The 1956 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1955–56 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, the 9th 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 between March 15 and 17, 1956, 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

Michigan Tech Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

7-5. 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 ...

Vic Heyliger Victor Heyliger (September 26, 1912 – October 4, 2006) was a National Hockey League center and the head coach of the University of Michigan ice hockey team. Career Born in Concord, Massachusetts, he attended the Lawrence Academy in Groton, Ma ...

captured his 6th and final National title with the Wolverines, all done in the first 9 years of the tournament. As of 2016 he stands as the coach with the most championships overall and the most with one team (6).

Qualifying teams

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

WIHL The Western International Hockey League (WIHL) was a senior level ice hockey league that featured teams from the Western United States and Western Canada. It operated from 1946–62 and 1963–88. It grew out of the West Kootenay League, whi ...

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. Clarkson, who had completed a 23-0 record in the regular season, were offered a bid by the selection committee. The Golden Knights, however, had 8 four-year seniors on the team (who would not have been allowed to play in the tournament) and declined the invitation, leaving the second place team from the Tri-State League to go in their stead.

Format

The eastern team judged as better was seeded as the top eastern team while the WIHL 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)

Semifinals

Boston College vs. Michigan Tech

Michigan vs. St. Lawrence

Consolation Game

Boston College vs. St. Lawrence

Championship Game

Michigan vs. Michigan Tech

All-Tournament team

First Team

*G:

Lorne Howes Lorne Howes is a Canadian retired ice hockey goaltender who won back-to-back National Championships for Michigan in the 1950s. Career After finishing his junior career with the Barrie Flyers, which included winning the 1951 Memorial Cup, Howes ...

* (Michigan) *D: Bob Pitts (Michigan) *D:

Bob Schiller Robert Achille Schiller (November 8, 1918 – October 10, 2017) was an American screenwriter. He worked extensively with fellow producer/screenwriter Bob Weiskopf on numerous television shows in the United States, including ''I Love Lucy'' (1955 ...

(Michigan) *F:

Pete Aubry Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...

(Michigan Tech) *F:

Tom Rendall Thomas W. Rendall (August 11, 1933 – April 7, 2002) was a Canadian ice hockey center. A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Rendall played for the 1951 Memorial Cup finalist and 1952 Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) champion Winnipeg Monarch ...

(Michigan) *F: Ed Switzer (Michigan) * Most Outstanding Player(s)

Second Team

*G: Sarge Whittier (St. Lawrence) *D:

Bill Renner William Arthur Renner, Jr. (born May 23, 1959) is a former punter in the National Football League who played for the Green Bay Packers. Renner played collegiate ball for Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Ins ...

(St. Lawrence) *D:

Willie Tattersall Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

(Michigan Tech) *F:

Cliff Wylie In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs a ...

(Michigan Tech) *F: Ron Stenlund (Michigan Tech) *F: Joe McLean (St. Lawrence)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1956 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