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1981 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament
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| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
| Gender | men's |
| Division | Division I |
| Teams | 8 |
| FrozenFourArena | Duluth Arena |
| FrozenFourCity | Duluth, Minnesota |
| Champions | Wisconsin Badgers |
| TitleCount | 3rd |
| ChampGameCount | 3rd |
| ChampFFCount | 6th |
| RunnerUp | Minnesota Golden Gophers |
| GameCount | 8th |
| RunnerFFCount | 9th |
| Semifinal1 | Michigan Tech Huskies |
| FrozenFourCount | 10th |
| Semifinal2 | Northern Michigan Wildcats |
| FrozenFourCount2 | 2nd |
| Coach | Bob Johnson |
| CoachCount | 3rd |
| MOP | Marc Behrend |
| MOPTeam | Wisconsin |
The 1981 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament was the culmination of the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, the 34th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 19 and 27, 1981, and concluded with Wisconsin defeating Minnesota 6-3. All Quarterfinals matchups were held at home team venues while all succeeding games were played at the Duluth Arena in Duluth, Minnesota.
1981 was the first year that the tournament guaranteed 8 teams to be selected for the championship as opposed the policy put in place in 1977 that gave the selection committee the ability to choose up to 4 additional teams at its discretion (two was the maximum the committee ever choose).
Qualifying teams
The NCAA permitted 8 teams to qualify for the tournament, four from each region (East and West). From the east the ECAC tournament champion and the regular season champions from the two ECAC divisions that did not contain the ECAC champion received automatic bids into the tournament with a fourth at-large bid going to one eastern team. From the west the two WCHA tournament co-champions and the CCHA tournament champion received automatic bids with a fourth at-large bid going to one western team.
| East | West | Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Appearance | Last bid | Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Appearance | Last bid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clarkson | ECAC Hockey | 26–6–3 | Division champion | 7th | 1970 | 1 | Minnesota | WCHA | 30–11–0 | Tournament co-champion | 10th | 1980 | ||
| 2 | Providence | ECAC Hockey | 17–13–1 | Tournament champion | 3rd | 1978 | 2 | Northern Michigan | CCHA | 26–11–3 | Tournament champion | 2nd | 1980 | ||
| 3 | Cornell | ECAC Hockey | 18–10–1 | Division champion | 8th | 1980 | 3 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | 26–13–1 | Tournament co-champion | 10th | 1976 | ||
| 4 | Colgate | ECAC Hockey | 21–10–2 | At-large bid | 1st | Never | 4 | Wisconsin | WCHA | 24–14–0 | At-large bid | 6th | 1978 |
Format
The tournament featured three rounds of play. The two odd-number ranked teams from one region were placed into a bracket with the two even-number ranked teams of the other region. The teams were then seeded according to their ranking. In the Quarterfinals the first and fourth seeds and the second and third seeds played two-game aggregate series to determine which school advanced to the Semifinals. Beginning with the Semifinals all games were played at the Duluth Arena and all series became Single-game eliminations. The winning teams in the semifinals advanced to the National Championship Game with the losers playing in a Third Place game.
Tournament bracket
March 19–21 March 25–26 March 27
| RD1-seed1=E1 | RD1-team1=Clarkson | RD1-score1-1=2 | RD1-score1-2=6 | RD1-score1-agg=8 | RD1-seed2=W4 | RD1-team2=Wisconsin | RD1-score2-1=3 | RD1-score2-2=6 | RD1-score2-agg=9 | RD1-seed3=W2 | RD1-team3=Northern Michigan | RD1-score3-1=7 | RD1-score3-2=3 | RD1-score3-agg=10 | RD1-seed4=E3 | RD1-team4=Cornell | RD1-score4-1=3 | RD1-score4-2=4 | RD1-score4-agg=7 | RD1-seed5=W1 | RD1-team5=Minnesota | RD1-score5-1=9 | RD1-score5-2=5 | RD1-score5-agg=14 | RD1-seed6=E4 | RD1-team6=Colgate | RD1-score6-1=4 | RD1-score6-2=4 | RD1-score6-agg=8 | RD1-seed7=E2 | RD1-team7=Providence | RD1-score7-1=3 | RD1-score7-2=5 | RD1-score7-agg=8 | RD1-seed8=W3 | RD1-team8=Michigan Tech | RD1-score8-1=7 | RD1-score8-2=6 | RD1-score8-agg=13
| RD2-seed1=W4 | RD2-team1=Wisconsin | RD2-score1=5 | RD2-seed2=W2 | RD2-team2=Northern Michigan | RD2-score2=1 | RD2-seed3=W1 | RD2-team3=Minnesota | RD2-score3=7 | RD2-seed4=W3 | RD2-team4=Michigan Tech | RD2-score4=2
| RD3-seed1=W4 | RD3-team1=Wisconsin | RD3-score1=6 | RD3-seed2=W1 | RD3-team2=Minnesota | RD3-score2=3
| RD3b-seed1=W2 | RD3b-team1=Northern Michigan | RD3b-score1=2 | RD3b-seed2=W3 | RD3b-team2=Michigan Tech | RD3b-score2=5 Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Quarterfinals
(E1) Clarkson vs. (W4) Wisconsin
|1-1-1 = |1-1-2 = |1-2-1 = |1-2-2 = |1-3-1 = |1-3-2 = |goalie1-1 = |goalie1-2 = |2-1-1 = |2-1-2 = |2-2-1 = |2-2-2 = |2-3-1 = |2-3-2 = |goalie2-1 = |goalie2-2 =
(E2) Providence vs. (W3) Michigan Tech
|1-1-1 = |1-1-2 = |1-2-1 = |1-2-2 = |1-3-1 = |1-3-2 = |goalie1-1 = |goalie1-2 = |2-1-1 = |2-1-2 = |2-2-1 = |2-2-2 = |2-3-1 = |2-3-2 = |goalie2-1 = |goalie2-2 =
(W1) Minnesota vs. (E4) Colgate
|1-1-1 = |1-1-2 = |1-2-1 = |1-2-2 = |1-3-1 = |1-3-2 = |goalie1-1 = |goalie1-2 = |2-1-1 = |2-1-2 = |2-2-1 = |2-2-2 = |2-3-1 = |2-3-2 = |goalie2-1 = |goalie2-2 =
(W2) Northern Michigan vs. (E3) Cornell
|1-1-1 = |1-1-2 = |1-2-1 = |1-2-2 = |1-3-1 = |1-3-2 = |goalie1-1 = |goalie1-2 = |2-1-1 = |2-1-2 = |2-2-1 = |2-2-2 = |2-3-1 = |2-3-2 = |goalie2-1 = |goalie2-2 =
Semifinal
(W1) Minnesota vs. (W3) Michigan Tech
|1-1-1 = |1-1-2 = |1-2-1 = |1-2-2 = |1-3-1 = |1-3-2 = |goalie1-1 = |goalie1-2 = }}
(W2) Northern Michigan vs. (W4) Wisconsin
|1-1-1 = |1-1-2 = |1-2-1 = |1-2-2 = |1-3-1 = |1-3-2 = |goalie1-1 = |goalie1-2 = }}
Third-place game
(W2) Northern Michigan vs. (W3) Michigan Tech
|1-1-1 = |1-1-2 = |1-2-1 = |1-2-2 = |1-3-1 = |1-3-2 = |goalie1-1 = |goalie1-2 = }}
National Championship
(W1) Minnesota vs. (W4) Wisconsin
|1-1-1 = |1-1-2 = |1-2-1 = |1-2-2 = |1-3-1 = |1-3-2 = |goalie1-1 = |goalie1-2 =
| Scoring summary | Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score | Penalty summary | Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | Dan Gorowsky | Newberry and Vincent | 9:24 | 1–0 WIS | |||||||||
| Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | John Newberry – PP | Vincent and Welsh | 14:49 | 2–0 WIS | ||||||||||
| Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | Ed Lebler | Ethier | 19:49 | 3–0 WIS | ||||||||||
| 2nd | Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | Ted Pearson – GW | Lebler and Newberry | 29:23 | 4–0 WIS | |||||||||
| a | #FBB93C | 2px}}" | MIN | Butsy Erickson | Ulseth and Knoke | 32:37 | 4–1 WIS | |||||||||
| Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | John Newberry – PP | S. Lecy and Vincent | 34:27 | 5–1 WIS | ||||||||||
| 3rd | a | #FBB93C | 2px}}" | MIN | Mike Knoke – PP | Jensen and A. Broten | 40:10 | 5–2 WIS | ||||||||
| a | #FBB93C | 2px}}" | MIN | Butsy Erickson – PP | Hartzell and A. Broten | 56:09 | 5–3 WIS | |||||||||
| Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | Ed Lebler – EN | Driver | 58:40 | 6–3 WIS | ||||||||||
| 1st | Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | John Newberry | Roughing | 0:28 | 2:00 | |||||||||
| a | #FBB93C | 2px}}" | MIN | Dave Jensen | Roughing | 0:28 | 2:00 | |||||||||
| Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | Bruce Driver | Hooking | 4:14 | 2:00 | ||||||||||
| Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | Pat Ethier | Interference | 9:35 | 2:00 | ||||||||||
| Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | Brian Mullen | Charging | 10:11 | 2:00 | ||||||||||
| a | #FBB93C | 2px}}" | MIN | Neal Broten | Cross–Checking | 10:11 | 2:00 | |||||||||
| Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | Jay McFarlane | Charging | 11:58 | 2:00 | ||||||||||
| a | #FBB93C | 2px}}" | MIN | Paul Butters | Interference | 14:15 | 2:00 | |||||||||
| 2nd | Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | Theran Welsh | Holding | 25:48 | 2:00 | |||||||||
| Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | Pete Johnson | Hooking | 30:31 | 2:00 | ||||||||||
| a | #FBB93C | 2px}}" | MIN | Scott Bjugstad | High Sticking | 32:51 | 2:00 | |||||||||
| a | #FBB93C | 2px}}" | MIN | Mike Meadows | Roughing | 35:28 | 2:00 | |||||||||
| a | #FBB93C | 2px}}" | MIN | Bob Bergloff | Roughing | 36:00 | 2:00 | |||||||||
| Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | Pat Ethier | Elbowing | 38:15 | 2:00 | ||||||||||
| 3rd | Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | Ted Pearson | Hooking | 45:21 | 2:00 | |||||||||
| Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | Todd Lecy | Interference | 55:06 | 2:00 |
| Shots by period | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | Wisconsin | 11 | 14 | 17 | 42 | ||
| a | #FBB93C | 2px}}" | Minnesota | 8 | 10 | 15 | 33 |
| Goaltenders | Team | Name | Saves | Goals against | Time on ice | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin Badgers | color=#FFFFFF}};" | WIS | Marc Behrend | 30 | 3 | |||
| a | #FBB93C | 2px}}" | MIN | Paul Butters | 33 | 5 | ||
| a | #FBB93C | 2px}}" | MIN | Jim Jetland | 3 | 0 |
[[List of NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey All-Tournament Teams|All-Tournament Team]]
- G: Marc Behrend* (Wisconsin)
- D: Mike Knoke (Minnesota)
- D: Tim Watters (Michigan Tech)
- F: Steve Bozek (Northern Michigan)
- F: Aaron Broten (Minnesota)
- F: John Newbery (Wisconsin)
- Most Outstanding Player(s)
References
References
- "NCAA Division 1 Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives.
- "NCAA Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives.
- "1981 Championship Boxscore". Wisconsin Badgers.
- "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives.
- "NCAA Frozen Four Records". NCAA.org.
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