1948 NCAA men's ice hockey tournament

1948 NCAA men's
ice hockey tournament
Teams4
Finals site
ChampionsMichigan Wolverines (1st title)
Runner-upDartmouth Indians (1st title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachVic Heyliger (1st title)
MOPJoe Riley (Dartmouth)
Attendance7,900

The 1948 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1947–48 NCAA men's ice hockey season, the 1st such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 18 and 20, 1948, and concluded with Michigan defeating Dartmouth 8-4. All games were played at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

This inaugural tournament possesses two distinctions beyond being the first of its kind: it was the championship with the fewest games played (3) with all succeeding tournaments having a minimum of 4 games. Additionally, the overtime rules used were not sudden-death, allowing Michigan to score multiple times in the first overtime game in tournament history (the next overtime game would not happen until 1954).

Qualifying teams

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Four teams qualified for the tournament, two each from the eastern and western regions. The teams were selected by a committee based upon both their overall record and the strength of their opponents.

East West
Seed School Conference Record Berth type Appearance Last bid Seed School Conference Record Berth type Appearance Last bid
1 Dartmouth Independent 20–2–0 At-Large 1st Never 1 Michigan Independent 18–2–1 At-Large 1st Never
2 Boston College Independent 14–4–0 At-Large 1st Never 2 Colorado College Independent 19–7–0 At-Large 1st Never

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Format

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The eastern and western teams judged as better were seeded as the top regional teams. The second eastern seed was slotted to play the top western seed and vice versa. All games were played at the Broadmoor Ice Palace. All matches were Single-game eliminations with the semifinal winners advancing to the national championship game.

Bracket

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Semifinals
March 18–19
National Championship
March 20
      
E1 Dartmouth 8
W2 Colorado College 4
E1 Dartmouth 4
W1 Michigan 8
W1 Michigan 6*
E2 Boston College 4

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Results

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Semifinals

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Dartmouth vs. Colorado College

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March 18 Dartmouth 8 – 4 Colorado College Broadmoor Ice Palace


Michigan vs. Boston College

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March 19 Michigan 6 – 4[2][3] OT Boston College Broadmoor Ice Palace  
(unassisted) Connie Hill - 17:13 First period 10:23 - Giles Threadgold (McCusker)
(Renfrew) Connie Hill - 19:57 Second period 5:41 - PP - Bob Mason (Corcoran)
8:24 - Joe McCusker (Threadgold, McIntyre)
(unassisted) Connie Hill - 03:44
(McMillan) Al Renfrew - 05:41
Third period 19:20 - EA - Jim Fitzgerald (Lewis)
(Grant) Wally Gacek - GW - 00:18
(Hill) Wally Gacek - EN - 19:30
First overtime period No scoring
Jack McDonald Goalie stats Bernie Burke


National Championship

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Michigan vs. Dartmouth

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March 20 Michigan 8 – 4 Dartmouth Broadmoor Ice Palace


Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st UM Wally Gacek Grant 0:50 1–0 UM
DC Bill Riley Merriam 4:25 1–1
UM Wally Gacek Grant 10:55 2–1 UM
DC Crawford CampbellPP unasisted 17:25 2–2
2nd DC Walt Crowley B. Riley 26:55 3–2 DC
DC Arnold Oss Malone 31:05 4–2 DC
UM Wally Grant Gacek 35:20 4–3 DC
UM Gordon McMillan Greer 36:40 4–4
3rd UM Wally GrantGW Gacek and Greer 41:30 5–4 UM
UM Gordon McMillan Renfrew 46:15 6–4 UM
UM Wally Gacek Grant and Greer 46:20 7–4 UM
UM Ted Greer Gacek 55:14 8–4 UM

References

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  1. ^ "NCAA Division 1 Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  2. ^ "Sextet Tops Eagles 6-4". The Michigan Daily. March 20, 1948. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  3. ^ "Boston College Sextet Bows to Michigan, 6-4 Wolverines to Play Dartmouth In Finals Tonight". Battle Creek Enquirer. March 20, 1948. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  4. ^ "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  5. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2013.