1979 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament

The 1979 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 20th conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 6 and March 11, 1979. All games were played at home team campus sites, including each of the two regional final series. By winning the regional tournaments, both Minnesota and North Dakota were invited to participate in the 1979 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

1979 WCHA Men's ice hockey tournament
DatesMarch 6–11, 1979
Teams8
Finals siteWilliams Arena
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Winter Sports Center
Grand Forks, North Dakota
ChampionsMinnesota†[1] (6th title)
North Dakota‡[2] (3rd title)
Winning coachHerb Brooks[3] (4th title)
John Gasparini[4] (1st title)
WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments

Though not official designations, Minnesota is considered as the East Regional Champion† and North Dakota as the West Regional Champion‡.

Format

The top eight teams in the WCHA, according to their final conference standings, were eligible for the tournament and were seeded No. 1 through No. 8. In the first round the first and eighth seeds, the second and seventh seeds, the third and sixth seeds and the fourth and fifth seeds were matched in two-game series where the school that scored the higher number of goals was declared the winner. After the first round the remaining teams were reseeded No. 1 through No. 4 according to their final conference standings and advanced to the second round. In the second round the first and fourth seeds and the second and third seeds competed in an additional two-game, total goal series with the winners of each being declared as co-conference champions.

Conference standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

1978–79 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
North Dakota†*3222100441681104230111245144
Minnesota*3220111411771164432111239147
Minnesota-Duluth3218104401761414022144213170
Wisconsin3219112401641384125133215172
Notre Dame3217141351611533818191184196
Denver3214162301471744320203188217
Michigan Tech3213163291521413817183182165
Colorado College3211192241441853812242165218
Michigan State3212200241221803615210140192
Michigan32625113117190368271132210
Championship: Minnesota, North Dakota
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion

[5]

Bracket

[6] Teams are reseeded after the first round

First Round
March 6–7 		Second Round
March 10–11
        
1 North Dakota 6 7
8 Colorado College 3 3
1 North Dakota 4 7
4 Wisconsin 2 7
2 Minnesota 5 6
7 Michigan Tech 3 1
3 Minnesota-Duluth 5 2*
6 Denver 2 4
2 Minnesota 2 6
3 Minnesota-Duluth 1 3
4 Wisconsin 11 5
5 Notre Dame 5 5

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

(1) North Dakota vs. (8) Colorado College
March 6 North Dakota 6 – 3 Colorado College Winter Sports Center
March 7 North Dakota 7 – 3 Colorado College Winter Sports Center
North Dakota won series 13–6

(2) Minnesota vs. (7) Michigan Tech
March 6 Minnesota 5 – 3 Michigan Tech Williams Arena
March 7 Minnesota 6 – 1 Michigan Tech Williams Arena
Minnesota won series 11–4

(3) Minnesota-Duluth vs. (6) Denver
March 6 Minnesota-Duluth 5 – 2 Denver Duluth Arena Auditorium
March 7 Minnesota-Duluth 2 – 4 OT Denver Duluth Arena Auditorium
Minnesota-Duluth won series 7–6

(4) Wisconsin vs. (5) Notre Dame
March 6 Wisconsin 11 – 5 Notre Dame Dane County Coliseum
March 7 Wisconsin 5 – 5 Notre Dame Dane County Coliseum
Wisconsin won series 16–10

(1) North Dakota vs. (4) Wisconsin
March 10 North Dakota 4 – 2 Wisconsin Winter Sports Center
March 11 North Dakota 7 – 7 Wisconsin Winter Sports Center
North Dakota won series 11–9

(2) Minnesota vs. (3) Minnesota-Duluth
March 10 Minnesota 2 – 1 Minnesota-Duluth Williams Arena
March 11 Minnesota 6 – 3 Minnesota-Duluth Williams Arena
Minnesota won series 8–4

Tournament awards

None

See also

References
  1. "Minnesota Men's Team History". Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  2. "North Dakota Men's Team History". Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  3. "Herb Brooks Year-by-Year Coaching Record". Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  4. "John "Gino" Gasparini Year-by-Year Coaching Record". Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  5. "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 113-128" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  6. "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 129-144" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
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