# 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season

The 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 1978 and concluded with the 1979 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 24, 1979 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Michigan. This was the 32nd season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 85th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.

## Season Outlook
### Pre-season poll

The top teams in the nation voted on by coaches before the start of the season. The poll was compiled by radio station WMPL.
WMPL Poll :
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Minnesota |
| 2 | Boston University |
| 3 (tie) | Denver |
| 3 (tie) | North Dakota |
| 5 | Wisconsin |
| 6 | Bowling Green |
| 7 (tie) | Boston College |
| 7 (tie) | Cornell |
| 9 | Notre Dame |
| 10 | Minnesota Duluth |

## Regular season
### Season tournaments

| Tournament | Dates | Teams | Champion |
| North Country Thanksgiving Festival | November 24–25 | 4 | Clarkson |
| Pacific Rim Tournament | December 7–13 | 3 | Alberta |
| Union Holiday Festival Tournament | December 15–16 | 4 | Colgate |
| Cornell Holiday Festival | December 28–29 | 4 | Cornell |
| Broadmoor World Tournament | December 28–30 | 3 | Soviet Traktor |
| Old Colony Invitational | December 28–30 | 4 | Bowling Green |
| Rensselaer Holiday Tournament | December 28–30 | 4 | St. Lawrence |
| Great Lakes Invitational | December 29–30 | 4 | Michigan Tech |
| Auld Lang Syne Classic | December 30–31 | 4 | Dartmouth |
| Yale Invitational | January 5–6 | 4 | New Hampshire |
| Beanpot | February 5, 12 | 4 | Boston University |

### Standings

1978–79 Big Ten standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Minnesota† | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 80 | 43 | 44 | 32 | 11 | 1 | 239 | 147 |
| Wisconsin | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 73 | 50 | 41 | 25 | 13 | 3 | 215 | 172 |
| Michigan | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 43 | 75 | 36 | 8 | 27 | 1 | 132 | 210 |
| Michigan State | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 46 | 77 | 36 | 15 | 21 | 0 | 140 | 192 |
| † indicates conference regular season champion |||||||||||||||
1978–79 Central Collegiate Hockey Association standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Bowling Green†* | 24 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 43 | 142 | 54 | 45 | 37 | 6 | 2 | 179 | 113 |
| Ohio State | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 31 | 126 | 101 | 40 | 25 | 13 | 2 | 218 | 170 |
| Northern Michigan | 24 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 27 | 109 | 93 | 34 | 19 | 13 | 2 | 168 | 126 |
| Lake Superior State | 24 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 23 | 118 | 112 | 36 | 16 | 18 | 2 | 164 | 181 |
| Saint Louis | 24 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 20 | 104 | 137 | 35 | 16 | 16 | 3 | 174 | 189 |
| Western Michigan | 24 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 116 | 142 | 36 | 17 | 19 | 0 | 171 | 182 |
| Ferris State‡ | 24 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 8 | 87 | 163 | 34 | 10 | 24 | 0 | 155 | 217 |
| Championship: Bowling Green † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion ‡ Ferris State was still considered a member of the NAIA |||||||||||||||
1978–79 ECAC Hockey standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | Pct. | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Boston University† | 23 | 17 | 4 | 2 | .783 | 101 | 76 | 30 | 21 | 7 | 2 | 138 | 106 |
| New Hampshire* | 25 | 17 | 5 | 3 | .740 | 151 | 103 | 35 | 22 | 10 | 3 | 203 | 148 |
| Cornell | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | .727 | 129 | 88 | 29 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 166 | 114 |
| Dartmouth | 22 | 14 | 7 | 1 | .659 | 104 | 78 | 30 | 19 | 9 | 2 | 144 | 102 |
| Clarkson | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | .591 | 135 | 106 | 31 | 19 | 12 | 0 | 184 | 136 |
| Providence | 24 | 13 | 9 | 2 | .583 | 105 | 102 | 28 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 134 | 123 |
| Yale | 22 | 12 | 9 | 1 | .568 | 105 | 91 | 27 | 13 | 12 | 2 | 129 | 125 |
| Vermont | 21 | 11 | 10 | 0 | .524 | 97 | 98 | 30 | 12 | 18 | 0 | 122 | 141 |
| Northeastern | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0 | .500 | 94 | 107 | 27 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 112 | 129 |
| Brown | 21 | 10 | 11 | 0 | .476 | 86 | 89 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 105 | 108 |
| Boston College | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | .455 | 106 | 112 | 30 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 167 | 141 |
| Colgate | 20 | 7 | 13 | 0 | .350 | 97 | 124 | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 166 | 144 |
| Rensselaer | 25 | 8 | 16 | 1 | .340 | 124 | 136 | 28 | 10 | 17 | 1 | 141 | 145 |
| Harvard | 22 | 5 | 16 | 1 | .250 | 86 | 109 | 26 | 7 | 18 | 1 | 108 | 131 |
| St. Lawrence | 24 | 5 | 18 | 1 | .229 | 81 | 132 | 31 | 8 | 21 | 2 | 118 | 162 |
| Princeton | 21 | 2 | 15 | 4 | .190 | 71 | 119 | 26 | 5 | 17 | 4 | 95 | 138 |
| Championship: New Hampshire † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1978–79 NCAA Division I Independent ice hockey standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Air Force | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 31 | 18 | 12 | 1 | 157 | 139 |
| Miami | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 37 | 22 | 14 | 1 | 257 | 145 |
1978–79 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| North Dakota†* | 32 | 22 | 10 | 0 | 44 | 168 | 110 | 42 | 30 | 11 | 1 | 245 | 144 |
| Minnesota* | 32 | 20 | 11 | 1 | 41 | 177 | 116 | 44 | 32 | 11 | 1 | 239 | 147 |
| Minnesota-Duluth | 32 | 18 | 10 | 4 | 40 | 176 | 141 | 40 | 22 | 14 | 4 | 213 | 170 |
| Wisconsin | 32 | 19 | 11 | 2 | 40 | 164 | 138 | 41 | 25 | 13 | 3 | 215 | 172 |
| Notre Dame | 32 | 17 | 14 | 1 | 35 | 161 | 153 | 38 | 18 | 19 | 1 | 184 | 196 |
| Denver | 32 | 14 | 16 | 2 | 30 | 147 | 174 | 43 | 20 | 20 | 3 | 188 | 217 |
| Michigan Tech | 32 | 13 | 16 | 3 | 29 | 152 | 141 | 38 | 17 | 18 | 3 | 182 | 165 |
| Colorado College | 32 | 11 | 19 | 2 | 24 | 144 | 185 | 38 | 12 | 24 | 2 | 165 | 218 |
| Michigan State | 32 | 12 | 20 | 0 | 24 | 122 | 180 | 36 | 15 | 21 | 0 | 140 | 192 |
| Michigan | 32 | 6 | 25 | 1 | 13 | 117 | 190 | 36 | 8 | 27 | 1 | 132 | 210 |
| Championship: Minnesota, North Dakota † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||

### Final regular season polls

The final top 10 teams as ranked by coaches (WMPL) before the conference tournament finals.
WMPL Coaches Poll :
| Ranking | Team |
| 1 | North Dakota |
| 2 | Bowling Green State |
| 3 | Minnesota |
| 4 | Boston University |
| 5 | New Hampshire |
| 6 | Minnesota Duluth |
| 7 | Wisconsin |
| 8 | Cornell |
| 9 | Ohio State |
| 10 | Dartmouth |

## 1979 NCAA Tournament

| First round March 18 | First round March 18 | First round March 18 | Semifinals March 22–23 | Semifinals March 22–23 | Semifinals March 22–23 | National championship March 24 | National championship March 24 | National championship March 24 |
| | | | E1 | New Hampshire | 3 | | | |
| | | | W2 | Minnesota | 4 | | | |
| W2 | Minnesota | 6 | W2 | Minnesota | 4 | | | |
| A | Bowling Green | 3 | | | | | | |
| A | Bowling Green | 3 | | | | W2 | Minnesota | 4 |
| | | | | | | W1 | North Dakota | 3 |
| | | | W1 | North Dakota | 4 | Third-place game | Third-place game | Third-place game |
| | | | E2 | Dartmouth | 2 |
| | | | E2 | Dartmouth | 2 | E1 | New Hampshire | 3 |
| | | | | | | E2 | Dartmouth | 7 |
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 |
| Mark Johnson | Junior | Wisconsin | 40 | 41 | 49 | 90 | 34 |
| George McPhee | Freshman | Bowling Green | 43 | 40 | 48 | 88 | 58 |
| Dave Delich | Senior | Colorado College | 36 | 32 | 52 | 84 | 26 |
| Mark Wells | Senior | Bowling Green | 45 | 26 | 57 | 83 | 30 |
| Mark Taylor | Junior | North Dakota | 42 | 24 | 59 | 83 | 28 |
| Kevin Maxwell | Freshman | North Dakota | 42 | 31 | 51 | 82 | 79 |
| John Markell | Senior | Bowling Green | 42 | 31 | 49 | 80 | 96 |
| Mark Pavelich | Junior | Minnesota–Duluth | 37 | 31 | 48 | 79 | 52 |
| Steve Christoff | Junior | Minnesota | 43 | 38 | 39 | 77 | 50 |
| Paul Tilley | Junior | Ohio State | 39 | 32 | 44 | 76 | 55 |

### 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 |
| Wally Charko | Sophomore | Bowling Green | 39 | 2307 | 32 | - | - | 92 | - | .914 | 2.39 |
| Bob Iwabuchi | Freshman | North Dakota | 22 | 1274 | - | - | - | 61 | 1 | .907 | 2.74 |
| Dan Kodatsky | Freshman | Miami | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.82 |
| Bob Gaudet | Sophomore | Dartmouth | 23 | 1385 | - | - | - | 70 | 2 | .896 | 3.03 |
| Rick Mills | Freshman | Clarkson | 14 | 706 | - | - | - | 38 | 0 | .893 | 3.23 |
| Steve Janaszak | Senior | Minnesota | 41 | 2428 | 29 | 11 | 1 | 131 | 1 | .895 | 3.23 |
| Steve Weeks | Junior | Northern Michigan | 25 | 1437 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 82 | 0 | .902 | 3.42 |
| Jim Craig | Junior | Boston University | 19 | 1009 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 60 | 1 | - | 3.57 |
| Mel Donnelly | Junior | North Dakota | 10 | 561 | - | - | - | 34 | 0 | .881 | 3.66 |
| Greg Moffett | Sophomore | New Hampshire | 31 | 1431 | 21 | - | - | 89 | 0 | .892 | 3.73 |

## 1979 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | College | Conference | NHL team |
| 1 | 11 | Mike Ramsey | Minnesota | WCHA | Buffalo Sabres |
| 2 | 40 | Dave Christian | North Dakota | WCHA | Winnipeg Jets |
| 3 | 42 | Neal Broten | Minnesota | WCHA | Minnesota North Stars |
| 3 | 61 | Bill Whelton | Boston University | ECAC Hockey | Winnipeg Jets |
| 3 | 63 | Kevin Maxwell | North Dakota | WCHA | Minnesota North Stars |
| 4 | 69 | Glenn Anderson | Denver | WCHA | Edmonton Oilers |
| 5 | 92 | Jim Brown | Notre Dame | WCHA | Los Angeles Kings |
| 5 | 97 | Dan Makuch | Clarkson | ECAC Hockey | New York Rangers |
| 6 | 113 | Jay McFarlane | Wisconsin | WCHA | Los Angeles Kings |
| 6 | 114 | Bill McCreary | Colgate | ECAC Hockey | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 6 | 115 | Marc Chorney | North Dakota | WCHA | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 6 | 117 | Glenn Johnson | Denver | WCHA | Atlanta Flames |
| 6 | 121 | Greg Moffett | New Hampshire | ECAC Hockey | Montreal Canadiens |
| 6 | 122 | John Gibb | Bowling Green | CCHA | New York Islanders |
| 6 | 123 | Dave McDonald $^‡$ | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | Hartford Whalers |
| 6 | 124 | Tim Watters | Michigan Tech | WCHA | Winnipeg Jets |
† incoming freshman ‡ McDonald had left school mid-season.