships (1948-50). With him, the team was able to win 67 games in a row and remained without defeat for three years. He then played temporarily for the Detroit Auto Club in the International Hockey League , but shortly after switched to the college team at the University of Michigan . There he won the NCAA championship in two seasons with the Wolverines (1952, 53).

1955 Ikola was appointed to the US national team. With this he won the silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo . In the US team, Ikola only had to admit defeat to the Soviet Union 0: 4 in the final round . He played for the US team until 1958 while working as a navigator for the Air Force . After that he turned down an offer from playing professional hockey and became a coach at the high school of Edina (Edina Edina High School and East High School). After he ended the first season with a negative balance (4-9-5), his team showed a positive balance in the 32 following seasons. Overall this is 616-149-38. During his time in Edina, he was able to win a total of 22 conference titles, 19 regional championships and eight state championships (1969, 71, 74, 78, 79, 82, 84 and 88). He has been named Minnesota High School Coach of the Year six times.

Ikola later worked as a scout for the New York Islanders .

Awards

• 1990: United States Hockey Hall of Fame
• 1900: John Mariucci Award
• 1990: University of Michigan Hall of Honor
• 1992: National High School Sports Hall of Fame
• 1997: Edina Athletic Hall of Fame

Web links

• Willard Ikola at hockeydb.com (English)
• Douglas S. Looney (Sports Illustrated): In Edina Everyone Still Likes Ike (March 25, 1991)
• Edina Athletic Hall of Fame - Class of 1997
• Willard Ikola in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )