The 1950–51 Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team represented the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in intercollegiate

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...

during the

1950–51 NCAA men's ice hockey season The 1950–51 NCAA men's ice hockey season began in November 1950 and concluded with the 1951 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 17, 1951 at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This was the 4th seaso ...

. The

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

was

Vic Heyliger Victor Heyliger (September 26, 1912 – October 4, 2006) was an American ice hockey player and coach. He played 33 games in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Black Hawks between 1937 and 1944 and then worked as the head coach A hea ...

and the team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

was Gil Burford. The team won the

1951 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament The 1951 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1950–51 NCAA men's ice hockey season, the 4th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 15 and 17, 1951, and concluded with Michigan defeating Brown 7-1. Al ...

. The team's leading scorer was Neil Celley, who broke Michigan's single-season scoring record with 79 points (40 goals, 39 assists) and led the NCAA in scoring.

Standings

Schedule

During the season Michigan compiled a 22–4–1 record, the fourth consecutive year that the team won at least 80% of their games. Their schedule was as follows. * Denotes overtime periods

Roster and scoring statistics

Goaltending Statistics

1951 national championship

(W1) Michigan vs. (E1) Brown

Bob Heathcott, Gil Burford,

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 hi ...

and Neil Celley were named to the All-Tournament Team

Notes

Less than year after winning the tournament, Hal Downes was shot down in his B-26 over

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

and was declared

MIA Mia, Mía, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (American band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA. (German band), a German rock/pop band formed i ...

. Though all living

POWs A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

were returned to the US in 1953 Downes remained listed as MIA until his remains were returned in 2018.

References

External links

Official SiteHistory of the 1950–51 team
, at page 6 {{DEFAULTSORT:1950-51 Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey season Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey seasons

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...