1971 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey tournament

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 24th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 18 and 20, 1971, and concluded with Boston University defeating Minnesota 4–2. All games were played at the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse, New York.

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 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.

East							West
Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Appearance	Last bid	Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Appearance	Last bid
1	Harvard	ECAC Hockey	18–6–1	Tournament champion	5th	1969	1	Denver	WCHA	24–9–1	Tournament co-champion	9th	1969
2	Boston University	ECAC Hockey	26–2–1	At-Large	7th	1967	2	Minnesota	WCHA	13–16–1	Tournament co-champion	4th	1961

^[1]

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

^[2]

	Semifinals March 18–19					National Championship March 20
	E1	Harvard	5
	W2	Minnesota	6*
						W2	Minnesota	2
						E2	Boston University	4
	W1	Denver	2
	E2	Boston University	4			Third Place Game
						W1	Denver	1
						E2	Harvard	0

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Semifinals

(W1) Denver vs. (E2) Boston University

March 18

Denver

2 – 4

Boston University

Onondaga War Memorial

(E1) Harvard vs. (W2) Minnesota

March 19

Harvard

5 – 6

OT

Minnesota

Onondaga War Memorial

Consolation Game

(W1) Denver vs. (E1) Harvard

March 20

Denver

1 – 0

Harvard

Onondaga War Memorial

National Championship

(E2) Boston University vs. (W2) Minnesota

March 20[3]

Boston University

4 – 2

Minnesota

Onondaga War Memorial

Scoring summary
Period	Team	Goal	Assist(s)	Time	Score
1st	BU	Steve Stirling - PP	Danby and Brown	5:32	1–0 BU
	BU	Bob Gryp	Gowing	10:10	2–0 BU
2nd	BU	Steve Stirling - GW	unassisted	29:13	3–0 BU
3rd	MIN	Doug Peltier	Sarner and McIntosh	53:07	3–1 BU
	BU	Ron Anderson	Dolloff and Brown	57:45	4–1 BU
	MIN	Dean Blais	McIntosh	59:44	4–2 BU
Penalty summary
Period	Team	Player	Penalty	Time	PIM
1st	MIN	Frank Sanders	Charging	5:01	2:00
	BU	Bob Murray	Holding	14:18	2:00
2nd	BU	Mike LaGarde	High–Sticking	29:32	2:00
	BU	Ron Anderson	Elbowing	37:18	2:00
	MIN	Wally Olds	Interference	39:44	2:00
3rd	BU	Mike LaGarde	Holding	51:04	2:00
	BU	Bob Murray	Hooking	58:09	2:00
	MIN	Doug Peltier	Offensive Check	58:09	2:00
	MIN	Dean Blais	Cross–Checking	59:49	2:00

All-Tournament Team

• G: Dan Brady* (Boston University)
• D: Bob Brown (Boston University)
• D: Bruce McIntosh (Minnesota)
• F: Dean Blais (Minnesota)
• F: Don Cahoon (Boston University)
• F: Steve Stirling (Boston University)

* Most Outstanding Player(s)^[4]

^[5]

References