1947–48 NCAA men's ice hockey season

The 1947–48 NCAA men's ice hockey season began in November 1947 and concluded with the 1948 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 20, 1948 at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This was the 1st season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 54th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team. In 1947 there were quasi-official guidelines separating major and minor football programs across the NCAA, but no such determinations had been made for ice hockey teams. Even among the universities that played ice hockey, no such distinctions were even attempted until the mid-1960s. As such, all American universities operating a men's varsity ice hockey program are included here.

1947–48 NCAA men's ice hockey season
Duration	November 1947– March 20, 1948
NCAA tournament	1948
National championship	Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, Colorado
NCAA champion	Michigan
List of NCAA Division I men's ice hockey seasons ← 1946–47 1948–49 →

As this was the first time a national championship was held, it is considered (unofficially) the first season of NCAA Division I ice hockey since it is the first time that any college teams would have to conform to NCAA regulations regarding recruitment, scholarship, eligibility, etc. The tournament was, itself, born out of a desire to definitively decide the best collegiate team in the country. With only a handful of universities even playing ice hockey (indoor ice rinks were fairly expensive to operate) and even less playing a decent number of games each year only four teams were selected to play in the tournament.

Regular season

Season tournaments

Tournament	Dates	Teams	Champion
NEIHL Tournament	March 8–9	4	Boston College

Standings

1947–48 NCAA Independent ice hockey standings
	Intercollegiate								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	Pct.	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Army	16	11	4	1	.719	78	39		16	11	4	1	78	39
Bemidji State	5	0	5	0	.000	13	36		10	2	8	0	37	63
Boston College	19	14	5	0	.737	126	60		19	14	5	0	126	60
Boston University	24	20	4	0	.833	179	86		24	20	4	0	179	86
Bowdoin	9	4	5	0	.444	45	68		11	6	5	0	56	73
Brown	14	5	9	0	.357	61	91		14	5	9	0	61	91
California	10	2	8	0	.200	45	62		17	5	12	0	87	89
Clarkson	12	5	6	1	.458	67	39		17	10	6	1	96	54
Colby	8	2	6	0	.250	28	41		8	2	6	0	28	41
Colgate	10	7	3	0	.700	54	34		13	10	3	0	83	45
Colorado College	14	9	5	0	.643	84	73		27	19	8	0	207	120
Cornell	4	0	4	0	.000	3	43		4	0	4	0	3	43
Dartmouth	23	21	2	0	.913	156	76		24	21	3	0	156	81
Fort Devens State	13	3	10	0	.231	33	74		–	–	–	–	–	–
Georgetown	3	2	1	0	.667	12	11		7	5	2	0	37	21
Hamilton	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		14	7	7	0	–	–
Harvard	22	9	13	0	.409	131	131		23	9	14	0	135	140
Lehigh	8	0	8	0	.000	8	95		10	0	10	0	12	108
Massachusetts	2	0	2	0	.000	1	23		3	0	3	0	3	30
Michigan	18	16	2	0	.889	105	53		23	20	2	1	141	63
Michigan Tech	19	7	12	0	.368	87	96		20	8	12	0	91	97
Middlebury	14	8	5	1	.607	111	68		16	10	5	1	127	74
Minnesota	16	9	7	0	.563	78	73		21	9	12	0	100	105
Minnesota–Duluth	6	3	3	0	.500	21	24		9	6	3	0	36	28
MIT	19	8	11	0	.421	93	114		19	8	11	0	93	114
New Hampshire	13	4	9	0	.308	58	67		13	4	9	0	58	67
North Dakota	10	6	4	0	.600	51	46		16	11	5	0	103	68
North Dakota Agricultural	5	3	2	0	.600	27	28		6	4	2	0	37	29
Northeastern	19	10	9	0	.526	135	119		19	10	9	0	135	119
Norwich	9	3	6	0	.333	38	58		13	6	7	0	56	70
Princeton	18	8	10	0	.444	65	72		21	10	11	0	79	79
St. Cloud State	12	10	2	0	.833	55	35		16	12	4	0	73	55
St. Lawrence	9	6	3	0	.667	65	27		13	8	4	1	95	50
Suffolk	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–
Tufts	4	3	1	0	.750	17	15		4	3	1	0	17	15
Union	9	1	8	0	.111	7	86		9	1	8	0	7	86
Williams	11	3	6	2	.364	37	47		13	4	7	2	–	–
Yale	16	5	10	1	.344	60	69		20	8	11	1	89	85

1947–48 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ice hockey standings
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Hamline †	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–
Augsburg	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–
Concordia	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		5	1	4	0	–	–
Gustavus Adolphus	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		7	1	5	1	–	–
Macalester	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–
Saint John's	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		12	5	6	0	–	–
St. Olaf	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		11	8	3	0	–	–
St. Thomas	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		11	6	5	0	–	–
† indicates conference champion

1947–48 New England Intercollegiate Hockey League standings
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Boston University †	13	12	1	0	.923	86	40		24	20	4	0	179	86
Boston College *	10	9	1	0	.900	77	29		19	14	5	0	126	60
Northeastern	14	8	6	0	.571	108	79		19	10	9	0	135	119
Bowdoin	6	3	3	0	.500	32	38		11	6	5	0	56	73
MIT	14	5	9	0	.357	62	87		19	8	11	0	93	114
Middlebury	6	2	4	0	.333	27	48		16	10	5	1	127	74
New Hampshire	10	3	7	0	.300	42	56		13	4	9	0	58	67
Norwich	7	2	5	0	.286	25	50		13	6	7	0	56	70
Fort Devens State	11	3	8	0	.273	30	55		–	–	–	–	–	–
Colby	5	1	4	0	.200	17	27		8	2	6	0	28	41
† indicates conference champion * indicates conference tournament champion

1947–48 Pentagonal League standings
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Dartmouth †	7	7	0	0	1.000	49	20		24	21	3	0	156	81
Army	4	2	2	0	.500	12	17		16	11	4	1	78	39
Harvard	7	3	4	0	.429	31	33		23	9	14	0	135	140
Princeton	7	2	5	0	.286	23	31		21	10	11	0	79	79
Yale	7	2	5	0	.286	20	32		20	8	11	1	89	85
† indicates conference champion

1948 NCAA Tournament

Main article: 1948 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

	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)

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
Gordon McMillan	Junior	Michigan	23	32	30	62	20
Dick Rowell	Junior	Colorado College	–	18	37	55	–
Bill Riley	Graduate	Dartmouth	–	30	23	53	–
Wally Gacek	Junior	Michigan	23	27	26	53	8
Dana Hixon	Sophomore	Boston University	–	33	16	49	–
Al Renfrew	Junior	Michigan	23	26	21	47	14
Thomas Gerard	Sophomore	St. Lawrence	15	23	19	42	–
Bob Mason	Sophomore	Boston College	–	21	19	40	–
Arthur Moher	Junior	Yale	–	21	19	40	–
Don Cleary	Junior	Boston University	–	21	16	37	–

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
Robert O'Connor	Sophomore	Princeton	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1.72
Jack McDonald	Junior	Michigan	23	1410	20	2	1	63	2	-	2.68
Ralph Bevins	Sophomore	Boston University	24	1450	20	4	0	86	2	-	3.56
Gene Delvecchio	Freshman	St. Lawrence	14	803	-	-	-	52	2	-	3.88
Bob Murray	Sophomore	North Dakota	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	.894	4.07
Ian Watson	Junior	California	16	965	5	11	0	76	0	-	4.73
James Burns	Sophomore	Yale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5.07

Awards

NCAA

Award		Recipient
Most Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament		Joe Riley, Dartmouth
AHCA All-American Teams
First Team	Position	Second Team
Ian Watson, California	G	Bernie Burke, Boston College
Ross Smith, Michigan	D	Connie Hill, Michigan
Butch Songin, Boston College	D	George Pulliam, Dartmouth
Pat Finnegan, California	F	Jim Bell, Northeastern
Bill Riley, Dartmouth	F	Roland DePaul, Minnesota
Joe Slattery, Colorado College	F	Wally Gacek, Michigan

External links

• College Hockey Historical Archives
• 1947–48 NCAA Standings