The 1973–74 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 1973 and concluded with the 1974 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 16, 1974, at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. This was the 27th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 80th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.
In the summer of 1973 the NCAA changed the classifications of the tiers in each of their sponsored sports. The university- and College-divisions were done away with and replaced by numerical designations making this the first official Division I season.
The NIT held a competing ice hockey tournament for the first time. The tournament included NAIA champion Lake Superior State, ECAC 2 champion Vermont and two NCAA Division I schools (Minnesota–Duluth and Saint Louis). Minnesota–Duluth won the championship but the tournament was not renewed for a second season.
Season Outlook Pre-season poll The top teams in the nation voted on by coaches before the start of the season. The poll was compiled by radio station WMPL. WMPL PollRankTeam1 Wisconsin (8)2 Notre Dame3 Denver4 Michigan Tech (1)5 Boston University6 Cornell (1)7 Saint Louis8 Harvard9 Boston College10 Michigan State
Pre-season conference polls Conference pre-season polls as voted on by coaches. The ECAC coaches voted on the top eight teams instead of the entire conference. ECAC PollRankTeam1 Cornell2 Boston College3 Boston University4 Harvard5 New Hampshire6 Brown7 Dartmouth8 Rensselaer9 Clarkson10 Pennsylvania11 Pennsylvania12 St. Lawrence13 Providence14 Northeastern WCHA PollRankTeam1 Wisconsin2 Notre Dame3 Michigan Tech4 Denver5 Michigan State6 Minnesota7 North Dakota8 Michigan9 Minnesota Duluth10 Colorado College
Regular season
Season tournaments Tournament Dates Teams Champion Christmas City of the North Tournament November 22–24 4 Minnesota–Duluth North Country Thanksgiving Festival November 22–24 4 Toronto Flint IMA Tournament December 27–28 4 Michigan St. Louis Holiday Tournament December 27–28 4 Saint Louis Rensselaer Holiday Tournament December 27–29 4 Boston University Great Lakes Invitational December 28–29 4 Michigan State Syracuse Invitational December 28–29 4 Cornell Beanpot February 4, 11 4 Harvard Lake Forest Tournament February 22–23 4 Saint Mary's
Standings
Final regular season polls The final top 10 teams as ranked by coaches (WMPL) before the conference tournament finals. WMPL Coaches PollRankingTeam1 Michigan Tech2 Minnesota3 Boston University4 New Hampshire5 Michigan State6 Denver7 Harvard8 Cornell9 Saint Louis9 (tie) Minnesota Duluth
1974 NCAA Tournament
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Player stats
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
Player Class Team GP G A Pts PIM Sophomore Michigan State 38 43 54 97 48 Sophomore Michigan State 38 37 51 88 32 Sophomore Bowling Green 39 44 42 86 40 Senior Colorado College 32 31 48 79 71 Senior Saint Louis 40 41 35 76 10 Sophomore Michigan Tech 40 28 47 75 38 Sophomore Michigan State 38 31 38 69 54 Sophomore Bowling Green 39 27 42 69 50 Junior Michigan Tech 40 29 39 68 4 Freshman Air Force 27 43 24 67 36
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
Player Class Team GP Min W L OT GA SO SV% GAA Sophomore New Hampshire 22 1318 15 7 0 58 1 .908 2.64 Junior Boston University 29 1633 - - - 78 2 .911 2.86 Sophomore Michigan Tech 13 - - - - - - .910 3.01 Junior Michigan Tech 21 - - - - - - .894 3.01 Senior Minnesota 34 2148 - - - 111 1 .906 3.10 Sophomore New Hampshire 11 520 - - - 32 0 .873 3.69 Freshman St. Lawrence 12 616 - - - 38 0 .903 3.70 Freshman North Dakota - - - - - - 0 .900 3.74 Sophomore Wisconsin 23 1381 10 8 4 87 0 .891 3.78 Freshman Clarkson 23 1311 10 - - 83 0 .896 3.80
Awards
NCAA Award RecipientSpencer Penrose Award Charlie Holt, New HampshireMost Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament Brad Shelstad, MinnesotaAHCA All-American Teams East Team Position West Team Cap Raeder, New Hampshire G Robbie Moore, Michigan George Kuzmicz, Cornell D Norm Barnes, Michigan State Vic Stanfield, Boston University D Jim Nahrgang, Michigan Tech Bill Burlington, Boston University F Steve Colp, Michigan State Gordie Clark, New Hampshire F Doug Palazzari, Colorado College Randy Roth, Harvard F Mike Zuke, Michigan Tech
CCHA No AwardsAll-CCHA Teams First Team Position Second Team Pat Tims, Lake Superior State G Ralph Kloiber, Saint Louis Roger Archer, Bowling Green D Mario Faubert, Saint Louis Tom Davies, Lake Superior State D Bill Slewidge, Lake Superior State Bob Dobek, Bowling Green F John Stewart, Bowling Green Kim Gellert, Lake Superior State F Rick Kennedy, Saint Louis John Nestic, Saint Louis F Charlie Labelle, Saint Louis
ECAC Award RecipientPlayer of the Year Randy Roth, HarvardRookie of the Year Ron Wilson, ProvidenceMost Outstanding Player in Tournament Ed Walsh, Boston UniversityAll-ECAC Hockey Teams First Team Position Second Team Ed Walsh, Boston University G Cap Raeder, New Hampshire Vic Stanfield, Boston University D Levy Byrd, Harvard George Kuzmicz, Cornell D Peter Brown, Boston University Bill Burlington, Boston University F Bob Goodenow, Harvard Gordie Clark, New Hampshire F Tom Fleming, Dartmouth Randy Roth, Harvard F Rick Meagher, Boston University
WCHA Award RecipientMost Valuable Player Doug Palazzari, Colorado CollegeFreshman of the Year Brian Walsh, Notre DameCoach of the Year Herb Brooks, MinnesotaAll-WCHA Teams First Team Position Second Team Brad Shelstad, Minnesota G Rick Quance, Michigan Tech Jim Nahrgang, Michigan Tech D Gord McDonald, Minnesota-Duluth Norm Barnes, Michigan State D Bruce Affleck, Denver Doug Palazzari, Colorado College F Lorne Stamler, Michigan Tech Steve Colp, Michigan State F Tom Ross, Michigan State Mike Zuke, Michigan Tech F Ray Delorenzi, Notre Dame
1974 NHL Amateur Draft
Round Pick Player College Conference NHL team 2 21 Denver WCHA 3 42 Denver WCHA 3 46 Minnesota WCHA 4 72 ‡ Ohio State Independent 5 75 Michigan Tech WCHA 5 79 Michigan Tech WCHA 5 81 Wisconsin WCHA 5 86 Wisconsin WCHA 6 93 ‡ Minnesota WCHA 6 96 Minnesota WCHA 6 98 Minnesota WCHA 6 99 Michigan WCHA 6 100 Minnesota WCHA 6 101 Brown ECAC Hockey 6 105 Bowling Green CCHA 7 112 Minnesota–Duluth WCHA 7 118 Boston University ECAC Hockey 7 123 Minnesota WCHA 7 124 Colorado College WCHA 8 135 Michigan WCHA 8 140 New Hampshire ECAC Hockey 8 142 ‡ Wisconsin WCHA 8 143 North Dakota WCHA 9 147 Lake Superior State CCHA 9 158 Michigan State WCHA 9 160 † Michigan Tech WCHA 10 165 Brown ECAC Hockey 10 175 North Dakota WCHA 11 187 New Hampshire ECAC Hockey 11 189 Michigan Tech WCHA 12 197 Denver WCHA 12 199 New Hampshire ECAC Hockey 13 204 † Western Michigan CCHA 13 211 Minnesota WCHA 14 216 Colgate ECAC Hockey 14 219 Minnesota–Duluth WCHA 15 221 Wisconsin WCHA 16 226 Michigan Tech WCHA 17 229 Wisconsin WCHA 20 239 Michigan Tech WCHA 21 241 Minnesota WCHA 22 243 Cornell ECAC Hockey 23 245 † Colorado College WCHA † incoming freshman‡ Reed, Short and Sundberg had left school before this season before.
See also 1973–74 NCAA Division II men's ice hockey season 1973–74 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season
References
External links College Hockey Historical Archives 1973–74 NCAA Standings