| Teams | 4 |
|---|---|
| Finals site | |
| Champions | Michigan Wolverines (4th title) |
| Runner-up | Minnesota Golden Gophers (1st title game) |
| Semifinalists |
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| Winning coach | Vic Heyliger (4th title) |
| MOP | John Matchefts (Michigan) |
| Attendance | 7,450 |
The1953 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the1952–53 NCAA men's ice hockey season, the sixth such tournament inNCAA history. It was held from March 12 to 14, 1953, and concluded withMichigan defeatingMinnesota 7-3. All games were played at theBroadmoor Ice Palace inColorado Springs, Colorado.
Michigan's win capped off its third consecutive National Championship. As of 2018 no team has been able to match that achievement. Additionally, their 14 goals in the semifinal game againstBoston University were the most ever for an NCAA tournament game, matched only byMinnesota in1954. The Wolverines' goal differential (+16) is also a record for an NCAA tournament, equaling the record set byColorado College in1950 and matched byWisconsin in1983.
For the first time since the tournament began the 'Most Outstanding Player' was awarded to someone from the championship team.
Four teams qualified for the tournament, two each from the eastern and western regions. The two bestMCHL teams and aTri-State League representative received bids into the tournament as did one independent school.
| East | West | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Appearance | Last bid | Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Appearance | Last bid |
| 1 | Rensselaer | Tri-State League | 14–3–1 | At-Large | 1st | Never | 1 | Michigan | MCHL | 15–7–0 | At-Large | 6th | 1952 |
| 2 | Boston University | Independent | 14–5–1 | At-Large | 3rd | 1951 | 2 | Minnesota | MCHL | 22–5–0 | At-Large | 1st | Never |
The eastern team judged as better was seeded as the top eastern team while the MCHL champion 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 Broadmoor Ice Palace. All matches wereSingle-game eliminations with the semifinal winners advancing to the national championship game and the losers playing in a consolation game.
| Semifinals March 12–13 | National championship March 14 | ||||||||
| E1 | Rensselaer | 2 | |||||||
| W2 | Minnesota | 3 | |||||||
| W2 | Minnesota | 3 | |||||||
| W1 | Michigan | 7 | |||||||
| W1 | Michigan | 14 | |||||||
| E2 | Boston University | 2 | Third-place game | ||||||
| E1 | Rensselaer | 6 | |||||||
| E2 | Boston University | 3 | |||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
| March 12 | Minnesota | 3 – 2 | Rensselaer | Broadmoor Ice Palace | Recap | |||
| (Yackel, Tschida)Bob Johnson -PP - 08:48 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 02:12 -Frank Chiarelli(unassisted) | ||||||
| (Johnson, Yackel)Dick Meredith -PP - 04:35 (Mayasich, Campbell)Dick Dougherty -GW - 16:02 | Third period | 17:34 -Frank Chiarelli(unassisted) | ||||||
| Jim Mattson | Goalie stats | Bob Fox | ||||||
| March 13 | Michigan | 14 – 2 | Boston University | Broadmoor Ice Palace | Recap | |||
| (Philpott)George Chin - 03:12 (Shave)Ron Martinson - 04:19 (unassisted)John Matchefts -GW - 04:42 (Martinson)Telly Mascarin - 07:51 (Chin, Cooney)Doug Mullen - 13:43 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| (unassisted)Burt Dunn - 04:03 (MacLellan)Burt Dunn - 04:16 (MacLellan, Philpott)George Chin - 11:00 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| (Matchefts)Doug Philpott - 02:32 (Cooney, Chin)Doug Mullen - 15:13 (Chin, Mullen)Pat Cooney - 15:44 (unassisted)Ron Martinson - 17:03 (Mullen)Alex MacLellan - 19:36 (unassisted)Ron Martinson - 19:57 | Third period | 09:01 -Richard Rodenhiser(Denning) 14:57 -Mario Zanetti(Whalen) | ||||||
| Willard Ikola (21 saves / 22 saves) /Bill Lucier (3 saves / 4 shots) | Goalie stats | |||||||
| March 14 | Boston University | 3 – 6 | Rensselaer | Broadmoor Ice Palace | ||||
| No Scoring | First period | 09:57 -Gordie Peterkin(Paradise) 15:43 -Abbie Moore(unassisted) | ||||||
| (Zanetti, Tutuny)Paul Whalen - 04:45 | Second period | 10:04 -Ambrose Mosco(Moore) 16:34 -Abbie Moore(unassisted) | ||||||
| (Zanetti)Paul Whalen - 03:21 (Zanetti)Paul Cleary - 17:13 | Third period | 10:49 -Abbie Moore(unassisted) 14:29 -Abbie Moore(unassisted) | ||||||
| March 14 | Minnesota | 3 – 7 | Michigan | Broadmoor Ice Palace | ||||
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | UM | Jim Haas | MacLellan | 05:48 | 1–0 UM |
| MIN | Dick Meredith | Yackel | 8:39 | 1–1 | |
| MIN | Dick Dougherty | Campbell | 11:34 | 2–1 MIN | |
| 2nd | UM | Doug Philpott | Shave | 26:15 | 2–2 |
| UM | Doug Mullen | Chin and Cooney | 31:08 | 3–2 UM | |
| 3rd | UM | John Matchefts –GW PP | unassisted | 43:38 | 4–2 UM |
| UM | Jim Haas | unassisted | 47:17 | 5–2 UM | |
| UM | Doug Philpott –PP | Haas | 49:14 | 6–2 UM | |
| MIN | Ken Yackel | Johnson andDougherty | 50:42 | 6–3 UM | |
| UM | John Matchefts –EN | Philpott | 59:49 | 7–3 UM | |
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First Team[edit]
*Most Outstanding Player(s)[3] | Second Team[edit]
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