Sport(s) ice hockey 1948 US Olympic Team 1951–1956 Denver Position Winger | 1945–1946 Michigan 1948–1951 Michigan Overall 81-43-6 (.646) | |
Alma mater Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey | ||
Neil 'The Seal' Celley is a former American ice hockey coach and player who was a member of the US national team at the 1948 Winter Olympics.
Career
Neil Celley joined the Michigan ice hockey team after winning a State Championship in 1945. He left the program a year later to take part in first Winter Olympics since 1936 (due to World War II) and was chosen as a member of the USOC's squad. A competing USA team was also sent to St. Moritz that year, one representing the Amateur Hockey Association that openly allowed professional players in their lineup. After tense negotiations the AHA team was allowed to play in the games but only in an unofficial capacity (they would be ineligible for a medal). The USOC team was allowed to march in the opening ceremony which would be the extent to which Celley could contribute to the team.
Celley returned to Ann Arbor the following fall and finished out his college career without further interruption. He played in 3 consecutive NCAA tournaments finally winning one in his senior season. Celley was named to the All tournament team and recorded a team record 37 goals and 37 assists in the regular season (later broken by Red Berenson).
After graduating from the School of Education in 1951 Celley immediately began his coaching career at Denver, taking over the two-year-old program from Vern Turner. While receiving his Master of Arts in 1952 Celley led the Pioneers to a second-place finish (tied) in the newly created MCHL, unfortunately his alma mater Michigan (with whom his team had tied) was selected for the 1952 tournament instead. Celley's teams would finish with a winning record every year but were never selected for the postseason tournament and in 1956 he stepped down as coach in favor of Murray Armstrong.