Dan Kane (ice hockey) explained

Dan Kane
Birth Date:12 June 1962
Birth Place:Clinton, New York, USA
Height Ft:5
Height In:11
Weight Lb:175
Position:Center
Shoots:Left
Played For:Bowling Green
Moncton Golden Flames
Milwaukee Admirals
Career Start:1981
Career End:1985

Daniel Kane is an American retired ice hockey center who was an All-American for Bowling Green and helped the team win its first National Championship in 1984.

Career

Kane arrived in Bowling Green in the fall of 1981, just in time to see the Falcons regain their status as one of the CCHA's top teams. As a freshman he helped BGSU finish atop the conference standings, third in the CCHA Tournament and reach the NCAA Tournament. The team's season was ended when they lost a heart-breaking triple overtime match to New Hampshire in the quarterfinals.[1]

In his sophomore season, Kane began to come into his own, more than doubling his goal production as the team finished 1st in the CCHA again. Unfortunately, despite a runner-up finish in their conference tournament, the Falcons were passed over for the 1983 NCAA Tournament despite having gone 28–8–4 during the season. The following year Bowling Green left little doubt that they were one of the best teams in the country, finishing the regular season atop their conference for the third consecutive season and posted a 17-game winning streak. Kane was the team's leading scorer and named an All-American for his efforts. The Falcons nearly suffered a tragic end when they lost three consecutive games in the CCHA Tournament, but their record was too impressive to overlook and they received an at-large bid to the National Tournament.

After overcoming a 3-goal deficit in the quarterfinal round, Bowling Green shut down perennial power Michigan State in the national semifinal to make their first Championship game appearance. In one of the most memorable games in college hockey history, Kane assisted on the quadruple-overtime game winner, ending the longest championship game in history (as of 2021).[2]

Both Kane and teammate Gino Cavallini capitalized on their instant fame and signed professional contracts with the Calgary Flames, forgoing their final seasons of eligibility. They went through training camp in the fall of 1984 under the legendary Bob Johnson but were assigned to the minor league Moncton Golden Flames to start. Kane played a normal rotation in his first dozen games but, when his scoring didn't materialize, he saw his ice time reduced to just a few shifts per game.[3] Kane was eventually sent to the Milwaukee Admirals and, while he did see his production jump significantly, he retired after the season.

Kane eventually went to work for Proforma, a printing and packing company. He was working as an executive in their Business and Sales department in 2021.[4]

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

  Regular Season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1979–80Nepean RaidersCJHL
1980–81Nepean RaidersCJHL4523487179
1981–82Bowling GreenCCHA4110314131
1982–83Bowling GreenCCHA3925335858
1983–84Bowling GreenCCHA4324487261
1984–85Moncton Golden FlamesAHL320101017
1984–85Milwaukee AdmiralsIHL4217163329
NCAA totals123 59 112 171 150

Awards and honors

AwardYear
All-CCHA Second Team1982–83[5]
CCHA All-Tournament Team1983[6]
All-CCHA First Team1983–84[7]
AHCA West First-Team All-American1983–84[8]

Notes and References

  1. News: NCAA Tournament. College Hockey Historical Archives. May 19, 2013.
  2. News: “Cavallini from Kane” book to tell the story of ’84 . Bowling Green State University . September 18, 2015 . June 2, 2021.
  3. News: A Shot at NHL : It’s Up, Down, Down for 2 Ex-College Stars . Los Angeles Times . March 24, 1985 . June 2, 2021.
  4. News: Dan Kane . Linked In . June 2, 2021.
  5. News: CCHA All-Teams. College Hockey Historical Archives. May 19, 2013.
  6. News: 2012-13 CCHA Media Guide. ISSUU.com. 2014-04-23.
  7. News: CCHA All-Teams. College Hockey Historical Archives. May 19, 2013.
  8. News: Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners. NCAA.org. June 11, 2013.