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1961 NCAA men's ice hockey tournament

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FieldValue
Year1961
Gendermen's
Teams4
FrozenFourArenaUniversity of Denver Arena
FrozenFourCityDenver, Colorado
ChampionsDenver Pioneers
TitleCount3rd
ChampGameCount3rd
ChampFFCount3rd
RunnerUpSt. Lawrence Saints
GameCount1st
RunnerFFCount6th
Semifinal1Minnesota Golden Gophers
FrozenFourCount3rd
Semifinal2Rensselaer Engineers
FrozenFourCount23rd
CoachMurray Armstrong
CoachCount3rd
MOPBill Masterton
MOPTeamDenver
Attendance19,826

The 1961 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1960–61 NCAA men's ice hockey season, the 14th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 16 and 18, 1961, and concluded with Denver defeating St. Lawrence 12–2. All games were played at the University of Denver Arena in Denver, Colorado.

This was the first time in the history of the tournament that teams from the same conference would play each other in the opening round. The next occurrence would not happen until 2008.

Denver's 10-point margin of victory is the largest ever for a title game and the second most for one team in the championship match, behind only Colorado College in both 1950 and 1957. (as of 2016)

Qualifying teams

Four teams qualified for the tournament, two each from the eastern and western regions. The WCHA tournament co-champions received automatic bids into the tournament. Two at-large bids were offered to eastern teams based upon both their regular season record and strength of competition.

EastWestSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeAppearanceLast bidSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeAppearanceLast bid
1St. LawrenceTri-State League15–4–0At-Large6th19601DenverWCHA28–1–1Tournament co-champion3rd1960
2RensselaerTri-State League16–3–1At-Large3rd19542MinnesotaWCHA16–10–1Tournament co-champion3rd1954

Format

The higher-ranked eastern team was seeded as the top eastern team while the WCHA champion with the better conference record was given the top western seed. Because Minnesota refused to schedule Denver beginning this season as a result of a disagreement over recruiting practices, the two western participants had not yet played each other during the season. As a result, the NCAA broke with tradition and pitted the two against one another in the semifinals, leaving the two eastern teams to face one another in the other semifinal game. All games were played at the University of Denver Arena. 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

March 16–17 March 18

| RD1-seed1=E1 | RD1-team1=St. Lawrence | RD1-score1=6 | RD1-seed2=E2 | RD1-team2=Rensselaer | RD1-score2=3 | RD1-seed3=W1 | RD1-team3=Denver | RD1-score3=6 | RD1-seed4=W2 | RD1-team4=Minnesota | RD1-score4=1

| RD2-seed1=E1 | RD2-team1=St. Lawrence | RD2-score1=2 | RD2-seed2=W1 | RD2-team2=Denver | RD2-score2=12

| RD2b-seed1=E2 | RD2b-team1=Rensselaer | RD2b-score1=3 | RD2b-seed2=W2 | RD2b-team2=Minnesota | RD2b-score2=4

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Semifinals

St. Lawrence vs. Rensselaer

|1-1-1 = |1-1-2 = |1-2-1 = |1-2-2 = |1-3-1 = |1-3-2 = |goalie1-1 = |goalie1-2 =

Denver vs. Minnesota

|1-1-1 = |1-1-2 = |1-2-1 = |1-2-2 = |1-3-1 = |1-3-2 = |goalie1-1 = |goalie1-2 =

Consolation Game

Rensselaer vs. Minnesota

|1-1-1 = |1-1-2 = |1-2-1 = |1-2-2 = |1-3-1 = |1-3-2 = |goalie1-1 = |goalie1-2 =

National Championship

Denver vs. St. Lawrence

|1-1-1 = |1-1-2 = |1-2-1 = |1-2-2 = |1-3-1 = |1-3-2 = |goalie1-1 = |goalie1-2 =

Scoring summaryPeriodTeamGoalAssist(s)TimeScore
1stSt. Lawrence Saintscolor=#FFFFFF}};"SLUJohn MasonR. Mason and Corby1:221–0 SLU
a#866d4b2px}}"DENBill MastertonBeatty and Walker3:191–1
a#866d4b2px}}"DENTrent BeattyMasterton and Munro7:212–1 DEN
a#866d4b2px}}"DENJerry Walker – GWBeatty12:093–1 DEN
St. Lawrence Saintscolor=#FFFFFF}};"SLUBuster DowerSlater13:143–2 DEN
a#866d4b2px}}"DENJerry DuffusWilliamson and Art14:514–2 DEN
a#866d4b2px}}"DENBill MastertonWalker and Munro15:495–2 DEN
2nda#866d4b2px}}"DENTrent BeattyMasterton and Walker25:336–2 DEN
a#866d4b2px}}"DENGrant MunroLomnes26:577–2 DEN
a#866d4b2px}}"DENGeorge Konik – PPJosephson and Wilson31:318–2 DEN
a#866d4b2px}}"DENKen Williamson – PPArt and Wilson37:479–2 DEN
3rda#866d4b2px}}"DENBill Masterton – PPKonik50:4610–2 DEN
a#866d4b2px}}"DENGrant Munro – PPJosephson52:1511–2 DEN
a#866d4b2px}}"DENTerry Lomnesunassisted56:5712–2 DEN
Shots by periodTeam123T
St. Lawrence Saintscolor=#FFFFFF}};"St. Lawrence68519
a#866d4b2px}}"Denver20171350
GoaltendersTeamNameSavesGoals againstTime on ice
St. Lawrence Saintscolor=#FFFFFF}};"SLURichie Broadbelt3812
a#866d4b2px}}"DENGeorge Kirkwood172

[[List of NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey All-Tournament Teams|All-Tournament team]]

First Team

  • G: Mike Larson (Minnesota)
  • D: Marty Howe (Denver)
  • D: Grant Munro (Denver)
  • F: Trent Beatty (Denver)
  • F: Bill Masterton* (Denver)
  • F: Jerry Walker (Denver)
  • Most Outstanding Player(s)

Second Team

  • G: George Kirkwood (Denver)
  • D: George Konik (Denver)
  • D: Arlie Parker (St. Lawrence)
  • F: Terry Slater (St. Lawrence)
  • F: Jim Josephson (Rensselaer)
  • F: Ron Constantine (Minnesota)

References

References

  1. "NCAA Division 1 Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives.
  2. "NCAA Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives.
  3. "Denver Pioneers 2007-08 Hockey Yearbook". Denver Pioneers.
  4. "NCAA Frozen Four Records". NCAA.org.
  5. "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives.
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