Craig A. Homola is an American retired ice hockey center who was an All-American for Vermont.[1]

Craig Homola
Born (1958-11-29) November 29, 1958 (age 65)
Eveleth, Minnesota, USA
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Center
Shot Left
Played for Vermont
Oklahoma City Stars
Nashville South Stars
Birmingham South Stars
Salt Lake Golden Eagles
Milwaukee Admirals
Dundee Rockets
Dundee Tigers
Playing career 1977–1989

Career

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In his sophomore year in high school, Homola was one of three centers on the Eveleth-Gilbert High School team who would go on to be stars in college hockey, the others being Dave Delich and Mark Pavelich.[2] Homola graduated in 1977 and began attending the University of Vermont that fall. After a good freshman season, he took over as the leader on offense, pacing the Catamounts with 55 points as a sophomore. As a junior Homola gained wide recognition for his scoring prowess and he was invited to join the US national team a month before the 1980 Winter Olympics but he turned down the offer and watched as his former teammate Pavelich went on to win a gold medal.[3] That season Homola was named as an All-American and ECAC Player of the Year while helping the Catamounts capture the ECAC West Division.

After graduating in 1981, Homola signed on with the Minnesota North Stars minor league system and played well. Unfortunately, short players were not in high demand for NHL teams. He bounced around in the Minnesota and Chicago Blackhawks organizations for a few years before heading to Scotland in 1986. In his first season with the Dundee Rockets, Homola produced astounding numbers, scoring 167 points in just 34 games (nearly 5 points per game), contributing on more than half of the team's goals that season. Dundee folded after the year but Homola stayed in the city when the Rockets were replaced by the Dundee Tigers. Homola was again the focus of the offense but didn't continue his torrid pace for much longer. After 7 games the following year, Homola retired for the game and returned home, eventually becoming a coach at his old high school.

Homola was inducted into the Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991.

Statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1974–75 Eveleth-Gilbert High School MN-HS
1975–76 Eveleth-Gilbert High School MN-HS
1976–77 Eveleth-Gilbert High School MN-HS
1977–78 Vermont ECAC Hockey 31 17 18 35 14
1978–79 Vermont ECAC Hockey 30 24 31 55 39
1979–80 Vermont ECAC Hockey 34 28 41 69 18
1980–81 Vermont ECAC Hockey 33 19 27 46 44
1980–81 Oklahoma City Stars CHL 5 2 2 4 0
1981–82 Nashville South Stars CHL 76 19 35 54 47 3 0 0 0 2
1982–83 Birmingham South Stars CHL 80 30 44 74 34 13 3 9 12 8
1983–84 Salt Lake Golden Eagles CHL 68 29 27 56 37 5 0 2 2 0
1984–85 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 56 16 32 48 18
1985–86 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 12 2 2 4 2
1986–87 Dundee Rockets BHL 34 73 94 167 27 5 14 9 23 2
1987–88 Dundee Tigers BHL 29 75 61 136 42
1988–89 Tayside Tigers BHL 7 8 10 18 12
NCAA totals 128 88 117 205 115
CHL totals 229 80 108 188 118 21 3 11 14 10
IHL totals 68 18 34 52 20
BHL totals 70 156 165 321 81 5 14 9 23 2

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 1979–80 [4]
AHCA East All-American 1979–80 [1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "1979-1980 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  2. ^ "Mark Pavelich". Minnesota Hockey Hub. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "Craig A. Homola". Vermont Catamounts. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  4. ^ "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by ECAC Hockey Player of the Year
1979–80
Succeeded by