1951 NCAA men's ice hockey tournament

The 1951 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1950–51 NCAA men's ice hockey season, the 4th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 15 and 17, 1951, and concluded with Michigan defeating Brown 7-1. All games were played at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

1951 NCAA men's
ice hockey tournament

Teams	4
Finals site	Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, Colorado
Champions	Michigan Wolverines (2nd title)
Runner-up	Brown Bears (1st title game)
Semifinalists	Boston University Terriers (2nd Frozen Four) Colorado College Tigers (4th Frozen Four)
Winning coach	Vic Heyliger (2nd title)
MOP	Donald Whiston (Brown)
Attendance	10,800

This was the last tournament to include only independent schools. (As of 2016)

Qualifying teams

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	Brown	Independent	17–5–0	At-Large	1st	Never	1	Michigan	Independent	20–4–1	At-Large	4th	1950
2	Boston University	Independent	15–4–0	At-Large	2nd	1950	2	Colorado College	Independent	16–6–1	At-Large	4th	1950

Format

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 were Single-game eliminations with the semifinal winners advancing to the national championship game and the losers playing in a consolation game.

Bracket

	Semifinals March 15–16					National championship March 17
	E1	Brown	8
	W2	Colorado College	4
						W1	Michigan	7
						E1	Brown	1
	W1	Michigan	8
	E2	Boston University	2			Third-place game
						E2	Boston University	7
						W2	Colorado College	4

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Results

Semifinals

Michigan vs. Boston University

March 15	Michigan		8 – 2		Boston University	Broadmoor Ice Palace	Recap
(Keyes) Al Bassey - 03:16 (Celley, McKennell) John Matchefts - 08:53 (Celley) Bob Heathcott - 11:05		First period			03:49 - Ed Cahoon (unassisted)
(Matchefts) Earl Keyes - 13:05		Second period			No scoring
(Burford) John Matchefts - 01:51 (Bassey) John McKennell - 08:33 (unassisted) Joseph Marmo - 09:16 (Burford) Neil Celley - 10:04		Third period			03:00 - Dick Kelly (Martin)
Hal Downes		Goalie stats			Dick Bradley / Dick Kelly

Brown vs. Colorado College

March 16

Brown

8 – 4

Colorado College

Broadmoor Ice Palace

Consolation Game

Boston University vs. Colorado College

March 17

Boston University

7 – 4

Colorado College

Broadmoor Ice Palace

(W1) Michigan vs. (E1) Brown

March 17

Michigan

7 – 1

Brown

Broadmoor Ice Palace

Scoring summary
Period	Team	Goal	Assist(s)	Time	Score
1st	UM	Eddie May	Naylor and Marmo	03:49	1–0 UM
	UM	Gil Burford – GW	MacLellan	15:24	2–0 UM
2nd	UM	Neil Celley	unassisted	26:41	3–0 UM
	UM	John McKennell	unassisted	30:56	4–0 UM
	UM	Al Bassey	Keyes and MacLellan	34:19	5–0 UM
3rd	BRN	Tony Malo	Wheeler	47:54	5–1 UM
	UM	John McKennell	Burford and Keyes	51:15	6–1 UM
	UM	Neil Celley	Burford	59:38	7–1 UM

Shots by period
Team	1	2	3	T
Michigan	17	21	14	52
Brown	5	4	11	20

Goaltenders
Team	Name	Saves	Goals against	Time on ice
UM	Hal Downes	19	1
BRN	Donald Whiston	45	7

All-Tournament team

First Team

• G: Donald Whiston* (Brown)
• D: Bob Heathcott (Michigan)
• D: Jim Starrak (Colorado College)
• F: Gil Burford (Michigan)
• F: Neil Celley (Michigan)
• F: John Matchefts (Michigan)

* Most Outstanding Player(s)

Second Team

• G: Hal Downes (Michigan)
• D: Jim Sutherland (Brown)
• D: John Murphy (Brown)
• F: Jack Garrity (Boston University)
• F: Al Gubbins (Brown)
• F: Omer Brandt (Colorado College)