1948 NCAA men's ice hockey tournament

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.

1948 NCAA men's
ice hockey tournament

Teams	4
Finals site	Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, Colorado
Champions	Michigan Wolverines (1st title)
Runner-up	Dartmouth Indians (1st title game)
Semifinalists	Colorado College Tigers (1st Frozen Four) Boston College Eagles (1st Frozen Four)
Winning coach	Vic Heyliger (1st title)
MOP	Joe Riley (Dartmouth)
Attendance	7,900
← 1947  NCAA men's ice hockey tournaments 1949 →

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

^[1]

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^[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

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

Shots by period Team 1 2 3 T Michigan 10 13 18 41 Dartmouth 12 9 8 29

Goaltenders Team Name Saves Goals against Time on ice UM Jack McDonald 25 4 DC Dick Desmond 33 8

All-Tournament Team

First Team G: Bernie Burke (Boston College) D: Connie Hill (Michigan) D: Ron Newson (Colorado College) F: Wally Grant (Michigan) F: Bill Riley (Dartmouth) F: Joe Riley* (Dartmouth) * Most Outstanding Player(s)^[4] ^[5]

Second Team G: Dick Desmond (Dartmouth) D: Ross Smith (Michigan) D: Ed Songin (Boston College) F: Wally Gacek (Michigan) F: Bruce Stewart (Colorado College) F: Joe Slattery (Colorado College)

References

1. "NCAA Division 1 Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. 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. (PDF) from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2013.