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1976–77 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey season

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American college ice hockey season

1976–77 Wisconsin Badgers
men's ice hockey season
National champion
Big Ten, champion
WCHA, champion
WCHA Tournament, champion
NCAA Tournament, champion
Conference1st Big Ten
1st WCHA
Home iceDane County Coliseum
Record
Overall37–7–1 (26–5–1 / 9–3)
Home16–5
Road13–2–1
Neutral8–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachBob Johnson
Assistant coachesGrant Standbrook
Captain(s)Mike Eaves
Steve Alley
John Taft
Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey seasons
« 1975–76 1977–78 »

The 1976–77 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in college ice hockey. In its tenth year under head coach Bob Johnson, the team compiled a 37–7–1 record (26–5–1 against Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) opponents) and outscored all opponents 264 to 161. The Badgers received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 1977 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament by winning the 1977 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, the only singular WCHA tournament champion over a 16-year period (1965 to 1981). They defeated the New Hampshire Wildcats in the Frozen Four semifinals and then beat WCHA- and Big Ten-rival Michigan Wolverines by a 6–5 score in overtime to win the national championship in Detroit, Michigan.

Goalie Julian Baretta was chosen as the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament. He had two shutouts and a .905 save percentage for the season. The team's leading scorer was junior defenseman Craig Norwich with 18 goals, 65 assists, and 83 points. Norwich was the third defenseman (Bob Heathcott, 1952; Dan Lodboa, 1970) in NCAA history to lead his team in scoring while winning a National Title in the same season (the next occurrence was 2018).

Season

Head coach Bob Johnson returned to the program after taking a year off to coach the Team USA at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck. The Olympic team finished a disappointing 5th-place after taking Silver in 1972 but the Badgers had fared even worse in Johnson's absence. Wisconsin went 12–24–1 under interim coach Bill Rothwell, compiling their first losing season since returning to varsity status in 1963 (The Badgers would not have another losing season until 1995–96).

Seeking to erase the previous year from their collective memories, the Badgers opened with a 6–7 overtime loss to dual conference rival Michigan but evened their record with an overtime win the following day. Over the next six games, Wisconsin scored no less than 5 times, winning each match until Michigan State handed them their second defeat of the season. After trading wins with several teams, and losing a match to HC Spartak Moscow, Wisconsin won 12 games in a row after the new year, rocketing up the standings to take first place in the WCHA. Wisconsin finished the regular season winning 26 of their 32 WCHA games to capture their first conference title and were led by Craig Norwich in scoring. Norwich's 63 points in WCHA play was good for third best across the conference and paced all defensemen by a wide margin.

Prior to the season, the NCAA instituted a new policy where they gave their tournament selection committee the ability to add up to four additional teams to the tournament. In response to this the WCHA changed their tournament format to have a solitary champion that would receive an automatic tournament bid rather than two co-champions who would both proceed to the national championship. This format would be in place for only the 1977 season and would revert to a co-champion system in 1978. Because of this Wisconsin would have to face three rounds of competitors rather than the customary two to win the WCHA tournament.

The Badgers played 8th-place Colorado College in the quarterfinals, who made the tournament over Michigan State based on tie-breakers. Though the Tigers had lost all four games to Wisconsin in the regular season they had done so with only seven fewer goals than the Badgers. In the two-game series Colorado College held Wisconsin's high-powered offense to only three goals twice, far below their average, but could only manage one score in each contest. In the semifinals the Badgers faced off against an upstart Minnesota squad that had defeated #2 seed Notre Dame in the opening round. The Golden Gophers were no match for the Badgers who took the series 17–8 and were set against Michigan in the championship series. Wisconsin got off to a great start, taking the first game 4–0, before cruising to a WCHA championship with a 5–4 win in the following game to take the series 9–4. The title gave Wisconsin an automatic bid to the 1977 NCAA tournament as the #1 western seed.

In their first game at the Olympia Stadium Wisconsin played New Hampshire, who possessed the #1 offense in the east. The two teams fought to a 3–3 tie after regulation but Julian Baretta kept everything out of the Badger's net in the extra frame and allowed Mike Eaves to score the game-winner. The championship match set Johnson's Badgers against Farrell's Wolverines for the seventh time that season. Wisconsin's offensive firepower was apparent from the start and the Badgers jumped out to a 3–0 lead on the strength of two power play goals. Michigan replied with two man-advantage markers of their own to cut the score to 3–2 but goals by Mike Meeker and Mark Johnson at the beginnings of the second and third periods rebuilt the Badger's 3-goal lead. The Wolverines, however, would not go away and Mark Miller scored 26 seconds after Johnson's second goal of the game. Dave Debol notched his second less than a minute later to cut Wisconsin's lead to 1 goal and it was completely erased with less than 6 minutes in regulation by John Wayman. With the score tied and the Badger's reeling Baretta kept the score tied 5–5 and allowed Wisconsin to regain their footing as the two teams headed into overtime. In what turned out to be the shortest overtime period in NCAA championship history, Steve Alley backhanded the puck past Michigan netminder Rick Palmer and sent the Badger faithful into paroxysms of joy.

Wisconsin won its second National Title in 5 years on the strength of its power play, scoring a then-record 93 goals on the man-advantage over the course of the season. Only the 1980 Minnesota team has scored more (99). Mark Johnson set an NCAA record for freshman in assists (44) and points (80) and was named WCHA Freshman of the Year. Bob Johnson was named as the WCHA Coach of the Year while Julian Baretta and Craig Norwich earned both First Team All-WCHA and AHCA All-American honors. Mike Eaves was selected for the WCHA Second Team and an All-American while John Taft received a spot on the WCHA Second Team.

Standings

1976–77 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Wisconsin†* 32 26 5 1 53 192 122 45 37 7 1 264 161
Notre Dame 32 19 10 3 41 164 127 38 22 13 3 191 147
Michigan 32 20 12 0 40 183 151 45 28 17 0 260 211
Denver 32 16 14 2 34 154 151 40 21 17 2 206 187
North Dakota 32 16 16 0 32 168 158 38 19 19 0 202 184
Michigan Tech 32 15 16 1 31 143 150 38 19 18 1 177 178
Minnesota 32 13 16 3 29 135 144 41 17 21 3 177 202
Colorado College 32 11 20 1 23 156 170 40 13 25 2 194 209
Michigan State 32 11 20 1 23 122 171 36 14 21 1 145 189
Minnesota-Duluth 32 6 24 2 14 119 192 37 9 26 2 148 219
Championship: Wisconsin
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
1976–77 Big Ten standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Wisconsin† 12 9 3 0 18 78 47 45 37 7 1 264 161
Michigan 12 7 5 0 14 68 61 45 28 17 0 260 211
Minnesota 12 5 7 0 10 46 56 41 17 21 3 177 202
Michigan State 12 3 9 0 6 41 69 36 14 21 1 145 189
† indicates conference regular season champion

Schedule

During the season, Wisconsin compiled a 37–7–1 record, the best year the program has ever produced. Its schedule was as follows.

Date Opponent Score Result Venue Location Record (WCHA / Big Ten)
Oct. 15, 1976 Michigan ‡ 6–7* Loss Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 0–1 (0–1 / 0–1)
Oct. 16, 1976 Michigan ‡ 7–6* Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 1–1 (1–1 / 1–1)
Oct. 22, 1976 Western Ontario 11–2 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 2–1 (1–1 / 1–1)
Oct. 23, 1976 Western Ontario 8–4 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 3–1 (1–1 / 1–1)
Nov. 5, 1976 Minnesota–Duluth † 5–4 Win DECC Duluth, MN 4–1 (2–1 / 1–1)
Nov. 6, 1976 Minnesota–Duluth † 7–5 Win DECC Duluth, MN 5–1 (3–1 / 1–1)
Nov. 12, 1976 Colorado College † 6–5 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 6–1 (4–1 / 1–1)
Nov. 13, 1976 Colorado College † 5–4 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 7–1 (5–1 / 1–1)
Nov. 19, 1976 Michigan State ‡ 2–5 Loss Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, MI 7–2 (5–2 / 1–2)
Nov. 20, 1976 Michigan State ‡ 8–0 Win Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, MI 8–2 (6–2 / 2–2)
Nov. 26, 1976 Notre Dame † 1–4 Loss Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 8–3 (6–3 / 2–2)
Nov. 27, 1976 Notre Dame † 4–3 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 9–3 (7–3 / 2–2)
Dec. 3, 1976 Minnesota ‡ 4–3* Win Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 10–3 (8–3 / 3–2)
Dec. 4, 1976 Minnesota ‡ 7–2 Win Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 11–3 (9–3 / 4–2)
Dec. 10, 1976 North Dakota † 6–2 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 12–3 (10–3 / 4–2)
Dec. 11, 1976 North Dakota † 11–6 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 13–3 (11–3 / 4–2)
Dec. 29, 1976 Harvard 3–4 Loss Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 13–4 (11–3 / 4–2)
Dec. 30, 1976 Harvard 7–5 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 14–4 (11–3 / 4–2)
Dec. 31, 1976 HC Spartak Moscow 1–2 Loss Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 14–5 (11–3 / 4–2)
Jan. 7, 1977 Minnesota ‡ 7–1 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 15–5 (12–3 / 5–2)
Jan. 8, 1977 Minnesota ‡ 4–5 Loss Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 15–6 (12–4 / 5–3)
Jan. 14, 1977 North Dakota † 7–6* Win Ralph Engelstad Arena Grand Forks, ND 16–6 (13–4 / 5–3)
Jan. 15, 1977 North Dakota † 8–7* Win Ralph Engelstad Arena Grand Forks, ND 17–6 (14–4 / 5–3)
Jan. 21, 1977 Colorado College † 6–3 Win Broadmoor World Arena Colorado Springs, CO 18–6 (15–4 / 5–3)
Jan. 22, 1977 Colorado College † 4–1 Win Broadmoor World Arena Colorado Springs, CO 19–6 (16–4 / 5–3)
Jan. 28, 1977 Michigan State ‡ 10–6 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 20–6 (17–4 / 6–3)
Jan. 29, 1977 Michigan State ‡ 9–2 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 21–6 (18–4 / 7–3)
Feb. 4, 1977 Michigan ‡ 3–2 Win Yost Ice Arena Ann Arbor, MI 22–6 (19–4 / 8–3)
Feb. 5, 1977 Michigan ‡ 11–8 Win Yost Ice Arena Ann Arbor, MI 23–6 (20–4 / 9–3)
Feb. 11, 1977 Michigan Tech † 8–4 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 24–6 (21–4 / 9–3)
Feb. 12, 1977 Michigan Tech † 4–3 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 25–6 (22–4 / 9–3)
Feb. 18, 1977 Minnesota–Duluth † 7–4 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 26–6 (23–4 / 9–3)
Feb. 19, 1977 Minnesota–Duluth † 6–4 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 27–6 (24–4 / 9–3)
Feb. 25, 1977 Denver † 3–6 Loss DU Arena Denver, CO 27–7 (24–5 / 9–3)
Feb. 26, 1977 Denver † 5–2 Win DU Arena Denver, CO 28–7 (25–5 / 9–3)
Mar. 4, 1977 Notre Dame † 8–3 Win Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN 29–7 (26–5 / 9–3)
Mar. 5, 1977 Notre Dame † 3–3* Tie Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN 29–7–1 (26–5–1 / 9–3)
WCHA TOURNAMENT
Mar. 9, 1977 Colorado College 3–1 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 30–7–1 (26–5–1 / 9–3)
Mar. 10, 1977 Colorado College 3–1 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 31–7–1 (26–5–1 / 9–3)
Wisconsin Wins Series 6–2
Mar. 12, 1977 Minnesota 9–5 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 32–7–1 (26–5–1 / 9–3)
Mar. 13, 1977 Minnesota 8–3 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 33–7–1 (26–5–1 / 9–3)
Wisconsin Wins Series 17–8
Mar. 16, 1977 Michigan 4–0 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 34–7–1 (26–5–1 / 9–3)
Mar. 17, 1977 Michigan 5–4 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 35–7–1 (26–5–1 / 9–3)
Wisconsin Wins Series 9–4
NCAA TOURNAMENT
March 25, 1977 New Hampshire 4–3* Win Olympia Stadium Detroit, MI 36–7–1 (26–5–1 / 9–3)
March 26, 1977 Michigan 6–5* Win Olympia Stadium Detroit, MI 37–7–1 (26–5–1 / 9–3)
264–161 37–7–1 (26–5–1 / 9–3)

* Denotes overtime periods
† WCHA game
‡ Big Ten and WCHA game

National championship

(W1) Wisconsin vs. (W2) Michigan

March 26 Wisconsin 6–5 OT Michigan Olympia Stadium


Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st WIS Steve Alley – PP Norwich and Eaves 2:29 1–0 WIS
WIS Dave Herbst Norwich and Lundeen 9:27 2–0 WIS
WIS Mark Johnson – PP Eaves and Alley 15:12 3–0 WIS
UM Kip Maurer – PP Manery and Palmer 16:13 3–1 WIS
2nd UM Dave Debol – PP Maurer and Palmer 21:33 3–2 WIS
WIS Mike Meeker Johnson and Suter 22:54 4–2 WIS
3rd WIS Mark Johnson Grauer and Meeker 41:10 5–2 WIS
UM Mark Miller Debol and Todd 41:36 5–3 WIS
UM Dave Debol Thayer 42:14 5–4 WIS
UM John Wayman Maurer 54:22 5–5
1st Overtime WIS Steve Alley – GW Eaves and Ulseth 60:23 6–5 WIS
Penalty summary
Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM
1st UM Kris Manery Hooking 1:12 2:00
WIS Dave Herbst Hooking 5:48 2:00
UM Dane Hoene Tripping 15:01 2:00
WIS Murray Johnson Elbowing 15:21 2:00
WIS Craig Norwich High–Sticking 19:20 2:00
UM John Wayman High–Sticking 19:20 2:00
2nd WIS Steve Alley Hooking 20:30 2:00
WIS Dave Herbst Tripping 22:54 2:00
UM Dean Turner Interference 28:44 2:00
WIS Bob Suter Roughing 34:44 2:00
WIS Craig Norwich Roughing 37:13 2:00
3rd WIS Craig Norwich High–Sticking 41:55 2:00
UM Dane Hoene High–Sticking 41:55 2:00
UM John McCahill Hooking 45:03 2:00
WIS John Taft Tripping 48:41 2:00
Shots by period
Team 1 2 3 OT T
Michigan 11 13 15 0 39
Wisconsin 11 10 8 1 30
Goaltenders
Team Name Saves Goals against Time on ice
UM Rick Palmer 24 6
WIS Julian Baretta 34 5

Roster and scoring statistics

No. Name Year Position Hometown S/P/C Games Goals Assists Pts PIM
5 Craig Norwich Junior D Edina, MN Minnesota 44 18 65 83 70
17 Mike Eaves Junior C Denver, CO Colorado 45 28 53 81 18
10 Mark Johnson Freshman C Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 43 36 44 80 16
11 Steve Alley Senior LW Anoka, MN Minnesota 45 32 31 63 50
7 John Taft Senior D Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 42 15 43 58 41
9 Les Grauer Sophomore LW Leader, SK Saskatchewan 43 21 33 54 42
19 Mike Meeker Sophomore W Kingston, ON Ontario 41 26 27 53 50
22 Dave Lundeen Senior C Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 44 18 29 47 110
25 Dave Herbst Junior W Saint Paul, MN Minnesota 45 14 19 33 72
16 Tom Ulseth Junior RW Moorhead, MN Minnesota 42 13 18 31 10
8 Norm McIntosh Junior D Grande Prairie, AB Alberta 45 8 20 28 58
20 Mark Capouch Junior RW Grand Forks, ND North Dakota 44 11 12 23 14
2 Bob Suter Sophomore D Madison, WI Wisconsin 38 3 15 18 107
18 Murray Johnson Junior W Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 43 7 6 13 40
26 Ron Griffin Freshman D Detroit, MI Michigan 35 5 8 13 14
15 Tim Phippen Freshman LW Saint Paul, MN Minnesota 27 3 5 8 16
3 John Suter Junior D Madison, WI Wisconsin 40 2 3 5 30
24 Rod Romanchuk Sophomore C Saint Paul, MN Minnesota 43 1 3 4 12
29 Jim Scheid Freshman C Rochester, MN Minnesota 7 1 2 3 0
23 George Gwozdecky Senior LW Thunder Bay, ON Ontario 12 1 2 3 8
14 Brad Mullins Junior D North Bay, ON Ontario 15 1 0 1 12
12 Ian Perrin Junior D Spy Hill, SK Saskatchewan 8 0 1 1 0
4 John Gregory Junior D Maple Ridge, BC British Columbia 10 0 1 1 0
1 Julian Baretta Sophomore G Madison, WI Wisconsin 26 0 1 1 0
30 Dave McNab Senior G San Diego, CA California 3 0 0 0 0
21 Clark Kavolinas Sophomore W Surrey, BC British Columbia 8 0 0 0 4
27 Mike Dibble Senior G Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 22 0 0 0 0
Total 860 264 441 705 794

Goaltending Statistics

No. Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
30 Dave McNab 3 60 2 0 0 3 22 0 0.880 3.00
1 Julian Baretta 26 1458 21 2 0 75 714 2 0.905 3.08
27 Mike Dibble 22 1219 14 5 1 83 686 0 0.892 4.08
Total 2737 37 7 1 161 1422 2 .898 3.53

Players drafted into the NHL/WHA

1977 NHL amateur draft

= NHL All-Star team = NHL All-Star = NHL All-Star and NHL All-Star team = Did not play in the NHL
Round Pick Player NHL team
4 66 Mark Johnson Pittsburgh Penguins
5 84 Julian Baretta Los Angeles Kings
7 120 Bob Suter Los Angeles Kings

1977 WHA Amateur Draft

= Did not play in the WHA
Round Pick Player WHA Team
3 22 Mark Johnson Birmingham Bulls
6 51 Julian Baretta Edmonton Oilers
7 58 Bob Suter Birmingham Bulls

See also

References

  1. "2009–10 WCHA Yearbook 113–128" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  2. "Wisconsin Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  3. "Tournament History" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  4. "2009–10 WCHA Yearbook 129–144" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  5. "PAST: 1977 TITLE TEAM ESTABLISHED SOLID FOUNDATION". Madison.com. April 6, 2006. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  6. Milewski, Todd D. (March 9, 2017). "Badgers men's hockey: A celebration 40 years in the making for Wisconsin's 1977 champions". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  7. "1977 NCAA Men's Champs". Wisconsin Broadcasting Museum. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  8. "Division I Men's Records" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  9. "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  10. "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  11. "Wisconsin Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  12. "Badger Hockey 2005–06 Media Guide" (PDF). Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  13. "1977 Championship Boxscore" (PDF). Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  14. "1976–77 U. of Wisconsin roster and statistics". Hockey DB. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  15. ^ Players are identified as an All-Star if they were selected for the All-Star game at any time in their career.
  16. "1977 NHL amateur draft". Hockey DB. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  17. "1977 WHA Amateur Draft". Hockey DB. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
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