# 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season

The 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season began in November 1971 and concluded with the 1972 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 18, 1972 at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. This was the 25th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 78th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.
This was the first year of play for the CCHA with former independents Ohio State and Saint Louis being joined by new programs from Bowling Green and Ohio.
Notre Dame joined the WCHA.
For the final time the ICAC awarded a trophy to the league champion.

## Season Outlook
### Pre-season conference polls

Conference pre-season polls as voted on by coaches.
ECAC Poll :
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Boston University |
| 2 | Cornell |
| 3 | Clarkson |
| 4 | Harvard |
| 5 | Brown |
| 6 | Pennsylvania |
| 7 | New Hampshire |
| 8 | Rensselaer |
| 9 | St. Lawrence |
| 10 | Providence |
| 11 | Northeastern |
| 12 | Boston College |
| 13 | Yale |
| 14 | Dartmouth |
| 15 | Colgate |
| 16 | Army |
| 17 | Princeton |
CCHA Poll :
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Bowling Green |
| 2 | Saint Louis |
| 3 | Ohio State |
| 4 | Ohio |
WCHA Poll :
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Michigan Tech |
| 2 | Denver |
| 3 | Michigan State |
| 4 | Wisconsin |
| 5 | Notre Dame |
| 6 | Minnesota Duluth |
| 7 | North Dakota |
| 8 | Minnesota |
| 9 | Michigan |
| 10 | Colorado College |

## Regular season
### Season tournaments

| Tournament | Dates | Teams | Champion |
| Christmas City of the North Tournament | November 25–27 | 4 | Lake Superior State |
| North Country Thanksgiving Festival | November 25–27 | 4 | St. Lawrence |
| Cleveland Cup Invitational | December 20–21 | 4 | Bowling Green |
| ECAC Holiday Hockey Festival | December 20–21 | 4 | Notre Dame |
| ECAC Christmas Hockey Tournament | December 21–22 | 4 | Boston University |
| Flint IMA Tournament | December 28–29 | 4 | Michigan |
| Great Lakes Invitational | December 28–29 | 4 | Michigan Tech |
| Rensselaer Holiday Tournament | December 28–30 | 4 | Clarkson |
| Syracuse Invitational | December 29–30 | 4 | Cornell |
| Bowdoin Invitational | January 1–2 | 4 | |
| Beanpot | February 7, 14 | 4 | Boston University |

### Standings

1971–72 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 |
| Wisconsin† | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 48 | 29 | 38 | 27 | 10 | 1 | 170 | 106 |
| Michigan | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 34 | 44 | 34 | 16 | 18 | 0 | 132 | 186 |
| Michigan State | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 39 | 44 | 36 | 20 | 16 | 0 | 154 | 129 |
| Minnesota | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 31 | 42 | 32 | 8 | 24 | 0 | 97 | 157 |
| † indicates conference regular season champion |||||||||||||||
1971–72 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 |
| Ohio State†* | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 44 | 35 | 29 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 154 | 71 |
| Saint Louis | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 64 | 49 | 33 | 15 | 15 | 3 | 194 | 156 |
| Bowling Green | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 60 | 48 | 33 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 172 | 123 |
| Ohio | 12 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 34 | 70 | 24 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 97 | 132 |
| Championship: Ohio State † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1971–72 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 |
| Cornell† | 20 | 17 | 3 | 0 | .850 | 117 | 58 | 29 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 175 | 82 |
| Harvard | 21 | 16 | 4 | 1 | .786 | 118 | 62 | 26 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 127 | 76 |
| Boston University* | 20 | 15 | 4 | 1 | .775 | 88 | 53 | 31 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 155 | 69 |
| Pennsylvania | 21 | 14 | 7 | 0 | .667 | 107 | 75 | 25 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 122 | 90 |
| New Hampshire | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | .667 | 82 | 61 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 140 | 109 |
| Clarkson | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0 | .600 | 96 | 74 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 158 | 102 |
| Rensselaer | 17 | 9 | 7 | 1 | .559 | 64 | 62 | 27 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 123 | 84 |
| Providence | 17 | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 73 | 75 | 24 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 106 | 102 |
| Dartmouth | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 | .528 | 81 | 78 | 24 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 120 | 103 |
| Boston College | 21 | 10 | 11 | 0 | .476 | 93 | 106 | 30 | 14 | 16 | 0 | 130 | 155 |
| Brown | 21 | 9 | 11 | 1 | .452 | 70 | 75 | 23 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 78 | 84 |
| St. Lawrence | 18 | 5 | 12 | 1 | .306 | 63 | 78 | 26 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 100 | 108 |
| Yale | 17 | 5 | 12 | 0 | .294 | 70 | 105 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 108 | 128 |
| Colgate | 19 | 5 | 14 | 0 | .263 | 52 | 94 | 26 | 8 | 18 | 0 | 83 | 122 |
| Princeton | 19 | 5 | 14 | 0 | .263 | 52 | 108 | 23 | 5 | 18 | 0 | 62 | 127 |
| Northeastern | 20 | 3 | 17 | 0 | .150 | 68 | 118 | 26 | 6 | 20 | 0 | 102 | 145 |
| Army | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | .100 | 29 | 44 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 99 | 88 |
| Championship: Boston University † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1971–72 Independent College Athletic Conference 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 |
| Rensselaer† | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 15 | 27 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 123 | 84 |
| Clarkson | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 15 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 158 | 102 |
| St. Lawrence | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 26 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 100 | 108 |
| † indicates conference regular season champion |||||||||||||||
1971–72 NCAA University Division 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 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 226 | 119 |
| Alaska–Fairbanks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | - | - |
1971–72 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 |
| Denver†* | 28 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 54 | 148 | 104 | 38 | 27 | 11 | 0 | 205 | 137 |
| Wisconsin* | 28 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 48 | 134 | 87 | 38 | 27 | 10 | 1 | 170 | 106 |
| North Dakota | 28 | 18 | 10 | 0 | 44 | 130 | 109 | 36 | 21 | 14 | 1 | 161 | 138 |
| Michigan State | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 42 | 119 | 103 | 36 | 20 | 16 | 0 | 154 | 129 |
| Minnesota-Duluth | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 40 | 129 | 123 | 35 | 16 | 18 | 1 | 148 | 150 |
| Michigan | 28 | 12 | 16 | 0 | 32 | 108 | 163 | 34 | 16 | 18 | 0 | 132 | 186 |
| Michigan Tech | 26 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 30 | 120 | 124 | 34 | 16 | 17 | 1 | 152 | 148 |
| Notre Dame | 26 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 28 | 120 | 121 | 34 | 14 | 20 | 0 | 164 | 160 |
| Colorado College | 28 | 11 | 17 | 0 | 28 | 140 | 165 | 32 | 13 | 19 | 0 | 170 | 184 |
| Minnesota | 28 | 7 | 21 | 0 | 14 | 83 | 132 | 32 | 8 | 24 | 0 | 97 | 157 |
| Championship: Wisconsin, Denver † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||

## 1972 NCAA Tournament

| Semifinals March 16–17 | Semifinals March 16–17 | Semifinals March 16–17 | National championship March 18 | National championship March 18 | National championship March 18 |
| E1 | Boston University | 4 | | | |
| W2 | Wisconsin | 1 | | | |
| W2 | Wisconsin | 1 | E1 | Boston University | 4 |
| | | | E2 | Cornell | 0 |
| W1 | Denver | 2 | E2 | Cornell | 0 |
| E2 | Cornell | 7 | Third-place game | Third-place game | Third-place game |
| | | | W1 | Denver | 2 |
| | | | W2 | Wisconsin | 5 |
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 |
| Dave Skalko | Junior | Air Force | 31 | 27 | 49 | 76 | 33 |
| Doug Palazzari | Sophomore | Colorado College | 32 | 32 | 40 | 72 | 42 |
| Bob Ross | Senior | Air Force | 31 | 39 | 31 | 70 | 8 |
| Tom Peluso | Sophomore | Denver | 37 | 32 | 37 | 69 | 73 |
| Mike Bartley | Sophomore | Bowling Green | 33 | 37 | 31 | 68 | - |
| Don Thompson | Junior | Michigan State | 35 | 32 | 35 | 67 | 66 |
| Peter McNab | Sophomore | Denver | 38 | 27 | 38 | 65 | 16 |
| Larry Fullan | Senior | Cornell | 29 | 20 | 43 | 63 | 28 |
| John Gray | Senior | New Hampshire | 30 | 29 | 33 | 63 | 44 |
| Guy Smith | Senior | New Hampshire | 29 | 21 | 41 | 62 | 75 |

### 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 |
| Dick Perkins | Freshman | Wisconsin | 13 | 719 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 1 | .940 | 1.92 |
| Dan Brady | Senior | Boston University | 27 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.22 |
| Bill McKenzie | Senior | Ohio State | 22 | 1280 | 19 | - | - | 48 | 4 | - | 2.25 |
| Dave Elenbaas | Sophomore | Cornell | 28 | - | - | - | - | - | - | .902 | 2.79 |
| Jim Makey | Sophomore | Wisconsin | 28 | 1578 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 81 | 0 | .900 | 3.08 |
| Terry Miskolczi | Junior | Bowling Green | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.22 |
| Lou Reycroft | Senior | Brown | - | 1142 | - | - | - | 63 | 0 | .888 | 3.31 |
| Kevin Woods | Junior | Clarkson | 17 | 980 | 11 | - | - | 54 | 0 | .887 | 3.33 |
| Eric Gorzelnik | Junior | Army | 25 | 1496 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 85 | 1 | .904 | 3.41 |
| Don Cutts | Sophomore | Rensselaer | 21 | 1260 | - | - | - | 72 | 1 | .898 | 3.43 |

## Awards
### WCHA

| Award | Award | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Most Valuable Player | Doug Palazzari, Colorado College |
| Freshman of the Year | Freshman of the Year | Alan Hangsleben, North Dakota |
| Coach of the Year | Coach of the Year | Jeff Sauer, Colorado College |
| All-WCHA Teams |||
| First Team | Position | Second Team |
| Jim Watt, Michigan State | G | Jim Makey, Wisconsin |
| Alan Hangsleben, North Dakota | D | Bob Boyd, Michigan State |
| Bob Winograd, Colorado College | D | Rick Wilson, North Dakota |
| Jim Cahoon, North Dakota | F | Walt Ledingham, Minnesota-Duluth |
| Doug Palazzari, Colorado College | F | Bernie Gagnon, Michigan |
| Tom Peluso, Denver | F | Don Thompson, Michigan State |

## 1972 NHL Amateur Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | College | Conference | NHL team |
| 3 | 42 | Bob Krieger | Denver | WCHA | Detroit Red Wings |
| 4 | 61 | Tom Peluso | Denver | WCHA | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 4 | 62 | Dave Elenbaas | Cornell | ECAC Hockey | Montreal Canadiens |
| 5 | 66 | Bill Nyrop | Notre Dame | WCHA | Montreal Canadiens |
| 5 | 74 | Dennis Johnson | North Dakota | WCHA | Detroit Red Wings |
| 6 | 84 | Mike Usitalo | Michigan Tech | WCHA | Los Angeles Kings |
| 6 | 85 | Peter McNab | Denver | WCHA | Buffalo Sabres |
| 6 | 93 | Rob Palmer | Denver | WCHA | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 6 | 94 | D'Arcy Ryan | Yale | ECAC Hockey | Montreal Canadiens |
| 7 | 104 | D’Arcy Keating | Notre Dame | WCHA | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 7 | 107 | Monte Miron | Clarkson | ECAC Hockey | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 7 | 112 | Gordie Clark | New Hampshire | ECAC Hockey | Boston Bruins |
| 8 | 121 | Gary Winchester | Wisconsin | WCHA | St. Louis Blues |
| 8 | 124 | Bob Lundeen | Wisconsin | WCHA | Minnesota North Stars |
| 8 | 125 | Billy Reay | Wisconsin | WCHA | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 9 | 138 | George Kuzmicz | Cornell | ECAC Hockey | Detroit Red Wings |
| 9 | 139 | Pat Boutette | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 9 | 142 | Eddie Bumbacco | Notre Dame | WCHA | Montreal Canadiens |
| 9 | 143 | Gary Schofield | Clarkson | ECAC Hockey | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 10 | 150 | Dave Arundel | Wisconsin | WCHA | Detroit Red Wings |
| 10 | 151 | Fred Riggall | Dartmouth | ECAC Hockey | Montreal Canadiens |