1965–66_NCAA_University_Division_men's_ice_hockey_season
The 1965–66 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season began in November 1965 and concluded with the 1966 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 19, 1966, at the Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This was the 19th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 72nd year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.
Quick Facts –66 NCAA UniversityDivision men's ice hockey season, Duration ...
| 1965–66 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Williams Arena served as the host for the 1966 Tournament | |||||
| Duration | November 1965– March 19, 1966 | ||||
| NCAA tournament | 1966 | ||||
| National championship | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota | ||||
| NCAA champion | Michigan State | ||||
| |||||
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Minnesota–Duluth joined the WCHA beginning with this season. Pennsylvania promoted their club program to varsity status and began playing as an independent.
Season tournaments
More information Tournament, Dates ...
| Tournament | Dates | Teams | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Brunswick Invitational | November 26–27 | 4 | |
| Boston Christmas Holiday Festival | December 17–18 | 6 | |
| ECAC Holiday Hockey Festival | December 19–22 | 6 | Cornell |
| Great Lakes Invitational | December 21–22 | 4 | Toronto |
| Boston Arena Christmas Tournament | December 27–29 | 4 | Boston University |
| Yankee Conference Tournament | December 28–29 | 4 | New Hampshire |
| Rensselaer Holiday Tournament | December 28–30 | 4 | Western Ontario |
| Brown Holiday Tournament | December 29–30 | 4 | Brown |
| St. Paul College Hockey Tournament | December 29–30 | 4 | Minnesota |
| Nichols School Invitational | December 31–January 1 | 4 | Yale |
| Beanpot | February 7, 14 | 4 | Boston University |
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Standings
More information Conference, Overall ...
| Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| Minnesota† | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 34 | 29 | 27 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 117 | 94 | |
| Michigan State | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 34 | 32 | 29 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 123 | 111 | |
| Michigan | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 25 | 32 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 125 | 109 | |
| † indicates conference regular season champion | ||||||||||||||
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More information Conference, Overall ...
| Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | Pct. | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| Clarkson†* | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | .917 | 67 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 150 | 70 | |
| Boston University | 19 | 17 | 2 | 0 | .895 | 105 | 75 | 35 | 27 | 8 | 0 | 178 | 92 | |
| Cornell | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0 | .889 | 92 | 33 | 27 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 151 | 54 | |
| Brown | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | .667 | 86 | 60 | 25 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 114 | 85 | |
| St. Lawrence | 15 | 8 | 6 | 1 | .567 | 75 | 54 | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 130 | 95 | |
| Boston College | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | .545 | 105 | 80 | 28 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 135 | 101 | |
| Colgate | 16 | 8 | 7 | 1 | .531 | 79 | 67 | 26 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 137 | 98 | |
| Northeastern | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 | .528 | 80 | 71 | 29 | 16 | 12 | 1 | 140 | 120 | |
| Harvard | 19 | 8 | 11 | 0 | .421 | 77 | 81 | 23 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 104 | 99 | |
| Yale | 21 | 8 | 12 | 1 | .405 | 82 | 103 | 23 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 86 | 105 | |
| Army | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | .350 | 34 | 69 | 25 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 132 | 85 | |
| Princeton | 19 | 6 | 12 | 1 | .342 | 76 | 101 | 20 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 76 | 101 | |
| Dartmouth | 18 | 2 | 14 | 2 | .167 | 55 | 111 | 24 | 5 | 17 | 2 | 80 | 127 | |
| Providence | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 42 | 77 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 77 | 93 | |
| Rensselaer | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 | .000 | 18 | 112 | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 42 | 161 | |
| Championship: Clarkson † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion | ||||||||||||||
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More information Conference, Overall ...
| Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| Clarkson† | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 32 | 9 | 27 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 150 | 70 | |
| St. Lawrence | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 9 | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 130 | 95 | |
| Rensselaer | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 40 | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 42 | 161 | |
| † indicates conference regular season champion | ||||||||||||||
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More information Conference, Overall ...
| Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| Alaska–Fairbanks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | - | - | |
| Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 75 | 65 | |
| Pennsylvania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0 | |||
| Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 21 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 105 | 66 | |
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More information Conference, Overall ...
| Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | PCT | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| Michigan Tech† | 20 | 15 | 4 | 1 | .775 | 77 | 48 | 30 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 141 | 82 | |
| North Dakota | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | .591 | 97 | 85 | 30 | 17 | 12 | 1 | 135 | 115 | |
| Minnesota | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | .591 | 92 | 76 | 27 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 117 | 94 | |
| Denver* | 20 | 10 | 7 | 3 | .575 | 81 | 61 | 32 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 137 | 100 | |
| Michigan | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 74 | 72 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 125 | 109 | |
| Michigan State* | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | .450 | 88 | 85 | 29 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 123 | 111 | |
| Colorado College | 18 | 4 | 12 | 2 | .278 | 51 | 93 | 29 | 9 | 18 | 2 | 98 | 147 | |
| Minnesota-Duluth | 20 | 3 | 15 | 2 | .200 | 60 | 100 | 28 | 7 | 19 | 2 | 96 | 137 | |
| Championship: Michigan State, Denver † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion | ||||||||||||||
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| Semifinals March 17–18 | National Championship March 19 | ||||||||
| W1 | Denver | 3 | |||||||
| E2 | Clarkson | 4 | |||||||
| E2 | Clarkson | 1 | |||||||
| W2 | Michigan State | 6 | |||||||
| E1 | Boston University | 1 | |||||||
| W2 | Michigan State | 2 | Third Place Game | ||||||
| W1 | Denver | 4 | |||||||
| E1 | Boston University | 3 | |||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
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
More information Player, Class ...
| Player | Class | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Ferguson | Junior | Cornell | 27 | 37 | 34 | 71 | 76 |
| Fred Bassi | Junior | Boston University | 35 | 35 | 29 | 64 | 33 |
| Michael Doran | Junior | Cornell | 27 | 23 | 39 | 62 | 48 |
| Doug Volmar | Sophomore | Michigan State | 29 | 26 | 28 | 54 | 57 |
| Terry Casey | Senior | North Dakota | 30 | 26 | 28 | 54 | 2 |
| Bruce Fennie | Senior | Boston University | 32 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 21 |
| David Ferguson | Junior | Cornell | 27 | 23 | 29 | 52 | 41 |
| Mel Wakabayashi | Junior | Michigan | 28 | 19 | 33 | 52 | 2 |
| Dennis Macks | Sophomore | Brown | 25 | 24 | 26 | 50 | - |
| Raymond Clegg | Junior | Wisconsin | 22 | 27 | 22 | 49 | 9 |
| Robert Empie | Sophomore | Clarkson | 25 | 27 | 22 | 49 | 16 |
| Jim Quinn | Junior | Boston University | 35 | 24 | 25 | 49 | 21 |
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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
More information Player, Class ...
| Player | Class | Team | GP | Min | W | L | OT | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Errol McKibbon | Senior | Cornell | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | .928 | 1.94 |
| David Quarrie | Junior | Cornell | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | .912 | 1.99 |
| Wayne Ryan | Junior | Boston University | 13 | 640 | - | - | - | 24 | 0 | .903 | 2.25 |
| Terry Yurkiewicz | Senior | Clarkson | - | 1366 | 24 | - | 0 | 56 | 0 | .906 | 2.46 |
| Rick Best | Junior | Michigan Tech | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | - | .901 | 2.62 |
| Tony Esposito | Junior | Michigan Tech | 19 | - | - | - | - | - | - | .909 | 2.69 |
| David Ferguson | Senior | Brown | 25 | 1500 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 77 | 0 | .898 | 3.08 |
| Buddy Blom | Senior | Denver | 32 | 1918 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 99 | 0 | .898 | 3.09 |
| Gaye Cooley | Sophomore | Michigan State | 18 | 1080 | - | - | - | 56 | 0 | .903 | 3.10 |
| Gary Johnson | Junior | Wisconsin | 21 | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | .905 | 3.14 |
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More information Award, Recipient ...
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WCHA
More information Award, Recipient ...
| Award[9] | Recipient | |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Mel Wakabayashi, Michigan | |
| Sophomore of the Year | Gary Gambucci, Minnesota | |
| Coach of the Year | John MacInnes, Michigan Tech | |
| All-WCHA Teams[10] | ||
| First Team | Position | Second Team |
| Tony Esposito, Michigan Tech | G | John Lothrop, Minnesota |
| Wayne Smith, Denver | D | Dennis Huculak, Michigan Tech |
| Bruce Riutta, Michigan Tech | D | Bob Hill, Minnesota-Duluth |
| Doug Volmar, Michigan State | F | Wayne Weller, Michigan Tech |
| Terry Casey, North Dakota | F | Mel Wakabayashi, Michigan |
| Dennis Hextall, North Dakota | F | Gary Gambucci, Minnesota |
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Main article: 1966 NHL Amateur Draft
More information Round, Pick ...
| Round | Pick | Player | College | Conference | NHL team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 21 | Brian Morenz † | Denver | WCHA | Chicago Black Hawks |
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† incoming freshman
[11]
- "2008–09 ECAC Hockey Media Guide" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- "2008–09 WCHA Yearbook 97-112" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- "NCAA Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- "1965–66 NCAA Division I Statistics". Elite Prospects. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
- "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
- "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
- "ECAC Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- "WCHA Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- "1966 NHL Amateur Draft". Hockey DB. Retrieved October 25, 2023.