Collegiate ice hockey tournament
| Teams | 4 |
|---|---|
| Finals site | |
| Champions | Michigan Wolverines (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Dartmouth Indians (1st title game) |
| Semifinalists |
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| Winning coach | Vic Heyliger (1st title) |
| MOP | Joe Riley (Dartmouth) |
| Attendance | 7,900 |
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
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 |
Format
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
| 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
Semifinals
Dartmouth vs. Colorado College
| March 18 | Dartmouth | 8 – 4 | Colorado College | Broadmoor Ice Palace | ||||
Michigan vs. Boston College
| March 19 | Michigan | 6 – 4 | 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
Michigan vs. Dartmouth
| 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 Campbell – PP | 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 Grant– GW | 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 | |
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All-Tournament Team
First Team
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Second Team
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References
- "NCAA Division 1 Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
- "Sextet Tops Eagles 6-4". The Michigan Daily. March 20, 1948. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
- "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.
- "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
- "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
| NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament | |
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| Tournaments |
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| Records & achievements | |
| 1947–48 NCAA championships | |
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