The 1973 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament was the culmination of the

1972–73 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 '' Ab urbe con ...

, the 26th 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, 1973, and concluded with

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 ...

defeating

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

4-2. All games were played at the

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (late ...

in Boston, Massachusetts. After the tournament Denver's participation was vacated as a result of NCAA recruiting violations.

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 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)
Note: † Denver's participation was later vacated due to NCAA violations

Semifinals

(W1) Denver vs. (E2) Boston College

(E1) Cornell vs. (W2) Wisconsin

Consolation Game

(E1) Cornell vs. (E2) Boston College

National Championship

(W1) Denver vs. (W2) Wisconsin

All-Tournament Team

*G:

Jim Makey Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

(Wisconsin) *D: vacated† *D: John Taft (Wisconsin) *F: Stan Hinkley (Wisconsin) *F: vacated† *F:

Dean Talafous Dean Charles Talafous (born August 25, 1953) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played 497 regular season games in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1974 and 1981 for the Atlanta Flames, Minnesota North Stars and New Y ...

* (Wisconsin) * Most Outstanding Player(s)
† Recognition of Denver's D:

Bruce Affleck Robert Bruce Affleck (born May 5, 1954) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League in the 1970s. Currently he serves as an executive for the St. Louis Blues, the team with which he s ...

and F:

Peter McNab Peter Maxwell McNab (May 8, 1952 – November 6, 2022) was a Canadian-born American professional ice hockey player. He played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1973 to 1987, with the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canu ...

was vacated when Denver's participation in the tournament was vacated

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:1973 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 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament Ice hockey competitions in Boston