Lucas Punkari
It’s been a few days since Gary Beck was inducted into the inaugural sports Hall of Fame class at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth on Friday with his teammates from the 1974-75 NAIA national championship hockey team, but he’s still wrapping his head around the fact they were honoured in such a way.
“It’s something that you don’t expect to happen,” Beck said. “But when it does, you’re very proud of it.
“For the entire group to be recognized that way was a great honour, and it was nice to be able to go down there with my family, as well, and to also have them be a part of the celebration that took place there,” he added.
Joining Beck, 54, in the Hall of Fame class was his linemate of four years, Andy Speak, who still is the all-time points leader for the Saints with 232, which was 100 more than Beck’s four-year total during the same period (1974-78).
“In my first year there [1974-75], I was paired up with Andy and Chuck Mizia, and the called us the Scooter Line,” Beck recalled.
“Chuck was 5’5” and 180 pounds, Andy was 5’9” and 160 pounds, and I was 5’7” and 135 pounds, so we were really quick out there at moving the puck around, and it felt like we had been playing together for 20 years,” he remarked.
During their championship run, the Saints boasted a record of 23-5 before defeating Gustavus Adolphus 7-1 to capture the national title, in what was a remarkable turnaround for the program.
“It was a rags to riches story, really,” Beck explained.
“Two years prior to my arrival was when [university president] Fr. Shea and head coach Del Genereau started to put together the program after they had just gone co-ed there, and they really wanted to put St. Scholastica on the map,” he noted.
“Del brought in a bunch of players from Duluth, the Iron Range, and Canada, and they entered into a league that had teams like Bemidji State and Wisconsin-Superior, and the year before they won the championship they had a record of 0-12.
“The year that I came into the school, they brought in a number of players, like Buzzy LaFond from the Falls, Andy Speak from Thunder Bay, and goalie Bill Courchaine from Ottawa, and I think that we really mixed in well with the talent that was there,” he added.
That amount of talent on the team set the stage for that Saints’ core to go on an impressive run during Beck’s four years at the school, which included another national championship in 1977, when Beck scored the game-winning goal with 20 seconds to go, along with a runner-up finish in 1976 and a quarter-final result in 1978.
“I think the way Gregg Stanley, who was one of our captains, explained it was probably the best way I can put it,” Beck said.
“You had really good players from Duluth, from the Iron Range, and from Canada all playing on the same team, having the attitude of ‘I’m the best,’ and it really showed in the years that followed.
“In fact, our practices back then were probably tougher than our games itself as everyone gave 100 percent when we were against each other, and I think that really helped to put us over the top,” Beck reasoned.
Over the years, members of the team have gotten together on a number of occasions, including a reunion ceremony in 2009 for the 1974 and 1977 squads that Beck and current Saints’ head coach Mark Wick put together.
But Friday’s banquet marked the first time that everyone was under one roof.
“This year we were finally able to find Roger Gremboski after 35 years,” Beck enthused.
“It was really neat to see him meet all of the guys again, and there were some of them that he didn’t even recognize because you obviously change a lot over that amount of time,” he smiled.
Now that everyone has seen each other again, though, it will be a lot easier for the members of the 1974-75 Saints to keep in contact.
“With e-mails and stuff like that, we can keep in touch those ways,” Beck noted. “And every year, the school tries to have a date where we down to Minneapolis to golf with one another.”
For Beck, being a part of the inaugural Hall of Fame class at St. Scholastica was something he’ll never forget, and also marks a continuation of being involved with the school that he first attended when he was 17 years old.
“I have great memories of my time there,” he said.
“The hockey was great and the education that I received while I was there allowed me to do the work that I do now as a probation officer.”
