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Doug Ferguson (ice hockey)

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Canadian ice hockey player Ice hockey player
Doug Ferguson
Born (1943-05-09)May 9, 1943
Birsay, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died November 10, 2003(2003-11-10) (aged 60)
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Center
Played for Cornell
Saskatoon Quakers
Portland Buckaroos
Salem Rebels
Charlotte Checkers
Syracuse Blazers
Fort Worth Wings
Rochester Americans
Syracuse Eagles
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 1964–1975

Douglas R. Ferguson was a Canadian ice hockey Center who was a two-time All-American for Cornell and helped the team win its first NCAA Championship.

Career

Ferguson was a prominent junior player for the Melville Millionaires, along his twin brother Dave, in 1963. That summer, Ned Harkness had become the new head coach for Cornell and sought to build a program that could win an national title. He sold his vision to the Ferguson brothers and the pair, with younger brother Bob, all became members of Harkness' first recruiting class for the Big Red. Harkness had already won a championship with RPI in 1954 and there was hope he could replicate that success in Ithaca. Doug, as most players did, sat out his freshman season due to the then-NCAA regulations limiting students to 3 years of varsity play. When he debuted for the team as a sophomore alongside his siblings the program saw an immediate improvement. Doug led the Big Red in scoring, finishing tied for 5th in the nation with 55 points, and Cornell went from a middling 12–10 to a respectable 19–7. The Big Red fell in the team's first ever postseason game, losing 3–4 to Brown in overtime, but Ferguson and the Big Red had only just introduced themselves.

Doug was named team co-captain as a junior and led the Big Red to a stellar season. Ferguson led not only the team but the entire nation in scoring, scoring 71 points and setting a program record with 37 goals (still a Cornell record as of 2020). While Ferguson was named as an All-American and to the All-ECAC First Team, Cornell finished third in ECAC Hockey and the team sought its first conference championship in over 50 years. After obliterating Boston College in the quarterfinals, Cornell shocked Boston University with an 8–1 drubbing in the semifinal. The team wasn't able to overcome Clarkson for the championship, but the 2nd-place finish garnered Cornell an invitation to the 1966 NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, due to an ongoing argument between the NCAA and the Ivy League over player eligibility, Cornell had to decline the invitation as well as their first appearance in a national tournament.

Fortunately for the Ferguson brothers, the argument was settled prior to the 1966–67 season and Cornell now had a chance to make the championship. Doug became an alternate captain for the year, turning the captaincy over to his twin Dave. the team also welcomed the best player I program history, Ken Dryden, to the varsity team. Dryden had originally been a Princeton recruit before Harkness' plan and the vast improvement by Cornell in Ferguson's sophomore season convinced him to change schools. Doug's scoring declined as a senior and he finished 4th in the nation, though he still led the Big Red with 61 points. The team had become a defensive juggernaut, however, and lost only one game during the regular season. Cornell was unable to win a regular season title, however, because Boston University hadn't lost a single conference game and the two had tied their only meeting on the year. Ferguson was still considered the leader for the team and he was named as the ECAC Player of the Year as well as earning a second stint as an All-American. As they had the year before, Cornell utterly dominated their first two opponents in the ECAC Tournament, winning by a combined score of 23–4. The championship game saw the nation's top two teams face off for the conference title and BU proved to nearly be Cornell's equal. Doug assisted on his brother's goal to open the scoring and then tied the game with a marker of his own at the start of the third. Ferguson's third point of the game came as an assist on Mike Doran's game-winner and Cornell won its first ECAC championship. Ferguson was named as the Most Outstanding Player in Tournament and guaranteed Cornell its first NCAA tournament appearance.

After narrowly escaping a game North Dakota squad in the semifinals, Cornell met Boston University for the third time in the program's first championship game. Ferguson scored his only goal of the tournament on the power play halfway through the game but it was more than enough as Dryden allowed just a single BU goal and Cornell won the national title. Ferguson was named to the All-Tournament Second Team along with his twin and the three Ferguson brothers ended their college careers the best way possible.

Doug continued his playing career after graduating, playing senior hockey for several seasons and eventually won the EHL championship with the Syracuse Blazers in 1973. After that season Ferguson got a chance as a professional with Rochester Americans but he could not find the same success and required after the following season. he was inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame in 1979 and currently sits 4th on the program's all-time scoring list despite playing far fewer games than the three players above him.

Personal life

Doug was predeceased by his twin Dave (July 10, 1977) and died on November 10, 2003. Younger brother Bob died on October 3, 2010.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Ice Hockey

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1961–62 Prince Albert Mintos SJHL — — — — — — — — — —
1962–63 Melville Millionaires SJHL — — — — — — — — — —
1964–65 Cornell ECAC Hockey 26 27 28 55 86 — — — — —
1965–66 Cornell ECAC Hockey 27 37 34 71 76 — — — — —
1966–67 Cornell ECAC Hockey 29 27 34 61 103 — — — — —
1967–68 Saskatoon Quakers WCSHL — — — — — — — — — —
1968–69 Portland Buckaroos WHL 5 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1968–69 Salem Rebels EHL 8 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
1968–69 Charlotte Checkers EHL 35 13 14 27 42 — — — — —
1968–69 Syracuse Blazers EHL 30 10 14 24 63 — — — — —
1969–70 Syracuse Blazers EHL 64 24 34 58 212 4 2 3 5 4
1970–71 Syracuse Blazers EHL 74 32 50 82 190 6 2 7 9 23
1971–72 Fort Worth Wings CHL 15 1 3 4 16 — — — — —
1971–72 Syracuse Blazers EHL 46 19 24 43 117 17 5 6 11 81
1972–73 Syracuse Blazers EHL 69 30 70 100 103 14 13 12 25 31
1973–74 Rochester Americans AHL 64 11 19 30 60 — — — — —
1974–75 Auburn Cayugas NYAHL — — — — — — — — — —
1974–75 Syracuse Eagles AHL 3 0 0 0 26 1 0 0 0 2
NCAA Totals 82 91 96 187 265 — — — — —
EHL Totals 253 105 178 283 622 41 22 28 50 139

Awards and honors

Award Year
All-ECAC Hockey Second Team 1964–65
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 1965–66
AHCA East All-American 1965–66
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament First Team 1966
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 1966–67
AHCA East All-American 1966–67
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament First Team 1967
All-NCAA All-Tournament Second Team 1967

References

  1. ^ "1965-1966 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  2. "Individual Records" (PDF). Cornell Big Red. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  3. "Cornell Men's Hockey Media Guide Pages 59-88 (History and Records)" (PDF). Cornell Big Red. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  4. "March 11, 1967". The Big Red What. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  5. "DELTA KAPPA EPSILON FRATERNITY" (PDF). Delta Chi Chapter at Cornell University. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  7. ^ "All-Tournament Honors" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
  8. "1966-1967 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  9. "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded byJohn Cunniff ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year
1964–65 		Succeeded byKent Parrot
Preceded byTerry Yurkiewicz ECAC Hockey Player of the Year
1966–67 		Succeeded byWayne Small
Preceded byTerry Yurkiewicz ECAC Hockey Most Outstanding Player in Tournament
1967 		Succeeded byKen Dryden
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