1954 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
| Teams | 4 |
|---|---|
| Finals Site | |
| Champions | Rensselaer (1st title) |
| Runner-Up | Minnesota (2nd title game) |
| Semifinalists |
|
| Winning coach | Ned Harkness (1st title) |
| MOP | Abbie Moore Rensselaer |
| Attendance | 7,800 |
The 1954 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1953–54 NCAA Division I 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.[1]
Minnesota's victory in the semifinal over Boston College holds two separate records: the most goals scored by one team in an NCAA tournament (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.[2]
| East | West | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Appearance | Last bid | Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Appearance | Last bid |
| 1 | Rensselaer | Tri-State League | 16–5–0 | At-Large | 2nd | 1953 | 1 | Minnesota | WIHL | 22–5–1 | At-Large | 2nd | 1953 |
| 2 | Boston College | Independent | 17–2–0 | At-Large | 4th | 1950 | 2 | Michigan | WIHL | 14–5–2 | At-Large | 7th | 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 | |||||||||
| W1 | Minnesota | 14 | ||||||||
| E2 | Boston College | 1 | ||||||||
| W1 | Minnesota | 4 | ||||||||
| E1 | Rensselaer | 5* | ||||||||
| E1 | Rensselaer | 6 | ||||||||
| W2 | Michigan | 4 | Third Place Game | |||||||
| W2 | Michigan | 7 | ||||||||
| E2 | Boston College | 2 | ||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Semifinals
Minnesota vs. Boston College
| March 11 | Minnesota | 14 – 1 | Boston College | Broadmoor Ice Palace | ||||
Rensselaer vs. Michigan
| March 12 | Rensselaer | 6 – 4 | Michigan | Broadmoor Ice Palace | ||||
Consolation Game
Boston College vs. Michigan
| March 13 | Boston College | 2 – 7 | Michigan | Broadmoor Ice Palace | ||||
National Championship
Minnesota vs. Rensselaer
| March 13 | Minnesota | 4 – 5 | OT | Rensselaer | Broadmoor Ice Palace | |||
All-Tournament Team
First team
|
Second team
|
References
- ↑ "History of the Tri-State League/ICAC". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
- ↑ "NCAA Division 1 Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Archived from the original on 2013-06-21. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
- ↑ "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
- ↑ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-06-22. Retrieved 2013-06-19.