# 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season

The 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 1979 and concluded with the 1980 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 29, 1980 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. This was the 33rd season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 86th 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 | Denver |
| 3 | North Dakota |
| 4 | Cornell |
| 5 | Wisconsin |
| 6 | Michigan |
| 7 | Michigan Tech |
| 8 | Ohio State |
| 9 | Boston University |
| 10 (tie) | Bowling Green |
| 10 (tie) | New Hampshire |

## Regular season
### Season tournaments

| Tournament | Dates | Teams | Champion |
| Elmira Invitational | November 9–10 | 4 | St. Lawrence |
| North Country Thanksgiving Festival | November 22–24 | 4 | Clarkson |
| Old Colony Invitational | December 27–29 | 4 | Providence |
| Great Lakes Invitational | December 28–29 | 4 | Michigan Tech |
| New Hampshire Tournament | December 28–29 | 4 | Boston College |
| Rensselaer Holiday Tournament | December 28–30 | 4 | Western Michigan |
| Auld Lang Syne Classic | December 30–31 | 4 | Vermont |
| Colonial Bank Hockey Invitational | January 4–5 | 4 | Boston University |
| Beanpot | February 4, 11 | 4 | Northeastern |

### Standings

1979–80 Big Ten 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 |
| Minnesota† | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 72 | 55 | 41 | 26 | 15 | 0 | 263 | 179 |
| Michigan | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 55 | 46 | 38 | 23 | 13 | 2 | 205 | 167 |
| Michigan State | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 51 | 76 | 38 | 14 | 24 | 0 | 158 | 227 |
| Wisconsin | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 59 | 60 | 36 | 15 | 20 | 1 | 172 | 182 |
| † indicates conference regular season champion |||||||||||||||
1979–80 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 |
| Northern Michigan†* | 20 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 113 | 63 | 41 | 34 | 6 | 1 | 239 | 128 |
| Ohio State | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | 111 | 70 | 38 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 192 | 123 |
| Ferris State | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 22 | 108 | 94 | 38 | 26 | 11 | 1 | 214 | 156 |
| Bowling Green | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 18 | 87 | 90 | 38 | 16 | 20 | 2 | 161 | 174 |
| Western Michigan | 20 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 13 | 95 | 119 | 36 | 18 | 16 | 2 | 196 | 182 |
| Lake Superior State | 20 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 63 | 140 | 34 | 12 | 21 | 1 | 158 | 201 |
| Championship: Northern Michigan † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1979–80 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 |
| East Region |||||||||||||||
| Boston College† | 22 | 18 | 3 | 1 | .841 | 124 | 75 | 33 | 25 | 7 | 1 | 184 | 120 |
| Providence | 23 | 17 | 6 | 0 | .739 | 104 | 82 | 32 | 21 | 11 | 0 | 148 | 123 |
| Maine | 22 | 10 | 11 | 1 | .477 | 90 | 112 | 32 | 15 | 16 | 1 | 129 | 144 |
| New Hampshire | 24 | 9 | 15 | 0 | .375 | 97 | 117 | 30 | 12 | 18 | 0 | 120 | 133 |
| Boston University | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | .364 | 99 | 99 | 28 | 11 | 17 | 0 | 128 | 131 |
| Northeastern | 21 | 5 | 16 | 0 | .238 | 77 | 120 | 27 | 7 | 20 | 0 | 103 | 149 |
| West Region |||||||||||||||
| Vermont | 23 | 16 | 7 | 0 | .696 | 98 | 81 | 35 | 23 | 12 | 0 | 156 | 135 |
| Clarkson | 21 | 14 | 7 | 0 | .667 | 141 | 98 | 34 | 21 | 12 | 1 | 205 | 151 |
| Rensselaer | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | .636 | 114 | 84 | 27 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 133 | 112 |
| Colgate | 21 | 10 | 10 | 1 | .500 | 78 | 75 | 31 | 18 | 12 | 1 | 139 | 118 |
| St. Lawrence | 21 | 3 | 18 | 0 | .143 | 54 | 113 | 32 | 6 | 26 | 0 | 97 | 178 |
| Ivy Region |||||||||||||||
| Dartmouth | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | .705 | 132 | 97 | 31 | 19 | 11 | 1 | 151 | 125 |
| Cornell* | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0 | .500 | 109 | 108 | 31 | 16 | 15 | 0 | 150 | 146 |
| Brown | 22 | 9 | 11 | 2 | .455 | 78 | 81 | 26 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 91 | 113 |
| Princeton | 21 | 9 | 12 | 0 | .429 | 81 | 93 | 26 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 96 | 111 |
| Harvard | 21 | 7 | 11 | 3 | .405 | 83 | 91 | 26 | 8 | 15 | 3 | 102 | 122 |
| Yale | 21 | 5 | 14 | 3 | .295 | 96 | 118 | 26 | 7 | 16 | 3 | 112 | 135 |
| Championship: Cornell † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1979–80 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 | 15 | 16 | 0 | 150 | 167 |
| Miami | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 38 | 22 | 13 | 3 | 210 | 140 |
| US International | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 34 | 24 | 8 | 2 | | |
1979–80 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†* | 28 | 21 | 6 | 1 | .768 | 147 | 89 | 40 | 31 | 8 | 1 | 217 | 119 |
| Minnesota* | 32 | 18 | 14 | 0 | .563 | 173 | 155 | 41 | 26 | 15 | 0 | 263 | 179 |
| Colorado College | 30 | 16 | 13 | 1 | .550 | 154 | 164 | 39 | 21 | 17 | 1 | 200 | 208 |
| Michigan | 26 | 13 | 11 | 2 | .538 | 131 | 118 | 38 | 23 | 13 | 2 | 205 | 167 |
| Notre Dame | 28 | 13 | 14 | 1 | .482 | 150 | 146 | 39 | 18 | 20 | 1 | 202 | 199 |
| Minnesota-Duluth | 32 | 15 | 17 | 0 | .469 | 166 | 181 | 38 | 17 | 21 | 0 | 191 | 207 |
| Michigan Tech | 28 | 12 | 14 | 2 | .464 | 141 | 120 | 38 | 18 | 18 | 2 | 181 | 160 |
| Michigan State | 28 | 12 | 16 | 0 | .429 | 118 | 167 | 38 | 14 | 24 | 0 | 158 | 227 |
| Wisconsin | 30 | 12 | 18 | 0 | .400 | 146 | 146 | 36 | 15 | 20 | 1 | 172 | 182 |
| Denver | 26 | 8 | 17 | 1 | .327 | 95 | 135 | 36 | 13 | 22 | 1 | 141 | 169 |
| 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 | Northern Michigan |
| 3 | Boston College |
| 4 | Minnesota |
| 5 | Providence |
| 6 | Michigan |
| 7 | Dartmouth |
| 8 | Ohio State |
| 9 | Colorado College |
| 10 | Vermont |

## 1980 NCAA Tournament

| First round March 22 | First round March 22 | First round March 22 | Semifinals March 27–28 | Semifinals March 27–28 | Semifinals March 27–28 | National championship March 29 | National championship March 29 | National championship March 29 |
| | | | E1 | Cornell | 4 | | | |
| | | | A | Northern Michigan | 5 | | | |
| W2 | Minnesota | 3 | A | Northern Michigan | 5 | | | |
| A | Northern Michigan | 4 | | | | | | |
| A | Northern Michigan | 4 | | | | A | Northern Michigan | 2 |
| | | | | | | W1 | North Dakota | 5 |
| | | | W1 | North Dakota | 4 | Third-place game | Third-place game | Third-place game |
| | | | E2 | Dartmouth | 1 |
| | | | E2 | Dartmouth | 1 | E1 | Cornell | 4 |
| | | | | | | E2 | Dartmouth | 8 |
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 |
| Bill Joyce | Senior | Northern Michigan | 40 | 41 | 55 | 96 | 40 |
| Mark Taylor | Senior | North Dakota | 40 | 33 | 59 | 92 | 28 |
| Steve Bozek | Sophomore | Northern Michigan | 41 | 42 | 47 | 89 | 32 |
| Doug Smail | Junior | North Dakota | 40 | 43 | 44 | 87 | 70 |
| Murray Eaves | Sophomore | Michigan | 33 | 36 | 49 | 85 | 34 |
| Tim Harrer | Senior | Minnesota | 41 | 53 | 29 | 82 | 50 |
| Dan Lerg | Senior | Michigan | 38 | 37 | 39 | 76 | 28 |
| Bruno Baseotto | Freshman | Michigan | 38 | 31 | 45 | 76 | 16 |
| Aaron Broten | Freshman | Minnesota | 41 | 25 | 47 | 72 | 8 |
| Greg Meredith | Senior | Notre Dame | 40 | 40 | 31 | 71 | 14 |

### 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 |
| Darren Jensen | Freshman | North Dakota | 15 | 890 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 1 | .923 | 2.24 |
| Steve Weeks | Senior | Northern Michigan | 36 | 2133 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 105 | 1 | .910 | 2.95 |
| Steve Jones | Senior | Ohio State | 24 | - | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | 3.27 |
| Dan Kodatsky | Sophomore | Miami | - | 1269 | - | - | - | 70 | 0 | .899 | 3.31 |
| Sylvain Turcotte | Junior | Vermont | 25 | 1492 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 87 | - | .883 | 3.50 |
| Scott Fiske | Sophomore | Providence | 22 | 1265 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 75 | 0 | .886 | 3.56 |
| Bob Iwabuchi | Sophomore | North Dakota | 20 | 1157 | 14 | - | - | 70 | 0 | .876 | 3.63 |
| Peter Mielzynski | Sophomore | Clarkson | 12 | 610 | - | - | - | 37 | 0 | .873 | 3.64 |
| Mark Holden | Senior | Brown | 26 | 1508 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 93 | 0 | .895 | 3.70 |
| Rob Polman-Tuin | Freshman | Michigan Tech | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | - | .894 | 3.72 |
| Mike Blake | Junior | Ohio State | 15 | 775 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 48 | 0 | - | 3.72 |

## 1980 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | College | Conference | NHL team |
| 1 | 11 | Mike Blaisdell $^‡$ | Wisconsin | WCHA | Detroit Red Wings |
| 3 | 44 | Murray Eaves | Michigan | WCHA | Winnipeg Jets |
| 3 | 45 | John Newberry $^†$ | Wisconsin | WCHA | Montreal Canadiens |
| 3 | 47 | Dan Miele | Providence | ECAC Hockey | Washington Capitals |
| 3 | 50 | Mickey Volcan | North Dakota | WCHA | Hartford Whalers |
| 3 | 52 | Steve Bozek | Northern Michigan | CCHA | Los Angeles Kings |
| 3 | 53 | Randy Velischek | Providence | ECAC Hockey | Minnesota North Stars |
| 3 | 57 | Troy Murray $^†$ | North Dakota | WCHA | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 3 | 61 | Craig Ludwig | North Dakota | WCHA | Montreal Canadiens |
| 3 | 62 | Jay North $^†$ | Harvard | ECAC Hockey | Buffalo Sabres |
| 4 | 66 | Jay Miller | New Hampshire | ECAC Hockey | Quebec Nordiques |
| 4 | 67 | Carey Wilson | Dartmouth | ECAC Hockey | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 4 | 75 | Bob Brooke | Yale | ECAC Hockey | St. Louis Blues |
| 4 | 77 | Kurt Kleinendorst | Providence | ECAC Hockey | New York Rangers |
| 4 | 79 | Mark Huglen | Minnesota | WCHA | Minnesota North Stars |
| 4 | 82 | Jeff Teal | Minnesota | WCHA | Montreal Canadiens |
| 5 | 92 | Darren Jensen | North Dakota | WCHA | Hartford Whalers |
| 5 | 98 | Scot Kleinendorst | Providence | ECAC Hockey | New York Rangers |
| 5 | 100 | David Jensen | Minnesota | WCHA | Minnesota North Stars |
| 5 | 101 | Ken Leiter | Michigan State | WCHA | New York Islanders |
| 6 | 106 | Aaron Broten | Minnesota | WCHA | Colorado Rockies |
| 6 | 112 | Ken Berry | Denver | WCHA | Vancouver Canucks |
| 6 | 115 | Darren Eliot | Cornell | ECAC Hockey | Los Angeles Kings |
| 6 | 116 | Ron Dennis | Princeton | ECAC Hockey | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 6 | 123 | Steve Lyons $^†$ | New Hampshire | ECAC Hockey | Boston Bruins |
| 6 | 124 | Mike McPhee | Rensselaer | ECAC Hockey | Montreal Canadiens |
| 7 | 128 | Brian Mullen $^†$ | Wisconsin | WCHA | Washington Capitals |
| 7 | 133 | Doug Lidster | Colorado College | WCHA | Vancouver Canucks |
| 7 | 135 | Mike Lauen | Michigan Tech | WCHA | Winnipeg Jets |
| 7 | 136 | Mike O'Connor | Michigan Tech | WCHA | Los Angeles Kings |
| 7 | 140 | Bob Scurfield | Western Michigan | CCHA | New York Rangers |
| 7 | 142 | Bill Stewart | Denver | WCHA | Minnesota North Stars |
| 7 | 143 | Mark Hamway | Michigan State | WCHA | New York Islanders |
| 7 | 145 | Bill Norton | Clarkson | ECAC Hockey | Montreal Canadiens |
| 7 | 147 | Ross Fitzpatrick | Western Michigan | CCHA | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 8 | 149 | Sandy Beadle | Northeastern | ECAC Hockey | Winnipeg Jets |
| 8 | 152 | Bruce Raboin | Providence | ECAC Hockey | Washington Capitals |
| 8 | 153 | Rob Polman-Tuin | Michigan Tech | WCHA | Edmonton Oilers |
| 8 | 154 | John O'Connor | Vermont | ECAC Hockey | Vancouver Canucks |
| 8 | 155 | Brent DeNat | Michigan Tech | WCHA | Hartford Whalers |
| 8 | 157 | Billy O'Dwyer | Boston College | ECAC Hockey | Los Angeles Kings |
| 8 | 164 | Morey Gare $^†$ | Northern Michigan | CCHA | New York Islanders |
| 9 | 170 | Ed Christian $^†$ | North Dakota | WCHA | Winnipeg Jets |
| 9 | 176 | Paul Fricker | Michigan | WCHA | Hartford Whalers |
| 9 | 177 | Brian Lundberg | Michigan | WCHA | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 9 | 180 | Peter Lindgren $^†$ | Colorado College | WCHA | St. Louis Blues |
| 9 | 182 | Chris Wray | Boston College | ECAC Hockey | New York Rangers |
| 9 | 184 | Bob Lakso $^†$ | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | Minnesota North Stars |
| 9 | 187 | John Schmidt | Notre Dame | WCHA | Montreal Canadiens |
| 10 | 198 | Steve McKenzie $^†$ | Wisconsin | WCHA | Los Angeles Kings |
| 10 | 199 | Kim Collins | Bowling Green | CCHA | Los Angeles Kings |
| 10 | 205 | Dave Richter | Michigan | WCHA | Minnesota North Stars |
| 10 | 206 | Glenn Johannesen $^†$ | Western Michigan | CCHA | New York Islanders |
| 10 | 208 | Scott Robinson | Denver | WCHA | Montreal Canadiens |
| 10 | 210 | Andy Brickley | New Hampshire | ECAC Hockey | Philadelphia Flyers |
† incoming freshman ‡ Blaisdell had already left school during the season.