1972–73_NCAA_University_Division_men's_ice_hockey_season
The 1972–73 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season began in November 1972 and concluded with the 1973 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 17, 1973 at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. This was the 26th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 79th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.
Quick Facts –73 NCAA UniversityDivision men's ice hockey season, Duration ...
| 1972–73 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Boston Garden served as the host for the 1973 Tournament | |||||
| Duration | November 1972– March 17, 1973 | ||||
| NCAA tournament | 1973 | ||||
| National championship | Boston Garden Boston, Massachusetts | ||||
| NCAA champion | Wisconsin | ||||
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After the season Denver's participation in the NCAA tournament was vacated due to violations of NCAA regulations.[1]
After the season Army was classified as a Division II squad as part of the NCAA's numerical classification system.[2]
Lake Superior State began to sponsor their ice hockey program and the team was promptly admitted into the CCHA.
Pre-season poll
The top teams in the nation voted on by coaches before the start of the season.
Bob Olson, owner of radio station WMPL, started compiling a national poll in 1972.
More information WMPL Poll, Rank ...
| WMPL Poll | |
|---|---|
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Wisconsin (5) |
| 2 | North Dakota (1) |
| 3 | Harvard |
| 4 | Denver |
| 5 | Michigan Tech (1) |
| 6 | Cornell |
| 7 | Boston College (1) |
| 8 | Notre Dame |
| 9 | Boston University |
| 10 | Clarkson |
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Pre-season conference polls
Conference pre-season polls as voted on by coaches.
More information ECAC Poll, Rank ...
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Season tournaments
More information Tournament, Dates ...
| Tournament | Dates | Teams | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas City of the North Tournament | November 23–25 | 4 | Minnesota–Duluth† |
| North Country Thanksgiving Festival | November 23–25 | 4 | Clarkson |
| Cleveland Cup Invitational | November 29–30 | 4 | Michigan State |
| Yale Invitational | December 18–19 | 4 | Northeastern |
| ECAC Christmas Tournament | December 19–20 | 4 | Dartmouth |
| ECAC Holiday Hockey Festival | December 19–20 | 4 | Saint Louis |
| Great Lakes Invitational | December 27–28 | 4 | Harvard |
| Williams Invitational | December 27–29 | 4 | Bowdoin |
| Rensselaer Holiday Tournament | December 28–30 | 4 | Minnesota–Duluth |
| St. Louis Fireman's Invitational | December 28–30 | 4 | Wisconsin |
| Nichols School Invitational | December 29–30 | 4 | St. Lawrence |
| Syracuse Invitational | December 29–30 | 4 | Clarkson |
| Beanpot | February 5, 12 | 4 | Boston University |
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†Boston University won the tournament but was forced to forfeit each of the three games played after the conclusion of the season.
Standings
More information Conference, Overall ...
| Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| Wisconsin† | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 60 | 40 | 40 | 29 | 9 | 2 | 217 | 139 | |
| Michigan State† | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 60 | 44 | 36 | 23 | 12 | 1 | 194 | 149 | |
| Minnesota | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 50 | 47 | 34 | 15 | 16 | 3 | 124 | 129 | |
| Michigan | 12 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 75 | 34 | 6 | 27 | 1 | 136 | 206 | |
| † 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 | ||
| Saint Louis† | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 116 | 52 | 38 | 27 | 11 | 0 | 266 | 162 | |
| Lake Superior State | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 82 | 53 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 201 | 129 | |
| Ohio State | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 76 | 65 | 30 | 18 | 11 | 1 | 179 | 141 | |
| Bowling Green* | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 95 | 94 | 35 | 16 | 19 | 0 | 193 | 191 | |
| Ohio | 14 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 141 | 24 | 6 | 18 | 0 | — | — | |
| Championship: Bowling Green † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion | ||||||||||||||
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More information Conference, Overall ...
| Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | Pct. | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| Cornell†* | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | .806 | 81 | 60 | 29 | 23 | 5 | 1 | 156 | 92 | |
| Harvard† | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | .806 | 117 | 62 | 22 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 141 | 79 | |
| Boston College | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | .711 | 118 | 88 | 30 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 188 | 121 | |
| Pennsylvania | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | .636 | 90 | 78 | 27 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 115 | 97 | |
| New Hampshire | 19 | 11 | 8 | 0 | .579 | 93 | 87 | 29 | 16 | 10 | 3 | 129 | 121 | |
| Clarkson | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0 | .550 | 101 | 82 | 33 | 18 | 15 | 0 | 176 | 137 | |
| Rensselaer | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0 | .550 | 87 | 67 | 31 | 16 | 15 | 0 | 142 | 124 | |
| Boston University^ | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 | .528 | 100 | 51 | 29 | 11 | 17 | 1 | 174 | 86 | |
| Brown | 19 | 10 | 9 | 0 | .526 | 72 | 75 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 84 | 96 | |
| Northeastern | 21 | 10 | 11 | 0 | .476 | 93 | 98 | 29 | 17 | 12 | 0 | 144 | 125 | |
| St. Lawrence | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | .444 | 87 | 89 | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 149 | 131 | |
| Dartmouth | 20 | 8 | 11 | 1 | .425 | 74 | 85 | 24 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 106 | 93 | |
| Yale | 15 | 5 | 9 | 1 | .367 | 47 | 69 | 23 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 102 | 89 | |
| Providence | 17 | 6 | 11 | 0 | .353 | 62 | 79 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 107 | 110 | |
| Colgate | 17 | 5 | 12 | 0 | .294 | 58 | 94 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 107 | 165 | |
| Princeton | 21 | 3 | 18 | 0 | .143 | 55 | 123 | 23 | 5 | 18 | 0 | 66 | 127 | |
| Army | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | .100 | 28 | 64 | 27 | 9 | 17 | 1 | 121 | 136 | |
| Championship: Cornell † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion ^ Boston University was required to forfeit 11 after the season for using an ineligible player | ||||||||||||||
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More information Conference, Overall ...
| Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| Air Force | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 32 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 166 | 190 | |
| Alaska–Fairbanks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 25 | 14 | 10 | 1 | - | - | |
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More information Conference, Overall ...
| Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| Denver†* | 28 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 52 | 141 | 85 | 39 | 29 | 9 | 1 | 208 | 116 | |
| Notre Dame | 28 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 48 | 150 | 119 | 38 | 23 | 14 | 1 | 199 | 174 | |
| Wisconsin* | 28 | 18 | 9 | 1 | 47 | 134 | 101 | 40 | 29 | 9 | 2 | 217 | 139 | |
| Michigan State | 26 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 47 | 132 | 114 | 36 | 23 | 12 | 1 | 194 | 149 | |
| Michigan Tech | 26 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 44 | 135 | 106 | 38 | 24 | 13 | 1 | 198 | 139 | |
| Minnesota | 28 | 12 | 13 | 3 | 35 | 94 | 102 | 34 | 15 | 16 | 3 | 124 | 129 | |
| North Dakota | 30 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 32 | 124 | 131 | 36 | 17 | 17 | 2 | 154 | 157 | |
| Minnesota-Duluth | 28 | 13 | 15 | 0 | 30 | 123 | 131 | 36 | 19 | 17 | 0 | 166 | 161 | |
| Colorado College | 28 | 5 | 23 | 0 | 14 | 103 | 171 | 34 | 10 | 24 | 0 | 150 | 198 | |
| Michigan | 30 | 4 | 25 | 1 | 11 | 116 | 183 | 34 | 6 | 27 | 1 | 136 | 206 | |
| Championship: Wisconsin, Denver † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion | ||||||||||||||
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Final regular season polls
The final top 10 teams as ranked by coaches (WMPL) before the conference tournament finals.
More information WMPL Media Poll, Ranking ...
| WMPL Media Poll | |
|---|---|
| Ranking | Team |
| 1 | Denver (5) |
| 2 | Wisconsin |
| 3 | Cornell (2) |
| 4 | Notre Dame |
| 5 | Harvard (1) |
| 6 | Boston University (1) |
| 7 | Boston College |
| 8 | Michigan State |
| 9 | Michigan Tech |
| 10 | Saint Louis |
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| Semifinals March 15–16 | National Championship March 17 | ||||||||
| E1 | Cornell | 5 | |||||||
| W2 | Wisconsin | 6* | |||||||
| W2 | Wisconsin | 4 | |||||||
| W1 | Denver† | 2 | |||||||
| W1 | Denver† | 10 | |||||||
| E2 | Boston College | 4 | Third Place Game | ||||||
| E1 | Cornell | 1 | |||||||
| E2 | Boston College | 3 | |||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Note: † Denver's participation was later vacated due to NCAA violations
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Kennedy | Sophomore | Saint Louis | 38 | 47 | 49 | 96 | 22 |
| Eddie Bumbacco | Junior | Notre Dame | 38 | 43 | 47 | 90 | 38 |
| John Nestic | Junior | Saint Louis | 38 | 37 | 46 | 83 | 6 |
| Dave Davies | Junior | Saint Louis | 38 | 31 | 47 | 78 | 8 |
| George Clark | Sophomore | Army | - | 39 | 33 | 72 | - |
| Peter McNab | Junior | Denver | 38 | 32 | 40 | 72 | 18 |
| Sean Coughlan | Sophomore | Saint Louis | 38 | 26 | 46 | 72 | 20 |
| Ian Williams | Junior | Notre Dame | 35 | 35 | 34 | 69 | 54 |
| Carlo Ugolini | Junior | Cornell | 29 | 25 | 44 | 69 | 18 |
| Ray Meyers | Junior | Ohio State | 30 | 33 | 35 | 68 | 44 |
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Grahame | Senior | Denver | 35 | 2094 | 27 | 7 | 1 | 102 | 2 | .921 | 2.90 |
| Ed Walsh | Sophomore | Boston University | 27 | 1612 | - | - | - | 79 | 0 | .911 | 2.94 |
| Dave Elenbaas | Junior | Cornell | 29 | - | - | - | - | - | - | .905 | 3.06 |
| Rick Quance | Sophomore | Michigan Tech | 17 | 1031 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 55 | 0 | .905 | 3.20 |
| Brad Shelstad | Junior | Minnesota | 23 | 1345 | - | - | - | 74 | 0 | .906 | 3.30 |
| Cap Raeder | Freshman | New Hampshire | 20 | 1200 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 67 | 1 | .897 | 3.35 |
| Dick Perkins | Sophomore | Wisconsin | 17 | 1021 | - | - | - | 58 | 2 | .892 | 3.41 |
| Kevin Woods | Senior | Clarkson | 14 | 789 | 11 | - | - | 46 | 2 | .893 | 3.50 |
| Ned Yetten | Sophomore | Boston College | 20 | 1180 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 70 | 1 | .895 | 3.56 |
| Don Cutts | Junior | Rensselaer | 30 | 1800 | - | - | - | 109 | 1 | .898 | 3.63 |
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More information Award, Recipient ...
NCAA |
CCHA
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More information Award, Recipient ...
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Main article: 1973 NHL Amateur Draft
More information Round, Pick ...
| Round | Pick | Player | College | Conference | NHL team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 46 | John Campbell ‡ | Notre Dame | WCHA | New York Rangers |
| 4 | 53 | Dean Talafous | Wisconsin | WCHA | Atlanta Flames |
| 4 | 56 | Alan Hangsleben | North Dakota | WCHA | Montreal Canadiens |
| 5 | 67 | Paul O'Neil | Boston University | ECAC Hockey | Vancouver Canucks |
| 5 | 69 | John Flesch | Lake Superior State | CCHA | Atlanta Flames |
| 6 | 81 | Kevin Smith | Brown | ECAC Hockey | New York Islanders |
| 7 | 97 | Don Cutts | Rensselaer | ECAC Hockey | New York Islanders |
| 7 | 101 | Tom Machowski | Wisconsin | WCHA | Atlanta Flames |
| 7 | 108 | Bob Young | Denver | WCHA | Buffalo Sabres |
| 8 | 117 | Bob Law | North Dakota | WCHA | Atlanta Flames |
| 8 | 122 | Norm Barnes | Michigan State | WCHA | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 8 | 123 | George Lyle † | Michigan Tech | WCHA | Detroit Red Wings |
| 9 | 129 | Bob Lorimer | Michigan Tech | WCHA | New York Islanders |
| 9 | 132 | Dave Pay | Wisconsin | WCHA | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 9 | 136 | Jim Johnston | Wisconsin | WCHA | Minnesota North Stars |
| 9 | 140 | Jack Johnson | Wisconsin | WCHA | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 9 | 141 | Steve Alley | Wisconsin | WCHA | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 10 | 144 | Lee Palmer | Clarkson | ECAC Hockey | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 10 | 147 | Bob Peace | Cornell | ECAC Hockey | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 10 | 154 | Ken Gibb | North Dakota | WCHA | Detroit Red Wings |
| 10 | 155 | Mitch Brandt | Denver | WCHA | Detroit Red Wings |
| 10 | 156 | Rick Clubbe | North Dakota | WCHA | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 11 | 160 | Angie Moretto | Michigan | WCHA | California Golden Seals |
| 11 | 162 | Greg Fox | Michigan | WCHA | Atlanta Flames |
| 12 | 167 | Cap Raeder | New Hampshire | ECAC Hockey | Montreal Canadiens |
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† incoming freshman
‡ John Campbell had left school after the previous season
[15]
- "Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship History". NCAA. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
- "Army West Point hockey 2015-16 media guide". Army West Point. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
- "2012-13 CCHA Media Guide". CCHA. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- "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.
- "1972-73 NCAA Division I Statistics". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 4, 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.
- "CCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 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.
- "1973 NHL Amateur Draft". Hockey DB. Retrieved October 25, 2023.