1947–48 Tufts Jumbos men's ice hockey season

The 1947–48 Tufts Jumbos men's ice hockey season was the 10th season of play for the program but 1st under NCAA oversight. The Jumbos represented Tufts College and were coached by Harry Briggs for the first three games before Frank Anderson took over for the final match.

1947–48 Tufts Jumbos
men's ice hockey season
ConferenceIndependent
Home iceBoston Arena
Record
Overall3–1–0
Home1–0–0
Neutral2–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachHarry Briggs
Frank Anderson
Captain(s)Bill Duryea
Dave Egan
Tufts Jumbos men's ice hockey seasons
« 1946–47 1948–49 »

Season

Prior to the start of the season, the university's athletic association announced that there would not be an ice hockey team in 1948. Despite the news, Harry Briggs and the players from last year's squad organized on their own and arranged a limited schedule.[1] The club arranged a date with MIT in early December and, despite having limited ice time and no access to the school's equipment, the team performed well in a loss with Joe Saunders being under siege all game. The refusal of the team to quietly disperse had attracted a contingent of some 350 students for the game and many more in the aftermath. The club petitioned the school for formal recognition and pressured the administration to allow them to wear the school colors.

In early January, the college president (Leonard Carmichael) and vice president (Richard Kelley) met with three representatives from the team; Charles Kerrigan, Roger Peck and Robert Harris. The players asked for the school to give formal recognition for the team and were told that, while the administration wasn't against the idea in principle, the issue at hand was where the team could play. Acting A.D. William S. Yeager had cancelled the team because, in his opinion, all teams representing the college should play their home games on campus. While this wasn't an issue with most programs, the fact that Tufts College did not have an on-campus ice rink meant that the team was forces to go elsewhere to play their games. Yeager believed that if the players were good enough to play ice hockey then they should attend a different school that featured the game. I the end, however, Yeager relented and dropped his opposition to the team. The school agreed to formally recognize the outfit but would not financially support the program.[2]

In the meantime, the club had won two matches and were gearing up for a rematch with the Engineers. In the final game of the year, the team, now wearing official school sweaters, found themselves in trouble. After allowing two goals in the first, they allowed another pair in the first five minutes of the middle frame and were down 1–4. While everything appeared to being going in favor of MIT, the Jumbos were able to turn the momentum in their favor with a power play goal before the midway point of the game. Just a few minutes later, Scooter Haines got the team's third goal and Tufts was suddenly down by just one goal. The Engineers hunkered down and kept the Jumbos back for several minutes but Dave Merrow managed to tie the score with just 25 seconds left in the period. Tufts kept MIT hemmed in their own end for most of the third and Peck was able to net the final goal of the game, giving the Jumbos a winning season and a perfect end to a tumultuous season.[3]

Frank Anderson served as head coach for the final game, taking over from Harry Briggs after the winter break. Russell Brewer served as team manager.

Roster

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team
20 Massachusetts William D. Duryea II (C) Junior F Medford, Massachusetts
22 Massachusetts David M. Egan (C) Sophomore F Arlington, Massachusetts
23 Massachusetts Richard Balcom Sophomore LW Natick, Massachusetts
24 Massachusetts Roger P. Peck Senior C Newton Highlands, Massachusetts Newton High School (USHS-MA)
25 Massachusetts David Merrow Freshman RW Winchester, Massachusetts
27 Massachusetts Irving W. Dingwell Freshman Winchester, Massachusetts
28 Massachusetts Walter L. McGill Junior Newton Center, Massachusetts
29 H McPhee D
30 Kenneth Dixon G
31 Massachusetts W. Scott Doub Freshman Winchester, Massachusetts
33 Massachusetts Charles H. Kerrigan Senior D Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts Stoneham High School (USHS-MA)
35 Massachusetts R. Miles Uhrig Freshman G Lexington, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Robert C. Haines Junior F Medford, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Charles A. Hutchings Junior Medford, Massachusetts
McKinley
N/A Massachusetts Carl F. "Joe" Saunders G Wakefield, Massachusetts

Note: The players wore different numbers while acting as an independent outfit. Saunders wore a sweater without a number.

Standings

Intercollegiate Overall
GP W L T Pct. GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Army161141.71978391611417839
Bemidji State5050.0001336102803763
Boston College191450.7371266019145012660
Boston University242040.8331798624204017986
Bowdoin9450.4444568116505673
Brown14590.3576191145906191
California10280.20045621751208789
Clarkson12561.45867391710619654
Colby8260.250284182602841
Colgate10730.70054341310308345
Colorado College14950.6438473271980207120
Cornell4040.0003434040343
Dartmouth232120.9131567624213015681
Fort Devens State133100.2313374
Georgetown3210.667121175203721
Hamilton14770
Harvard229130.409131131239140135140
Lehigh8080.00089510010012108
Massachusetts2020.0001233030330
Michigan181620.8891055323202114163
Michigan Tech197120.36887962081209197
Middlebury14851.6071116816105112774
Minnesota16970.5637873219120100105
Minnesota–Duluth6330.500212496303628
MIT198110.4219311419811093114
New Hampshire13490.3085867134905867
North Dakota10640.600514616115010368
North Dakota Agricultural5320.600272864203729
Northeastern191090.526135119191090135119
Norwich9360.3333858136705670
Princeton188100.444657221101107979
St. Cloud State121020.83355351612407355
St. Lawrence9630.6676527138419550
Suffolk
Tufts4310.750171543101715
Union9180.1117869180786
Williams11362.364374713472
Yale165101.34460692081118985

Schedule and results

DateOpponentSiteResultRecord
Regular Season
December 8 vs. MIT* Boston ArenaBoston, Massachusetts L 3–7  0–1–0
December 22 Suffolk* Boston ArenaBoston, Massachusetts W 5–1  1–1–0
December vs. Holy Cross * Boston Skating Club • Boston, Massachusetts W 4–3  2–1–0
January 27 vs. MIT* Boston ArenaBoston, Massachusetts W 5–4  3–1–0
*Non-conference game.

† This was an informal club organized by students at Holy Cross College.

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points
Scooter HainesF-41-
Dick BalcomF-23-
Rog PeckF-31-
Dave EganF-31-
Bill DuryeaF-22-
Dave MerrowF-30-
Charley KerriganD----
Charlie HutchingsD----
H McPheeD----
Kenny DixonG----
Miles UhrigG----
Joe SaundersG----
Total17

Note: Assists were only reported in the middle two games.

References

  1. "Icemen Force Issue". The Williams Record. December 11, 1947. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  2. "Pucksters Win 2 - Recognized By Tufts". The Williams Record. January 15, 1948. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  3. "Pucksters Avenge Tech in 5-4 Upset". The Williams Record. January 15, 1948. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
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