1953 NCAA men's ice hockey tournament

The 1953 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1952–53 NCAA men's ice hockey season, the sixth such tournament in NCAA history. It was held from March 12 to 14, 1953, and concluded with Michigan defeating Minnesota 7-3. All games were played at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Michigan's win capped off its third consecutive National Championship. As of 2018 no team has been able to match that achievement. Additionally, their 14 goals in the semifinal game against Boston University were the most ever for an NCAA tournament game, matched only by Minnesota in 1954. The Wolverines' goal differential (+16) is also a record for an NCAA tournament, equaling the record set by Colorado College in 1950 and matched by Wisconsin in 1983.

For the first time since the tournament began the 'Most Outstanding Player' was awarded to someone from the championship team.

Qualifying teams Four teams qualified for the tournament, two each from the eastern and western regions. The two best MCHL teams and a Tri-State League representative received bids into the tournament as did one independent school.

East West SeedSchoolConference RecordBerth typeAppearanceLast bidSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type AppearanceLast bid1 Rensselaer Tri-State League 14–3–1 At-Large 1st Never1 Michigan MCHL 15–7–0 At-Large 6th 19522 Boston University Independent 14–5–1 At-Large 3rd 19512 Minnesota MCHL 22–5–0 At-Large 1st Never

Format The eastern team judged as better was seeded as the top eastern team while the MCHL 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

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Results

Semifinals

Minnesota vs. Rensselaer

Michigan vs. Boston University

Consolation Game

Boston University vs. Rensselaer

National Championship

Minnesota vs. Michigan

Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st UMJim HaasMacLellan 05:48 1–0 UM MINDick MeredithYackel 8:39 1–1 MINDick DoughertyCampbell 11:34 2–1 MIN 2nd UMDoug PhilpottShave 26:15 2–2 UMDoug MullenChin and Cooney 31:08 3–2 UM 3rd UMJohn Matchefts – GW PPunassisted 43:38 4–2 UM UMJim Haasunassisted 47:17 5–2 UM UMDoug Philpott – PPHaas 49:14 6–2 UM MINKen YackelJohnson and Dougherty 50:42 6–3 UM UMJohn Matchefts – ENPhilpott 59:49 7–3 UM Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1stnone 2nd UMLou Paolatto 2:00 UMLou Paolatto 2:00 UMPat Cooney 2:00 UMAlex MacLellan 2:00 3rd MINTom Wegleitner 2:00 MINJim Tschida 2:00 UMJim Haas 2:00 UMReggie Shave 2:00

Shots by period Team 1 2 3 T Michigan 14 11 9 34 Minnesota 12 10 6 28

Goaltenders Team Name Saves Goals against Time on ice UM Willard Ikola 25 3 MIN Jim Mattson 28 6

All-Tournament team

First Team G: Jim Mattson (Minnesota) D: Alex MacLellan (Michigan) D: Tom Wegleitner (Minnesota) F: John Matchefts* (Michigan) F: Dick Meredith (Minnesota) F: Abbie Moore (Rensselaer) * Most Outstanding Player(s)

Second Team G: Willard Ikola (Michigan) D: Herb LaFontaine (Rensselaer) D: Reggie Shave (Michigan) F: John Mayasich (Minnesota) F: George Chin (Michigan) F: Frank Chiarelli (Rensselaer)

References