The 1953 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the

1952–53 NCAA men's ice hockey season The 1952–53 NCAA men's ice hockey season began in November 1952 and concluded with the 1953 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 14, 1953, at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This was the 6th sea ...

, the sixth such tournament in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

history. It was held from March 12 to 14, 1953, and concluded with

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

defeating

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

7-3. All games were played at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. Michigan's win capped off its third consecutive National Championship. As of 2018 no team has been able to match that achievement. Additionally, their 14 goals in the semifinal game against

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

were the most ever for an NCAA tournament game, matched only by

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

. The Wolverines' goal differential (+16) is also a record for an NCAA tournament, equaling the record set by

Colorado College Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

and matched by

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

. For the first time since the tournament began the 'Most Outstanding Player' was awarded to someone from the championship team.

Qualifying teams

Four teams qualified for the tournament, two each from the eastern and western regions. The two best MCHL teams and a

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second leagu ...

representative received bids into the tournament as did one independent school.

Format

The eastern team judged as better was seeded as the top eastern team while the MCHL champion 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 Broadmoor Ice Palace. 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)

Results

Semifinals

Minnesota vs. Rensselaer

Michigan vs. Boston University

Consolation Game

Boston University vs. Rensselaer

National Championship

Minnesota vs. Michigan

All-Tournament team

First Team

*G:

Jim Mattson James Mattson is an American ice hockey goaltender who backstopped Minnesota to its first two NCAA Tournament appearances. Career Mattson grew up playing junior hockey in the Minnesota area, but for his senior year of high school he headed to N ...

(Minnesota) *D:

Alex MacLellan Alexander Douglas MacLellan (April 30, 1930 – March 18, 2022) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman who won three consecutive national championships with Michigan. Career Hailing from Montreal, MacLellan was one of a slew of Canadians who playe ...

(Michigan) *D: Tom Wegleitner (Minnesota) *F:

John Matchefts John Peter Matchefts (June 18, 1931 – November 10, 2013) was an American ice hockey player and coach. Matchefts played for Team USA at the 1956 Winter Olympics. Career Player An Eveleth native from birth, Matchefts played for his hometown hig ...

* (Michigan) *F:

Dick Meredith Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

(Minnesota) *F:

Abbie Moore Albert W. "Abbie" Moore is a Canadian retired ice hockey center who was the MOP for the 1954 NCAA Tournament. Career Abbie Moore was in the second recruit class for Ned Harkness after Rensselaer brought back its ice hockey program in 1949. Afte ...

(Rensselaer) * Most Outstanding Player(s)

Second Team

*G: Willard Ikola (Michigan) *D:

Herb LaFontaine Herb LaFontaine is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenceman who starred for Rensselaer. Career LaFontaine played two seasons for Rensselaer as the team was ascending to the top of the college hockey landscape. In each of his two campaigns, the ...

(Rensselaer) *D: Reggie Shave (Michigan) *F:

John Mayasich John Edward Mayasich (born May 22, 1933) is an American former ice hockey player of American Croats, Croatian descent. He was a member of the U.S. ice hockey team that won a silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics and a gold medal at the 1960 W ...

(Minnesota) *F:

George Chin George Chin is a Canadian retired ice hockey right wing who won consecutive National Championships with Michigan. Career Charles and Rose Chin, operators of Chin's Restaurant in Lucknow, Ontario, had fourteen children together. All eleven of t ...

(Michigan) *F:

Frank Chiarelli Frank Chiarelli is a retired Canadian ice hockey player. He captained Rensselaer to its first National Title in 1954 and was the all-time NCAA leader in career goals at the time of his graduation. Career Like many Canadian players of the era ...

(Rensselaer)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1953 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

Tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament 1950s in Colorado Springs, Colorado Ice hockey in Colorado Sports competitions in Colorado Springs, Colorado