The 1972 NCAA Men's University Division Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season, the 25th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 16 and 18, 1972, and concluded with Boston University defeating Cornell 4–0. All games were played at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Qualifying teams Four teams qualified for the tournament, two each from the eastern and western regions. The ECAC tournament champion and the two WCHA tournament co-champions received automatic bids into the tournament. An at-large bid was offered to a second eastern team based upon both their ECAC tournament finish as well as their regular season record.
East West SeedSchoolConference RecordBerth typeAppearanceLast bidSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type AppearanceLast bid1 Boston University ECAC Hockey 24–4–1 Tournament champion 8th 19711 Denver WCHA 27–9–0 Tournament co-champion 10th 19712 Cornell ECAC Hockey 22–5–0 At-Large 5th 19702 Wisconsin WCHA 26–9–1 Tournament co-champion 2nd 1970
Format The ECAC champion was seeded as the top eastern team while the WCHA co-champion with the better regular season record was given the top western seed. The second eastern seed was slotted to play the top western seed and vice versa. All games were played at the Boston Garden. All matches were Single-game eliminations with the semifinal winners advancing to the national championship game and the losers playing in a consolation game.
Tournament bracket
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Semifinals
(E1) Boston University vs. (W2) Wisconsin
(W1) Denver vs. (E2) Cornell
Consolation Game
(W1) Denver vs. (W2) Wisconsin
National Championship
(E1) Boston University vs. (E2) Cornell
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st BURon Anderson - GW PPBrown and Jordan 10:42 1–0 BU 2nd BURic Jordan - PPBrown 30:51 2–0 BU 3rd BURon AndersonCahoon 41:39 3–0 BU BURic JordanCahoon and Anderson 53:13 4–0 BU Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1stCORGordon McCormick 8:52 2:00 BUMike LaGarde 18:13 2:00CORLarry Fullan 18:13 2:00 2ndCORDave Elenbaas 29:13 2:00 BURon Anderson 29:44 2:00CORLarry Fullan 29:44 2:00 3rd BUPeter Thornton 43:24 2:00
Shots by period Team 1 2 3 TCornell 14 12 13 39 Boston University 8 11 13 32
Goaltenders Team Name Saves Goals against Time on iceCOR Dave Elenbaas 28 4 60:00 BU Tim Regan 39 0 60:00
All-Tournament team G: Tim Regan* (Boston University) D: Bob Brown (Boston University) D: Ric Jordan (Boston University) F: John Danby (Boston University) F: Dave Westner (Cornell) F: Gary Winchester (Wisconsin) * Most Outstanding Player(s)
References