The 1971 NCAA Men's University Division Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the

1970–71 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season The 1970–71 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season began in November 1970 and concluded with the 1971 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 20, 1971 at the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse, ...

, the 24th 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 18 and 20, 1971, and concluded with

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 ...

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 ...

4–2. All games were played at the

Onondaga War Memorial The Upstate Medical University Arena (originally known as Onondaga County War Memorial and later as the Oncenter War Memorial Arena) is a multi-purpose arena located in Syracuse, New York. It is part of the Oncenter Complex. Designed by Edgart ...

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

. This was the first time that a team with a losing record participated in an NCAA tournament.

Qualifying teams

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

WCHA The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

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.

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 Onondaga War Memorial. 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

(W1) Denver vs. (E2) Boston University

(E1) Harvard vs. (W2) Minnesota

Consolation Game

(W1) Denver vs. (E1) Harvard

National Championship

(E2) Boston University vs. (W2) Minnesota

All-Tournament Team

*G: Dan Brady* (Boston University) *D: Bob Brown (Boston University) *D: Bruce McIntosh (Minnesota) *F:

Dean Blais Dean Charles Blais (born January 18, 1951) is an American ice hockey coach. He was the head coach of the Omaha Mavericks, the men's team of the University of Nebraska Omaha, and also head coach of the United States men's national junior ice hock ...

(Minnesota) *F:

Don Cahoon Don 'Toot' Cahoon (born April 13, 1949) is a retired American ice hockey coach. He was the head coach of the Princeton Tigers when they won their first conference tournament championship in 1998. For almost 40 years Cahoon worked behind the bench ...

(Boston University) *F: Steve Stirling (Boston University) * Most Outstanding Player(s)

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:1971 NCAA University Division 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 University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament History of Syracuse, New York Ice hockey in Syracuse, New York Sports competitions in New York (state)