1956–57 Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey season

College ice hockey team season

1956–57 Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey season


National Champion WIHL champion 1957 NCAA Tournament, champion

Conference	1st WIHL
Home ice	Broadmoor World Arena
Record
Overall	25–5–0
Home	19–1
Road	4–4
Neutral	2–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Tom Bedecki
Captain(s)	Don Wishart
Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey seasons « 1955–56 1957–58 »

The 1956–57 Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey team represented Colorado College in college ice hockey. In its 2nd year under head coach Tom Bedecki, the team compiled a 25–5–0 record, outscored opponents 205 to 106, and won the 1957 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. The Tigers defeated Michigan 13–6 in the championship game at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado. CC tied the record for the most goals scored in a championship game (1950) and combined with the Wolverines for the most total goals in a title game (19). As of 2018 this is the last time Colorado College has won the national title in ice hockey.

Season

After appearing in the first five national tournaments Colorado College had made the championship once in the next four years. CC's fortunes turned the year before when Bill Hay, a standout junior player from Saskatchewan hitchhiked down to Colorado Springs and was able to talk both himself and his fried Bob McCusker into athletic scholarships. Both players made their varsity debut in 1956–57, as did much of the team, and the Tigers quickly jumped to the top of the standings. After opening the regular season against two junior teams from Canada, CC welcomed four different collegiate opponents into their building and won every single game.

With the Tigers sporting a 12-0 record they hit the road for the first time but didn't have to leave the state when they travelled to Denver to face the Pioneers. Colorado College's perfect record was spoiled with a 3–6 defeat but the returned the favor the next night at home, beating their in-state rival 8–7 in overtime. The Tigers hosted another pair of Canadian junior teams before heading north to face an improving Fighting Sioux team and lost both matches. Two days later CC finally won its first road game of the season, beating Minnesota twice before returning to Colorado to take the second home-and-home series against Denver. After redeeming themselves against North Dakota in two home wins the Tigers split a road series with Michigan Tech to close out their season.

Despite CC's struggles on the road the team was able to win the WIHL title handily and, with a superb 19–1 home record, post the best season in team history (As of 2018). Colorado College was led back to the NCAA tournament by Hay and McCusker who finished first (tied) and third in scoring in the nation. Both players earned their way onto one of the two All-American Teams as did team captain Don Wishart and all three players were first-team All-WIHL.

Befitting the western champion, Colorado College was selected as the #1 seed in the west and opened the tournament against Clarkson who had compiled an undefeated season the year before and followed that up with a stellar 18–2 mark. Despite the two teams' success the Golden Knights were completely outmatched by older and larger CC team. While the final score was relatively close, 5–3 with a hat-trick from Bob McCusker, the Tigers nearly tripled the number of shots from Clarkson (60–21) and the Green and Gold couldn't score enough to reward the valiant effort from the goaltender Eddie MacDonald.

In the title tilt CC found itself pitted against two-time defending champion Michigan who had won five of the six national titles since CC earned its first championship in 1950. The Wolverines had utterly dominated the series between the two teams over the previous decade and won all three games the pair played in the NCAA Tournament despite every game being played at the Broadmoor World Arena. None of those losses, however, had come with Hay and McCusker on the team and the two sophomores combined to score the first three goals of the contest. Showing the championship mettle, Michigan responded with three of their own before the first period was over and erased the CC advantage. CC goalie Bob Southwood settled down in the second period and when the Tigers scored three more times the Wolverines could only muster one in response. Even with a two-goal lead the Tigers didn't pull back in the third and after McCusker opened the scoring with his third of the game the rest of the team followed suit and score five more times before Michigan got its fifth but by then it was far too late and the Tigers eventually cruised to a 13–6 victory, winning their second National Title.

Bob McCusker tied the NCAA records for goals (4) and points (6) in a championship game and was the logical choice for Most Outstanding Player. McCusker was accompanied by Bill Hay and Don Wishart on the All-Tournament First Team while Dick McGhee and John Andrews made the Second Team.

Standings

1956–57 Western Intercollegiate Hockey League v t e
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PCT	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Colorado College†	18	14	4	0	.778	19	93	69	30	25	5	0	205	105
Michigan	18	13	4	1	.750	16½	76	55	25	18	5	2	112	79
North Dakota	22	13	9	0	.591	13	82	72	29	18	11	0	126	99
Michigan Tech	20	8	8	4	.500	12½	80	76	28	14	9	5	133	97
Denver	18	6	11	1	.361	9	64	74	28	12	14	2	121	105
Minnesota	24	7	15	2	.333	8	69	92	29	12	15	2	96	96
Michigan State	20	5	15	0	.250	6	42	68	22	7	15	0	62	71
† indicates conference regular season champion Note: All games played between league members counted in the standings. When teams played each other twice, two points were awarded for a win, one point for a tie. When teams met each other four times, one point was awarded for a win, one-half point for a tie. Maximum 24 points available.

Schedule

Conference games against Michigan State, Michigan Tech and Minnesota were only worth 1 point in the standings.

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Record
Exhibition
November 30	vs. Colorado College Alumni*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 2–1
December 1	vs. Colorado College Alumni*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 9–5
Regular Season
December 6	vs. Humboldt Indians*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 8–4	1–0–0
December 8	vs. Humboldt Indians*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 12–3	2–0–0
December 13	vs. St. Boniface Canadiens*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 12–2	3–0–0
December 15	vs. St. Boniface Canadiens*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 15–5	4–0–0
December 18	vs. Michigan	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 5–4	5–0–0 (1–0–0)
December 19	vs. Michigan	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 7–5	6–0–0 (2–0–0)
December 21	vs. Michigan State	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 8–2	7–0–0 (3–0–0)
December 22	vs. Michigan State	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 7–1	8–0–0 (4–0–0)
January 1	vs. Yale*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 10–0	9–0–0 (4–0–0)
January 2	vs. Yale*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 17–3	10–0–0 (4–0–0)
January 4	vs. Minnesota	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 4–1	11–0–0 (5–0–0)
January 5	vs. Minnesota	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 5–3	12–0–0 (6–0–0)
January 11	at Denver	DU Arena • Denver, Colorado	L 3–6	12–1–0 (6–1–0)
January 12	vs. Denver	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 8–7	13–1–0 (7–1–0)
January 26	vs. Regina Pats*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 5–3	14–1–0 (7–1–0)
January 28	vs. Regina Pats*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 8–1	15–1–0 (7–1–0)
February 2	vs. Flin Flon Bombers*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	L 3–5	15–2–0 (7–1–0)
February 4	vs. Flin Flon Bombers*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 4–2	16–2–0 (7–1–0)
February 8	at North Dakota	Winter Sports Building • Grand Forks, North Dakota	L 3–6	16–3–0 (7–2–0)
February 9	at North Dakota	Winter Sports Building • Grand Forks, North Dakota	L 4–5	16–4–0 (7–3–0)
February 11	at Minnesota	St. Paul Auditorium • Saint Paul, Minnesota	W 3–2	17–4–0 (8–3–0)
February 12	at Minnesota	Williams Arena • Minneapolis, Minnesota	W 5–2	18–4–0 (9–3–0)
February 15	at Denver	DU Arena • Denver, Colorado	W 6–4	19–4–0 (10–3–0)
February 16	vs. Denver	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 4–3	20–4–0 (11–3–0)
February 19	vs. North Dakota	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 6–4	21–4–0 (12–3–0)
February 20	vs. North Dakota	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 7–6	22–4–0 (13–3–0)
March 2	at Michigan Tech	Dee Stadium • Houghton, Michigan	L 3–4	22–5–0 (13–4–0)
March 3	at Michigan Tech	Dee Stadium • Houghton, Michigan	W 5–4	23–5–0 (14–4–0)
NCAA Tournament
March 14	vs. Clarkson*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (National Semifinal)	W 5–3	24–5–0 (14–4–0)
March 16	vs. Michigan*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (National Championship)	W 13–6	25–5–0 (14–4–0)
*Non-conference game. Source:

Roster and scoring statistics

No.	Name	Year	Position	Hometown	Games	Goals	Assists	Pts	PIM
	Bill Hay	Sophomore	C	Saskatoon, SK	30	28	45	73	–
	Bob McCusker	Sophomore	F	Saskatoon, SK	–	47	24	71	–
	Ike Scott	Sophomore	RW	Gravenhurst, ON	–	25	21	46	–
	Harry Harasyn	Sophomore	C	Yorkton, SK	–	21	17	38	–
	Don Wishart	Senior	D/F	Rosetown, SK	–	10	27	37	–
	John Andrews	Sophomore	LW	Fort William, ON	–	6	29	35	–
	Bud Hubchik	Senior	F	Grandview, MB	–	21	9	30	–
	George deRappard	Senior	LW	Westlock, AB	–	12	14	26	–
	Harley Patterson	Sophomore	LW	Hythe, AB	–	16	6	22	–
	Ron Laughlin	Sophomore	C	Drumheller, AB	–	6	16	22	–
	Murray Dea	Sophomore	RW	Edmonton, AB	–	6	12	18	–
	Gary Hughes	Senior	D	Red Deer, AB	–	5	13	18	–
	Gerry Capello	Sophomore	D/C	Ottawa, ON	–	4	13	17	–
	Ron Villeneuve	Sophomore	D	Cornwall, ON	–	2	7	9	–
	Dick McGhee	Sophomore	D	Calgary, AB	–	2	7	9	–
	Bob Tanner	Sophomore	RW	Trail, BC	–	1	4	5	–
	Ernest Rotondo	Sophomore	D	South Porcupine, ON	–	–	–	–	–
Total						212	264	476

Colorado College players are reported to have collectively scored 212 goals over the course of the season but the team only scored 205 times during the season.

Goaltending statistics

No.	Name	Games	Minutes	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals Against	Saves	Shut Outs	SV %	GAA
	Bob Southwood	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Howard Viger	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total		30	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

1957 championship game

(W1) Colorado College vs. (W2) Michigan

March 16

Colorado College

13 – 6

Michigan

Broadmoor Ice Palace

Scoring summary
Period	Team	Goal	Assist(s)	Time	Score
1st	CC	Bob McCusker	Scott and McGhee	3:15	1–0 CC
	CC	Bill Hay	McCusker	8:04	2–0 CC
	CC	Bob McCusker	Hay and Capello	11:39	3–0 CC
	UM	Dick Dunnigan	unassisted	13:14	3–1 CC
	UM	Neil McDonald	unassisted	17:30	3–2 CC
	UM	John Hutton	McDonald	17:57	3–3
2nd	CC	Murray Dea	Laughlin	24:52	4–3 CC
	CC	John Andrews	Hubchik	26:18	5–3 CC
	UM	Ed Switzer	Dunnigan	30:18	5–4 CC
	CC	Bill Hay	McCusker and McGhee	34:05	6–4 CC
3rd	CC	Bob McCusker – GW	Dea	41:23	7–4 CC
	CC	Harley Patterson	Harasyn	46:20	8–4 CC
	CC	Don Hersack	Hubchik and Andrews	49:10	9–4 CC
	CC	Harry Harasyn	Patterson	52:59	10–4 CC
	CC	Bob McCusker	Hay	53:47	11–4 CC
	CC	Don Hersack	Hubchik	54:53	12–4 CC
	UM	Tom Rendall	Starr	55:15	12–5 CC
	CC	Don Wishart	deRappard	56:11	13–5 CC
	UM	Neil McDonald	Switzer	56:36	13–6 CC
Penalty summary
Period	Team	Player	Penalty	Time	PIM
1st	CC	Bob Southwood			2:00
1st	CC	Bunt Hubchik			2:00
2nd	UM	Bob Schiller			2:00
	UM	Bob Schiller			2:00
	CC	Gary Hughes			2:00
3rd	UM	Dick Dunnigan			2:00
	UM	Tom Rendall			2:00
	CC	Bob McCusker			2:00
	CC	Gerry Capello			2:00

Shots by period
Team	1	2	3	T
Michigan	9	7	11	27
Colorado College	10	14	17	41

Goaltenders
Team	Name	Saves	Goals against	Time on ice
UM	Ross Childs	28	13
CC	Bob Southwood	21	6

References

"Colorado College Athletic Hall of Fame". Colorado College Tigers. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
"Bill "Red" Hay". Greatest Hockey Legends. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
"2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 97-112" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
"Colorado College 2017-18 Hockey Media Guide". Colorado College Tigers. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
"Colorado College 1956-57 roster and statistics". EliteProspects. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
"Colorado College 2013-14 Media Guide" (PDF). CC Tigers. Retrieved June 21, 2014.

v t e NCAA Division I men's ice hockey champions
1948 Michigan 1949 Boston College 1950 Colorado College 1951 Michigan 1952 Michigan 1953 Michigan 1954 RPI 1955 Michigan 1956 Michigan 1957 Colorado College 1958 Denver 1959 North Dakota 1960 Denver 1961 Denver 1962 Michigan Tech 1963 North Dakota 1964 Michigan 1965 Michigan Tech 1966 Michigan State 1967 Cornell 1968 Denver 1969 Denver 1970 Cornell 1971 Boston University 1972 Boston University 1973 Wisconsin 1974 Minnesota 1975 Michigan Tech 1976 Minnesota 1977 Wisconsin 1978 Boston University 1979 Minnesota 1980 North Dakota 1981 Wisconsin 1982 North Dakota 1983 Wisconsin 1984 Bowling Green 1985 RPI 1986 Michigan State 1987 North Dakota 1988 Lake Superior State 1989 Harvard 1990 Wisconsin 1991 Northern Michigan 1992 Lake Superior State 1993 Maine 1994 Lake Superior State 1995 Boston University 1996 Michigan 1997 North Dakota 1998 Michigan 1999 Maine 2000 North Dakota 2001 Boston College 2002 Minnesota 2003 Minnesota 2004 Denver 2005 Denver 2006 Wisconsin 2007 Michigan State 2008 Boston College 2009 Boston University 2010 Boston College 2011 Minnesota–Duluth 2012 Boston College 2013 Yale 2014 Union 2015 Providence 2016 North Dakota 2017 Denver 2018 Minnesota–Duluth 2019 Minnesota Duluth 2020 No tournament 2021 UMass 2022 Denver 2023 Quinnipiac 2024 Denver

NCAA Division I men's ice hockey champions

1948: Michigan
1949: Boston College
1950: Colorado College
1951: Michigan
1952: Michigan
1953: Michigan
1954: RPI
1955: Michigan
1956: Michigan
1957: Colorado College
1958: Denver
1959: North Dakota
1960: Denver
1961: Denver
1962: Michigan Tech
1963: North Dakota
1964: Michigan
1965: Michigan Tech
1966: Michigan State
1967: Cornell
1968: Denver
1969: Denver
1970: Cornell
1971: Boston University
1972: Boston University
1973: Wisconsin
1974: Minnesota
1975: Michigan Tech
1976: Minnesota
1977: Wisconsin
1978: Boston University
1979: Minnesota
1980: North Dakota
1981: Wisconsin
1982: North Dakota
1983: Wisconsin
1984: Bowling Green
1985: RPI
1986: Michigan State
1987: North Dakota
1988: Lake Superior State
1989: Harvard
1990: Wisconsin
1991: Northern Michigan
1992: Lake Superior State
1993: Maine
1994: Lake Superior State
1995: Boston University
1996: Michigan
1997: North Dakota
1998: Michigan
1999: Maine
2000: North Dakota
2001: Boston College
2002: Minnesota
2003: Minnesota
2004: Denver
2005: Denver
2006: Wisconsin
2007: Michigan State
2008: Boston College
2009: Boston University
2010: Boston College
2011: Minnesota–Duluth
2012: Boston College
2013: Yale
2014: Union
2015: Providence
2016: North Dakota
2017: Denver
2018: Minnesota–Duluth
2019: Minnesota Duluth
2020: No tournament
2021: UMass
2022: Denver
2023: Quinnipiac
2024: Denver

v t e Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey
Playing venues	Broadmoor World Arena I (1938–1994) Cadet Ice Arena (1994–1998) Broadmoor World Arena II (1998–2021) Ed Robson Arena (2021–present)
Head coaches	John Atwood (1937–1938) Garrett Livingston (1938–1942) C.E. Moore (1944–1945) Cheddy Thompson (1945–1955) Tom Bedecki (1955–1958) Tony Frasca (1958–1963) Bob Johnson (1963–1966) John Matchefts (1966–1971) Jeff Sauer (1971–1982) Mike Bertsch (1982–1988) Brad Buetow (1988–1993) Don Lucia (1993–1999) Scott Owens (1999–2014) Mike Haviland (2014–2021) Kris Mayotte (2021–Present)
Seasons	1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Conference affiliations	Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) (1951–1958, 1959–2013) National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) (2013–present)
Rivalries	Air Force Falcons Battle for Pikes Peak Denver Pioneers Battle for the Gold Pan
All-time leaders	Dave Delich (285 Points) Ron Hartwell (112 Goals) Jeff Sanger (76 Wins)
National championships	1950 1957
Frozen Four appearances	1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1955 1957 1996 1997 2005
NCAA Tournament appearances	1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1955 1957 1978 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2008 2011
Conference Tournament titles	WCHA: 1978
Hobey Baker winners	Peter Sejna (2003) Marty Sertich (2005)
Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO

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