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.
East West SeedSchoolConference RecordBerth typeAppearanceLast bidSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type AppearanceLast bid1 St. Lawrence Tri-State League 15–4–0 At-Large 6th 19601 Denver WCHA 28–1–1 Tournament co-champion 3rd 19602 Rensselaer Tri-State League 16–3–1 At-Large 3rd 19542 Minnesota WCHA 16–10–1 Tournament co-champion 3rd 1954
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
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Semifinals
St. Lawrence vs. Rensselaer
Denver vs. Minnesota
Consolation Game
Rensselaer vs. Minnesota
National Championship
Denver vs. St. Lawrence
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st SLUJohn MasonR. Mason and Corby 1:22 1–0 SLU DENBill MastertonBeatty and Walker 3:19 1–1 DENTrent BeattyMasterton and Munro 7:21 2–1 DEN DENJerry Walker – GWBeatty 12:09 3–1 DEN SLUBuster DowerSlater 13:14 3–2 DEN DENJerry DuffusWilliamson and Art 14:51 4–2 DEN DENBill MastertonWalker and Munro 15:49 5–2 DEN 2nd DENTrent BeattyMasterton and Walker 25:33 6–2 DEN DENGrant MunroLomnes 26:57 7–2 DEN DENGeorge Konik – PPJosephson and Wilson 31:31 8–2 DEN DENKen Williamson – PPArt and Wilson 37:47 9–2 DEN 3rd DENBill Masterton – PPKonik 50:46 10–2 DEN DENGrant Munro – PPJosephson 52:15 11–2 DEN DENTerry Lomnesunassisted 56:57 12–2 DEN Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st SLURon MasonHooking 8:10 2:00 DENMarty HoweElbowing 15:54 2:00 SLURoland AndersonSlashing 15:54 2:00 2nd SLUArlie ParkerCross-checking 30:54 2:00 DENJack WilsonTripping 32:37 2:00 DENJack WilsonTripping 34:58 2:00 SLUArlie ParkerChecking in offensive zone 36:50 2:00 3rd DENGrant MunroTripping (penalty shot missed by Roland Anderson) 45:13 2:00 SLUTerry SlaterHigh-sticking (injury) 50:15 5:00 DENTrent BeattyInterference 59:54 2:00
Shots by period Team 1 2 3 T St. Lawrence 6 8 5 19 Denver 20 17 13 50
Goaltenders Team Name Saves Goals against Time on ice SLU Richie Broadbelt 38 12 DEN George Kirkwood 17 2
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)
See also 1961 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
References