| Teams | 4 |
|---|---|
| Finals site | |
| Champions | Michigan Wolverines (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Dartmouth Indians (1st title game) |
| Semifinalists |
|
| Winning coach | Vic Heyliger (1st title) |
| MOP | Joe Riley (Dartmouth) |
| Attendance | 7,900 |
The1948 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the1947–48 NCAA men's ice hockey season, the 1st such tournament inNCAA history. It was held between March 18 and 20, 1948, and concluded withMichigan defeatingDartmouth 8-4. All games were played at theBroadmoor Ice Palace inColorado Springs, Colorado.
This inaugural tournament possesses two distinctions beyond being the first of its kind: it was the championship with the fewest games played (3) with all succeeding tournaments having a minimum of 4 games. Additionally, the overtime rules used were notsudden-death, allowingMichigan to score multiple times in the first overtime game in tournament history (the next overtime game would not happen until1954).
Four teams qualified for the tournament, two each from the eastern and western regions. The teams were selected by a committee based upon both their overall record and the strength of their opponents.
| East | West | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Appearance | Last bid | Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Appearance | Last bid |
| 1 | Dartmouth | Independent | 20–2–0 | At-Large | 1st | Never | 1 | Michigan | Independent | 18–2–1 | At-Large | 1st | Never |
| 2 | Boston College | Independent | 14–4–0 | At-Large | 1st | Never | 2 | Colorado College | Independent | 19–7–0 | At-Large | 1st | Never |
The eastern and western teams judged as better were seeded as the top regional teams. The second eastern seed was slotted to play the top western seed and vice versa. All games were played at the Broadmoor Ice Palace. All matches wereSingle-game eliminations with the semifinal winners advancing to the national championship game.
| Semifinals March 18–19 | National Championship March 20 | ||||||||
| E1 | Dartmouth | 8 | |||||||
| W2 | Colorado College | 4 | |||||||
| E1 | Dartmouth | 4 | |||||||
| W1 | Michigan | 8 | |||||||
| W1 | Michigan | 6* | |||||||
| E2 | Boston College | 4 | |||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
| March 18 | Dartmouth | 8 – 4 | Colorado College | Broadmoor Ice Palace | ||||
| March 19 | Michigan | 6 – 4[2][3] | OT | Boston College | Broadmoor Ice Palace | |||
| (unassisted)Connie Hill - 17:13 | First period | 10:23 -Giles Threadgold(McCusker) | ||||||
| (Renfrew)Connie Hill - 19:57 | Second period | 5:41 -PP -Bob Mason(Corcoran) 8:24 -Joe McCusker(Threadgold, McIntyre) | ||||||
| (unassisted)Connie Hill - 03:44 (McMillan)Al Renfrew - 05:41 | Third period | 19:20 -EA -Jim Fitzgerald(Lewis) | ||||||
| (Grant)Wally Gacek -GW - 00:18 (Hill)Wally Gacek -EN - 19:30 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jack McDonald | Goalie stats | Bernie Burke | ||||||
| March 20 | Michigan | 8 – 4 | Dartmouth | Broadmoor Ice Palace | ||||
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | UM | Wally Gacek | Grant | 0:50 | 1–0 UM |
| DC | Bill Riley | Merriam | 4:25 | 1–1 | |
| UM | Wally Gacek | Grant | 10:55 | 2–1 UM | |
| DC | Crawford Campbell –PP | unasisted | 17:25 | 2–2 | |
| 2nd | DC | Walt Crowley | B. Riley | 26:55 | 3–2 DC |
| DC | Arnold Oss | Malone | 31:05 | 4–2 DC | |
| UM | Wally Grant | Gacek | 35:20 | 4–3 DC | |
| UM | Gordon McMillan | Greer | 36:40 | 4–4 | |
| 3rd | UM | Wally Grant–GW | Gacek and Greer | 41:30 | 5–4 UM |
| UM | Gordon McMillan | Renfrew | 46:15 | 6–4 UM | |
| UM | Wally Gacek | Grant and Greer | 46:20 | 7–4 UM | |
| UM | Ted Greer | Gacek | 55:14 | 8–4 UM | |
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First Team[edit]
| Second Team[edit]
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