Bill Joyce (ice hockey)

William Joyce (born December 29, 1957) is a Canadian retired ice hockey right wing who was the NCAA Scoring Champion in 1979–80.

Bill Joyce
Born (1957-12-29) December 29, 1957
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 174 lb (79 kg; 12 st 6 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Northern Michigan
Milwaukee Admirals
Richmond Rifles
Toledo Goaldiggers
Flint Generals
Playing career 1976–1985

Career

Joyce was a member of the inaugural recruiting class for Northern Michigan University when the ice hockey team was promoted to varsity status. He finished second on the team in scoring as a freshman and helped the team to a winning record in their first season. The program joined the CCHA beginning in 1977 and the team was good enough to finish in the top half of the conference. Joyce continued to finish second in team scoring behind Mike Mielke in each of this first three seasons. As a senior, Joyce's scoring exploded and he led the nation with 96 points, besting his previous record by nearly 40 points. Joyce led the Wildcats to a first place finish in the CCHA as well as the program's first conference championship and NCAA tournament appearance. Unfortunately, because the CCHA was still seen as a lesser conference, Joyce was not named an All-American (no players for the CCHA received that honor in 1980).[1] Northern Michigan surprised many in college hockey by winning their first two tournament games to make the 1980 championship game. Joyce scored the first goal for the Wildcats in the title tilt but it came after they were already behind 0–4 and didn't change the final outcome.[2]

After graduating, Joyce began his professional career with a short appearance in 1981 before finding a home with the Toledo Goaldiggers in 1982. He finished second on the team with 112 points and helped the club win both the regular season title and the Turner Cup. Joyce remained with the team for another two and half years, helping them to a second championship in 1983, and finished his career out with the Flint Generals in 1985.

Joyce was inducted into the Northern Michigan Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998 and remains the team's All-Time leading scorer as of 2021.[3] When the CCHA ceased operations after the 2013 season, Joyce was named to the All-Time CCHA Second Team, the only Wildcat to make an appearance.[4]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1973–74 Bramalea Blues MJBHL 4027295675—————
1974–75 Bramalea Blues MJBHL ——————————
1975–76 St. Catharines Black Hawks OHA 30110—————
1976–77 Northern Michigan CCHA 2821264764—————
1977–78 Northern Michigan CCHA 3324315561—————
1978–79 Northern Michigan CCHA 2926315769—————
1979–80 Northern Michigan CCHA 4041559640—————
1980–81 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 60000—————
1980–81 Richmond Rifles EHL 20110—————
1981–82 Toledo Goaldiggers IHL 7840721127513891739
1982–83 Toledo Goaldiggers IHL 64334881118112121411
1983–84 Toledo Goaldiggers IHL 63263561971245926
1984–85 Toledo Goaldiggers IHL 3312112364—————
1984–85 Flint Generals IHL 1757124—————
NCAA Totals 130112143255234—————
IHL Totals 261116173289358—————

Awards and honors
Award Year
All-CCHA First Team 1977–78 [5]
All-CCHA First Team 1979–80 [5]

References
  1. "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  2. "North Dakota Hockey 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 16, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  3. "Northern Michigan Wildcats Men's Ice Hockey Record Book" (PDF). Northern Michigan Wildcats. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  4. "Joyce Named CCHA Second Team All-Time". Northern Michigan Wildcats. March 15, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  5. "CCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
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