Collegiate ice hockey tournament
| Teams | 4 |
|---|---|
| Finals site | |
| Champions | Rensselaer Bachelors (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Minnesota Golden Gophers (2nd title game) |
| Semifinalists |
|
| Winning coach | Ned Harkness (1st title) |
| MOP | Abbie Moore (Rensselaer) |
| Attendance | 7,800 |
The 1954 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament was the culmination of the 1953–54 NCAA men's ice hockey season, the 7th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 11 and 13, 1954, and concluded with Rensselaer defeating Minnesota 5-4 in overtime. All games were played at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
This was the first championship game to go into overtime.
Rensselaer's title was the only championship won by a team from the Tri-State League. Despite its low membership the Tri-State League would send at least one representative to the tournament every year from 1952 through 1964 before being dissolved in 1972.
Minnesota's victory in the semifinal over Boston College holds two separate records: the most goals scored by one team in an NCAA tournament game (14, tied with Michigan in 1953) and the largest single-game margin of victory in an NCAA tournament (+13).
Boston College, by being outscored 3-21 in their two games, also holds the worst single-tournament goal differential (-18). (as of 2016)
Qualifying teams
Four teams qualified for the tournament, two each from the eastern and western regions. The two best WIHL teams and a Tri-State League representative received bids into the tournament as did one independent school.
| East | West | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Appearance | Last bid | Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Appearance | Last bid |
| 1 | Boston College | Independent | 17–2–0 | At-Large | 4th | 1950 | 1 | Michigan | WIHL | 14–5–2 | At-Large | 7th | 1953 |
| 2 | Rensselaer | Tri-State League | 16–5–0 | At-Large | 2nd | 1953 | 2 | Minnesota | WIHL | 22–5–1 | At-Large | 2nd | 1953 |
Format
The eastern team judged as better was seeded as the top eastern team while the WIHL champion was given the top western seed. 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 and the losers playing in a consolation game.
Bracket
| Semifinals March 11–12 | National championship March 13 | ||||||||
| E1 | Boston College | 1 | |||||||
| W2 | Minnesota | 14 | |||||||
| W2 | Minnesota | 4 | |||||||
| E2 | Rensselaer | 5* | |||||||
| W1 | Michigan | 4 | |||||||
| E2 | Rensselaer | 6 | Third-place game | ||||||
| W1 | Michigan | 7 | |||||||
| E1 | Boston College | 2 | |||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Results
Semifinals
Minnesota vs. Boston College
| March 11 | Minnesota | 14 – 1 | Boston College | Broadmoor Ice Palace | Recap | |||
| (Dougherty, Yackel) John Mayasich - 00:41 (McKenzie) Bob Meredith - GW - 01:25 (unassisted) George Jetty - PP - 07:50 (Dougherty) Gene Campbell - PP - 08:19 (Mayasich) Gene Campbell - 11:54 (Campbell) John Mayasich - 16:55 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| (unassisted) Ken Yackel - 02:17 (Mayasich) Gene Campbell - 07:20 (Campbell) Dick Dougherty - 10:22 |
Second period | 04:13 - Francis Quinn (Cisternelli) | ||||||
| (unassisted) Dick Dougherty - 05:06 (unassisted) John Mayasich - 07:47 (Mayasich) Wendall Anderson - 07:47 (unassisted) Dick Dougherty - 17:11 (Mayasich, Campbell) Dick Dougherty - PP - 19:41 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jim Mattson | Goalie stats | |||||||
Michigan vs. Rensselaer
| March 12 | Michigan | 4 – 6 | Rensselaer | Broadmoor Ice Palace | Recap | |||
| (Philpott) Bill MacFarland - 8:00 | First period | 03:39 - PP - Gordie Peterkin (Mosco) 04:00 - PP - Gordie Peterkin (unassisted) 07:?? - PP - Ambrose Mosco (Pope) | ||||||
| (MacFarland) Jim Haas - 02:07 (Philpott, Goold) Bill MacFarland - 08:36 |
Second period | 15:40 - PP - Frank Chiarelli (Mosco, Peterkin) | ||||||
| (unassisted) Bill MacFarland - 17:57 | Third period | 03:14 - GW PP - Gordie Peterkin (Mosco) 19:31 - EN - Jim Pope (Mosco) | ||||||
| Willard Ikola | Goalie stats | Bob Fox | ||||||
Consolation Game
Michigan vs. Boston College
| March 13 | Michigan | 7 – 2 | Boston College | Broadmoor Ice Palace | Recap | |||
| (Goold) Doug Philpott - 6:10 (Philpott, MacFarland) Jim Haas - 13:13 |
First period | 12:32 - Dick Dempsey (Gagliard) | ||||||
| (MacFarland) Doug Philpott - GW - 15:58 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| (MacFarland) Doug Philpott - 01:25 (Mullen) George Chin - 01:41 (Chin) Bill MacFarland - SH - 11:32 (MacFarland) Doug Mullen - 14:31 |
Third period | 03:14 - James Cisternelli (Quinn, Siblo) | ||||||
| Bill Lucier | Goalie stats | |||||||
National Championship
(W2) Minnesota vs. (E2) Rensselaer
| March 13 | Minnesota | 4 – 5 | OT | Rensselaer | Broadmoor Ice Palace | Recap |
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | RPI | Abbie Moore | Mosco | 17:07 | 1–0 RPI |
| RPI | Frank Chiarelli – PP | Paradise | 19:42 | 2–0 RPI | |
| 2nd | RPI | Ambrose Mosco | Moore | 22:45 | 3–0 RPI |
| MIN | Ken Yackel | unassisted | 23:09 | 3–1 RPI | |
| MIN | Dick Dougherty | Campbell | 25:32 | 3–2 RPI | |
| 3rd | MIN | John Mayasich | Dougherty | 44:29 | 3–3 |
| MIN | Dick Dougherty | Mayasich | 48:30 | 4–3 Minn | |
| RPI | Abbie Moore | Chiarelli | 56:10 | 4–4 | |
| 1st Overtime | RPI | Gordie Peterkin – GW | Magadini | 61:54 | 5–4 RPI |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All-Tournament team
First team
|
Second team
|
References
- "History of the Tri-State League/ICAC". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
- "NCAA Division 1 Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
- "RPI Hockey :: Schenectady Daily Gazette Articles :: 02.06.04".
- "March 14, 1954 (Vol. 64, iss. 112) - Image 5".
- "Rensselaer Magazine, Winter 2003: Glory Days (Page 3 of 4)". Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
- "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 | |
|---|---|
| Tournaments |
|
| Records & achievements | |
| 1953–54 NCAA championships | |
|---|---|