1955–56 NCAA men's ice hockey season

The 1955–56 NCAA men's ice hockey season began in November 1955 and concluded with the 1956 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 17, 1956 at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This was the 9th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 62nd year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.

1955–56 NCAA men's ice hockey season
Duration	November 1955– March 17, 1956
NCAA tournament	1956
National championship	Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, Colorado
NCAA champion	Michigan
NCAA men's ice hockey seasons ← 1954–55 1956–57 →

Clarkson completed the first undefeated season, going 23-0, since the inception of the NCAA tournament. As of 2016 only Cornell (in 1970) has been able to accomplish the same feat.

Regular season

Season tournaments

Tournament	Dates	Teams	Champion
Boston Arena Christmas Tournament	December 26–31	9	Clarkson
Rensselaer Holiday Tournament	December 30–January 2	4	Minnesota
Beanpot	February 6, 8	4	Boston College

Standings

1955–56 NCAA Independent ice hockey standings v t e
	Intercollegiate								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	Pct.	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Amherst	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		14	7	7	0	–	–
American International	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		15	11	4	0	–	–
Army	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		16	11	5	0	72	46
Boston College	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		21	14	7	0	105	82
Boston University	22	11	11	0	.500	107	113		22	11	11	0	107	113
Bowdoin	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		14	6	8	0	–	–
Brown	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		19	10	9	0	82	62
Colby	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		13	5	8	0	–	–
Dartmouth	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		23	5	18	0	71	134
Hamilton	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		13	4	9	0	–	–
Harvard	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		25	15	10	0	125	77
Massachusetts	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		11	5	6	0	44	46
MIT	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		8	2	6	0	23	43
New Hampshire	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		14	3	11	0	39	80
Northeastern	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		25	13	12	0	123	130
Norwich	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		12	6	6	0	–	–
Princeton	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		20	11	9	0	80	70
Providence	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		23	7	16	0	100	152
St. Olaf	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		8	4	4	0	–	–
Tufts	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		17	5	12	0	–	–
Williams	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		13	5	8	0	–	–
Yale	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		18	9	9	0	60	68

1955–56 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ice hockey standings v t e
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Minnesota–Duluth †	12	12	0	0	1.000	–	–		23	17	6	0	–	–
Augsburg	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–
Concordia	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		8	2	6	0	–	–
Gustavus Adolphus	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		11	7	4	0	–	–
Hamline	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–
Macalester	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–
Saint John's	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		17	12	4	1	–	–
St. Thomas	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		12	6	8	0	–	–
† indicates conference champion

1955–56 Tri-State League standings v t e
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Clarkson†	6	6	0	0	12	44	12		23	23	0	0	172	58
St. Lawrence	6	4	2	0	8	31	24		23	18	5	0	130	47
Rensselaer	6	2	4	0	4	18	26		18	12	6	0	105	56
Middlebury	6	0	6	0	0	10	42		21	10	11	0	–	–
† indicates conference regular season champion

1955–56 Western Intercollegiate Hockey League v t e
	Conference									Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PCT	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Michigan†	18	15	2	1	.858	19	80	37		23	20	2	1	109	49
Michigan Tech	20	14	6	0	.700	17	82	61		28	21	7	0	156	83
Colorado College	18	10	8	0	.556	14	72	66		28	17	11	0	144	100
Minnesota	22	11	10	1	.523	12	63	60		29	16	12	1	106	80
North Dakota	20	7	13	0	.350	10	67	93		28	11	16	1	100	129
Denver	16	6	8	2	.438	10	58	58		26	12	11	3	130	84
Michigan State	18	1	17	0	.056	2	35	82		23	5	18	0	55	96
† 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 of 24 points available.^[1]

^[2]

1956 NCAA Tournament

Main article: 1956 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

	Semifinals March 15–16					National championship March 17
	W1	Michigan	2*
	E2	St. Lawrence	1
						W1	Michigan	7
						W2	Michigan Tech	5
	E1	Boston College	4
	W2	Michigan Tech	10			Third-place game
						E1	Boston College	2
						E2	St. Lawrence	6

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

^[3]

Player stats

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the season.

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	Class	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Ed Rowe	Junior	Clarkson	23	27	38	65	-
Ken Yackel	Senior	Minnesota	30	31	27	58	102
Garry Kearns	Sophomore	Rensselaer	18	26	32	58	23
Richard Cavanaugh	Junior	Northeastern	24	30	27	57	-
Grant Childerhouse	Sophomore	Clarkson	23	36	17	53	-
Jack McManus	Junior	Michigan Tech	28	29	23	52	14
John Andrews	Freshman	Colorado College	-	27	25	52	-
Bill Reichart	Junior	North Dakota	28	28	23	51	24
Clare Smith	Junior	Colorado College	-	24	26	50	-
Bob Cleary	Sophomore	Harvard	25	23	27	50	-

^[4]

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average at the end of the regular season while playing at least 33% of their team's total minutes.

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player	Class	Team	GP	Min	W	L	OT	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Andy LaHaye	Junior	Michigan Tech	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	.928	2.00
Bill Sloan	Senior	St. Lawrence	20	1049	16	4	0	37	4	.912	2.12
Dave Broadbelt	Sophomore	Denver	10	-	-	-	-	-	1	.907	2.50
Eddie MacDonald	Sophomore	Clarkson	23	1381	23	0	0	58	2	-	2.52
Jack McCartan	Sophomore	Minnesota	24	1440	-	-	-	67	0	-	2.80
John Stopen	Junior	Rensselaer	18	1088	12	6	0	56	2	.892	3.09
Bob McManus	Junior	Michigan Tech	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	.895	3.13
George Scherer	Senior	Yale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3.38
Tom Yurkovich	Junior	North Dakota	28	-	11	16	1	-	2	.862	3.96

^[4]

Awards

NCAA Award^[5] Recipient Spencer Penrose Award Bill Harrison, Clarkson Most Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament Lorne Howes, Michigan AHCA All-American Teams^[6] First Team Position Second Team Lorne Howes, Michigan G Bill Sloan, St. Lawrence Bob Schiller, Michigan D Chuck Lundberg, St. Lawrence Doug Silverberg, Colorado College D Art Smith, Clarkson Garry Kearns, Rensselaer F Jack McManus, Michigan Tech Bill MacFarland, Michigan F Ken Yackel, Minnesota Ed Rowe, Clarkson F Ed Zifcak, St. Lawrence

WIHL No Awards All-WIHL Teams^[7] First Team   Position   Second Team Lorne Howes, Michigan G Bob McManus, Michigan Tech Ken Yackel, Minnesota D Ed Zemrau, Denver Doug Silverberg, Colorado College D Bob Pitts, Michigan Bill MacFarland, Michigan F John Andrews, Colorado College Bill Reichart, North Dakota F Tom Rendall, Michigan Jack McManus, Michigan Tech F Clare Smith, Colorado College

References

1. "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 97-112" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved 2014-06-01.
2. "2008-09 WCHA Yearbook 97-112" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
3. "NCAA Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
4. "1955-56 NCAA Division I Statistics". Elite Prospects. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
5. "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
6. "1955-1956 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
7. "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.

External links

• College Hockey Historical Archives
• 1955–56 NCAA Standings