1980–81 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season
The 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 1980 and concluded with the 1981 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 28, 1981 at the Duluth Arena in Duluth, Minnesota. This was the 34th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 87th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.
1980–81 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Duration | October 1980– March 28, 1981 | ||||
NCAA tournament | 1981 | ||||
National championship | Duluth Arena Duluth, Minnesota | ||||
NCAA champion | Wisconsin | ||||
Hobey Baker Award | Neal Broten (Minnesota) | ||||
|
For the first time the Hobey Baker Award was conferred after the conclusion of the regular season.
After the season four teams from the WCHA left to join the CCHA. As a result of dividing the four Big Ten schools that had previously been in the WCHA the Big Ten stopped declaring a conference ice hockey champion until the formation of a separate conference in 2013–14.
Regular season
Season tournaments
Tournament | Dates | Teams | Champion |
---|---|---|---|
Elmira Invitational | November 14–15 | 4 | St. Lawrence |
North Country Thanksgiving Festival | November 27–29 | 4 | Clarkson |
Empire Cup | December 20–21 | 4 | Colgate |
I Love New York Tournament | November 22–24 | 4 | St. Lawrence |
Great Lakes Invitational | December 27–28 | 4 | Michigan Tech |
First National Hockey Tournament | December 27–29 | 4 | Cornell |
Western Michigan Tournament | December 28–29 | 4 | Western Michigan |
Rensselaer Holiday Tournament | December 28–30 | 4 | Maine |
Auld Lang Syne Classic | December 30–31 | 4 | Dartmouth |
Yale Invitational | January 2–3 | 4 | North Dakota |
Colonial Bank Hockey Invitational | January 3–4 | 4 | Clarkson |
Beanpot | February 2, 9 | 4 | Harvard |
Standings
Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | W | L | T | Pct. | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
Minnesota† | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | .900 | 61 | 35 | 45 | 33 | 12 | 0 | 261 | 174 | |
Wisconsin | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 45 | 45 | 42 | 27 | 14 | 1 | 218 | 155 | |
Michigan | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 42 | 54 | 40 | 23 | 17 | 0 | 185 | 161 | |
Michigan State | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 23 | 37 | 36 | 12 | 22 | 2 | 116 | 144 | |
† indicates conference regular season champion |
Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
Northern Michigan†* | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 115 | 81 | 44 | 27 | 14 | 3 | 201 | 158 | |
Ohio State | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 31 | 107 | 82 | 39 | 24 | 12 | 3 | 189 | 149 | |
Ferris State | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 26 | 101 | 92 | 36 | 20 | 14 | 2 | 166 | 144 | |
Bowling Green | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 20 | 98 | 99 | 39 | 13 | 24 | 2 | 153 | 188 | |
Western Michigan | 22 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 17 | 99 | 107 | 36 | 15 | 19 | 2 | 178 | 165 | |
Lake Superior State | 22 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 13 | 101 | 134 | 36 | 14 | 21 | 1 | 183 | 202 | |
Miami^ | 12 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 68 | 35 | 16 | 17 | 2 | 174 | 142 | |
Championship: Northern Michigan † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion ^ Only Miami's road games were counted for conference standings |
Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | W | L | T | Pct. | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
East Region | ||||||||||||||
Boston College | 22 | 13 | 6 | 3 | .659 | 85 | 72 | 31 | 20 | 8 | 3 | 126 | 100 | |
Maine | 21 | 12 | 9 | 0 | .571 | 101 | 93 | 34 | 23 | 11 | 0 | 197 | 147 | |
Northeastern | 21 | 12 | 9 | 0 | .571 | 118 | 104 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 140 | 139 | |
Providence* | 22 | 12 | 9 | 1 | .568 | 106 | 90 | 33 | 17 | 15 | 1 | 165 | 143 | |
New Hampshire | 24 | 13 | 10 | 1 | .563 | 128 | 100 | 33 | 19 | 13 | 1 | 166 | 129 | |
Boston University | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | .455 | 87 | 88 | 29 | 14 | 15 | 0 | 115 | 116 | |
West Region | ||||||||||||||
Clarkson† | 20 | 17 | 2 | 1 | .875 | 119 | 65 | 37 | 26 | 7 | 4 | 202 | 119 | |
Colgate | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | .625 | 99 | 84 | 35 | 21 | 12 | 2 | 194 | 150 | |
Rensselaer | 21 | 10 | 11 | 0 | .476 | 98 | 83 | 29 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 158 | 118 | |
St. Lawrence | 22 | 9 | 12 | 1 | .432 | 77 | 87 | 33 | 15 | 16 | 2 | 137 | 126 | |
Vermont | 22 | 4 | 16 | 2 | .227 | 81 | 114 | 34 | 9 | 23 | 2 | 136 | 173 | |
Ivy Region | ||||||||||||||
Cornell | 22 | 12 | 9 | 1 | .568 | 95 | 79 | 31 | 19 | 11 | 1 | 144 | 110 | |
Yale | 21 | 11 | 9 | 1 | .548 | 96 | 101 | 26 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 127 | 137 | |
Princeton | 21 | 10 | 11 | 0 | .476 | 78 | 99 | 25 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 93 | 111 | |
Harvard | 21 | 8 | 12 | 1 | .405 | 79 | 98 | 26 | 11 | 14 | 1 | 103 | 119 | |
Dartmouth | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | .364 | 87 | 115 | 26 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 100 | 138 | |
Brown | 22 | 3 | 18 | 1 | .159 | 67 | 125 | 26 | 5 | 20 | 1 | 83 | 144 | |
Independent | ||||||||||||||
Army^ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 35 | 21 | 13 | 1 | 230 | 160 | |
Championship: Providence † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion ^ Army had been accepted into ECAC Hockey but had not begun a conference schedule |
Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
Air Force | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 26 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 103 | 128 | |
Kent State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 35 | 17 | 18 | 0 | |||
US International | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 21 | 8 | 13 | 0 |
Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
Minnesota†* | 28 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 40 | 152 | 104 | 45 | 33 | 12 | 0 | 261 | 174 | |
Wisconsin | 28 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 34 | 131 | 101 | 42 | 27 | 14 | 1 | 218 | 155 | |
Michigan Tech* | 28 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 34 | 118 | 102 | 44 | 29 | 14 | 1 | 195 | 155 | |
Denver | 28 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 32 | 120 | 111 | 40 | 23 | 15 | 2 | 233 | 197 | |
Michigan | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 30 | 138 | 122 | 40 | 23 | 17 | 0 | 185 | 161 | |
North Dakota | 28 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 30 | 133 | 134 | 38 | 21 | 15 | 2 | 186 | 168 | |
Colorado College | 28 | 12 | 16 | 0 | 24 | 128 | 142 | 36 | 17 | 19 | 0 | 174 | 183 | |
Minnesota-Duluth | 28 | 11 | 17 | 0 | 22 | 120 | 150 | 39 | 17 | 21 | 1 | 165 | 197 | |
Notre Dame | 28 | 9 | 18 | 1 | 19 | 100 | 137 | 36 | 13 | 21 | 2 | 139 | 166 | |
Michigan State | 28 | 7 | 20 | 1 | 15 | 82 | 119 | 36 | 12 | 22 | 2 | 116 | 144 | |
Championship: Michigan Tech, Minnesota † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |
1981 NCAA Tournament
Quarterfinals March 19–21 | Semifinals March 25–26 | National championship March 27 | ||||||||||||||
E1 | Clarkson | 2 | 6 | 8 | ||||||||||||
W4 | Wisconsin | 3 | 6 | 9 | ||||||||||||
W4 | Wisconsin | 5 | ||||||||||||||
W2 | Northern Michigan | 1 | ||||||||||||||
W2 | Northern Michigan | 7 | 3 | 10 | ||||||||||||
E3 | Cornell | 3 | 4 | 7 | ||||||||||||
W4 | Wisconsin | 6 | ||||||||||||||
W1 | Minnesota | 3 | ||||||||||||||
W1 | Minnesota | 9 | 5 | 14 | ||||||||||||
E4 | Colgate | 4 | 4 | 8 | ||||||||||||
W1 | Minnesota | 7 | Third-place game | |||||||||||||
W3 | Michigan Tech | 2 | ||||||||||||||
E2 | Providence | 3 | 5 | 8 | W2 | Northern Michigan | 2 | |||||||||
W3 | Michigan Tech | 7 | 6 | 13 | W3 | Michigan Tech | 5 |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Player stats
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the season.
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player | Class | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aaron Broten | Sophomore | Minnesota | 45 | 47 | 59 | 106 | 24 |
Steve Ulseth | Senior | Minnesota | 45 | 41 | 52 | 93 | 18 |
Steve Bozek | Junior | Northern Michigan | 44 | 35 | 55 | 90 | 46 |
Jeff Pyle | Junior | Northern Michigan | 40 | 35 | 53 | 88 | 20 |
Bryan Erickson | Sophomore | Minnesota | 44 | 39 | 47 | 86 | 30 |
Troy Murray | Freshman | North Dakota | 38 | 33 | 45 | 78 | 28 |
Scott Lecy | Senior | Wisconsin | 42 | 26 | 49 | 75 | 44 |
Ross Fitzpatrick | Junior | Western Michigan | 36 | 28 | 43 | 71 | 22 |
Neal Broten | Sophomore | Minnesota | 36 | 17 | 54 | 71 | 56 |
Dan Fridgen | Junior | Colgate | 33 | 37 | 31 | 68 | 164 |
Bryan Cleaver | Senior | Clarkson | 37 | 24 | 44 | 68 | 38 |
Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average at the end of the regular season while playing at least 33% of their team's total minutes.
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Player | Class | Team | GP | Min | W | L | OT | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Don Sylvestri | Freshman | Clarkson | 29 | 1740 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 84 | 2 | .904 | 2.92 |
Gary Laskoski | Junior | St. Lawrence | 21 | 1196 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 64 | 0 | .895 | 3.21 |
Frank Krieber | Senior | Michigan Tech | 28 | 1701 | - | - | - | 91 | 1 | .895 | 3.21 |
Jeff Poeschl | Freshman | Northern Michigan | 32 | 1855 | 20 | 9 | 2 | 101 | 1 | .895 | 3.27 |
Marc Behrend | Sophomore | Wisconsin | 16 | 913 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 50 | 0 | .909 | 3.29 |
Alain Chevrier | Freshman | Miami | 19 | 1053 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 73 | 0 | - | 3.40 |
Darren Eliot | Sophomore | Cornell | 18 | 912 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 52 | 1 | .908 | 3.42 |
Scott Robinson | Junior | Denver | 31 | 1885 | 17 | 12 | 2 | 110 | 0 | .882 | 3.50 |
Mike Blake | Senior | Ohio State | 37 | 2098 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 125 | 2 | .896 | 3.57 |
Brian Hayward | Junior | Cornell | 19 | 967 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 58 | 1 | .904 | 3.60 |
Awards
ECAC
|
WCHA
|
1981 NHL Entry Draft
Round | Pick | Player | College | Conference | NHL team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | 106 | Bob O'Connor | Boston College | ECAC Hockey | Winnipeg Jets |
6 | 119 | Bruce Milton | Boston University | ECAC Hockey | Boston Bruins |
9 | 183 | George Boudreau † | Boston College | ECAC Hockey | Calgary Flames |
† incoming freshman
[14]
See also
References
- "2012-13 CCHA Media Guide". CCHA. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- "2008-09 ECAC Hockey Media Guide" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- "2008-09 WCHA Yearbook 113-128" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- "NCAA Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- "1980-81 NCAA Division I Statistics". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
- "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
- "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
- "CCHA Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- "CCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- "ECAC Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- "WCHA Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- "1981 NHL Entry Draft". Hockey DB. Retrieved October 25, 2023.