# 1973–74 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season

The 1973–74 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 1973 and concluded with the 1974 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 16, 1974, at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. This was the 27th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 80th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.
In the summer of 1973 the NCAA changed the classifications of the tiers in each of their sponsored sports. The university- and College-divisions were done away with and replaced by numerical designations making this the first official Division I season.
The NIT held a competing ice hockey tournament for the first time. The tournament included NAIA champion Lake Superior State, ECAC 2 champion Vermont and two NCAA Division I schools (Minnesota–Duluth and Saint Louis). Minnesota–Duluth won the championship but the tournament was not renewed for a second season.

## 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 | Wisconsin (8) |
| 2 | Notre Dame |
| 3 | Denver |
| 4 | Michigan Tech (1) |
| 5 | Boston University |
| 6 | Cornell (1) |
| 7 | Saint Louis |
| 8 | Harvard |
| 9 | Boston College |
| 10 | Michigan State |

### Pre-season conference polls

Conference pre-season polls as voted on by coaches. The ECAC coaches voted on the top eight teams instead of the entire conference.
ECAC Poll :
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Cornell |
| 2 | Boston College |
| 3 | Boston University |
| 4 | Harvard |
| 5 | New Hampshire |
| 6 | Brown |
| 7 | Dartmouth |
| 8 | Rensselaer |
| 9 | Clarkson |
| 10 | Pennsylvania |
| 11 | Pennsylvania |
| 12 | St. Lawrence |
| 13 | Providence |
| 14 | Northeastern |
WCHA Poll :
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Wisconsin |
| 2 | Notre Dame |
| 3 | Michigan Tech |
| 4 | Denver |
| 5 | Michigan State |
| 6 | Minnesota |
| 7 | North Dakota |
| 8 | Michigan |
| 9 | Minnesota Duluth |
| 10 | Colorado College |

## Regular season
### Season tournaments

| Tournament | Dates | Teams | Champion |
| Christmas City of the North Tournament | November 22–24 | 4 | Minnesota–Duluth |
| North Country Thanksgiving Festival | November 22–24 | 4 | Toronto |
| Flint IMA Tournament | December 27–28 | 4 | Michigan |
| St. Louis Holiday Tournament | December 27–28 | 4 | Saint Louis |
| Rensselaer Holiday Tournament | December 27–29 | 4 | Boston University |
| Great Lakes Invitational | December 28–29 | 4 | Michigan State |
| Syracuse Invitational | December 28–29 | 4 | Cornell |
| Beanpot | February 4, 11 | 4 | Harvard |
| Lake Forest Tournament | February 22–23 | 4 | Saint Mary's |

### Standings

1973–74 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† | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 55 | 45 | 36 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 170 | 141 |
| Minnesota† | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 50 | 47 | 39 | 22 | 11 | 6 | 171 | 143 |
| Michigan State | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 61 | 63 | 38 | 23 | 14 | 1 | 207 | 177 |
| Michigan | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 47 | 59 | 36 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 147 | 162 |
| † indicates conference regular season champion |||||||||||||||
1973–74 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 |
| Lake Superior State† | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 40 | 33 | 39 | 22 | 16 | 1 | 205 | 159 |
| Saint Louis* | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 35 | 37 | 40 | 28 | 12 | 0 | 224 | 165 |
| Bowling Green | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 37 | 39 | 20 | 19 | 0 | 217 | 167 |
| Championship: Saint Louis † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1973–74 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 |
| New Hampshire† | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | .750 | 113 | 71 | 31 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 171 | 105 |
| Harvard | 21 | 15 | 6 | 0 | .714 | 166 | 109 | 29 | 17 | 11 | 1 | 155 | 113 |
| Boston University* | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0 | .700 | 167 | 89 | 31 | 23 | 8 | 0 | 190 | 95 |
| Cornell | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | .675 | 135 | 108 | 27 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 146 | 110 |
| St. Lawrence | 17 | 9 | 7 | 1 | .559 | 79 | 83 | 28 | 12 | 15 | 1 | 125 | 123 |
| Dartmouth | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | .545 | 93 | 104 | 25 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 99 | 100 |
| Providence | 19 | 9 | 9 | 1 | .500 | 83 | 103 | 26 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 115 | 113 |
| Rensselaer | 17 | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 | 101 | 116 | 30 | 14 | 15 | 1 | 141 | 142 |
| Clarkson | 21 | 9 | 11 | 1 | .452 | 70 | 89 | 27 | 12 | 14 | 1 | 97 | 115 |
| Pennsylvania | 21 | 9 | 12 | 0 | .429 | 67 | 71 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 75 | 87 |
| Boston College | 19 | 8 | 11 | 0 | .421 | 89 | 98 | 28 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 137 | 138 |
| Northeastern | 19 | 7 | 10 | 2 | .421 | 74 | 88 | 27 | 10 | 13 | 4 | 116 | 124 |
| Brown | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | .389 | 63 | 69 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 87 | 86 |
| Princeton | 20 | 7 | 12 | 1 | .375 | 62 | 100 | 24 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 87 | 117 |
| Yale | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | .278 | 60 | 91 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 80 | 114 |
| Colgate | 20 | 5 | 14 | 1 | .275 | 73 | 104 | 28 | 11 | 16 | 1 | 122 | 133 |
| Championship: Boston University † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1973–74 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 | - | - | - | 27 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 143 | 127 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 31 | 16 | 13 | 2 | 162 | 123 |
1973–74 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 |
| Michigan Tech†* | 28 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 42 | 155 | 95 | 40 | 28 | 9 | 3 | 218 | 135 |
| Minnesota* | 28 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 33 | 125 | 100 | 39 | 22 | 11 | 6 | 171 | 143 |
| Denver | 28 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 32 | 126 | 122 | 38 | 22 | 13 | 3 | 171 | 156 |
| Michigan State | 28 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 31 | 150 | 140 | 38 | 23 | 14 | 1 | 207 | 177 |
| Wisconsin | 28 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 29 | 124 | 105 | 36 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 170 | 141 |
| Minnesota-Duluth | 28 | 13 | 14 | 1 | 27 | 113 | 126 | 38 | 21 | 16 | 1 | 167 | 155 |
| Michigan | 28 | 12 | 15 | 1 | 25 | 107 | 131 | 36 | 18 | 17 | 1 | 147 | 162 |
| Notre Dame | 28 | 11 | 16 | 1 | 23 | 125 | 121 | 36 | 14 | 20 | 2 | 159 | 154 |
| Colorado College | 28 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 22 | 120 | 138 | 32 | 13 | 17 | 2 | 155 | 157 |
| North Dakota | 28 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 80 | 147 | 34 | 10 | 23 | 1 | 103 | 169 |
| Championship: Michigan Tech, Minnesota † 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 | Michigan Tech |
| 2 | Minnesota |
| 3 | Boston University |
| 4 | New Hampshire |
| 5 | Michigan State |
| 6 | Denver |
| 7 | Harvard |
| 8 | Cornell |
| 9 | Saint Louis |
| 9 (tie) | Minnesota Duluth |

## 1974 NCAA Tournament

| Semifinals March 14–15 | Semifinals March 14–15 | Semifinals March 14–15 | National championship March 16 | National championship March 16 | National championship March 16 |
| E1 | Boston University | 4 | | | |
| W2 | Minnesota | 5 | | | |
| W2 | Minnesota | 5 | W2 | Minnesota | 4 |
| | | | W1 | Michigan Tech | 2 |
| W1 | Michigan Tech | 6* | W1 | Michigan Tech | 2 |
| E2 | Harvard | 5 | Third-place game | Third-place game | Third-place game |
| | | | E1 | Boston University | 7 |
| | | | E2 | Harvard | 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 |
| Steve Colp | Sophomore | Michigan State | 38 | 43 | 54 | 97 | 48 |
| Tom Ross | Sophomore | Michigan State | 38 | 37 | 51 | 88 | 32 |
| Bob Dobek | Sophomore | Bowling Green | 39 | 44 | 42 | 86 | 40 |
| Doug Palazzari | Senior | Colorado College | 32 | 31 | 48 | 79 | 71 |
| John Nestic | Senior | Saint Louis | 40 | 41 | 35 | 76 | 10 |
| Mike Zuke | Sophomore | Michigan Tech | 40 | 28 | 47 | 75 | 38 |
| Darryl Rice | Sophomore | Michigan State | 38 | 31 | 38 | 69 | 54 |
| John Stewart | Sophomore | Bowling Green | 39 | 27 | 42 | 69 | 50 |
| Bob D'Alvise | Junior | Michigan Tech | 40 | 29 | 39 | 68 | 4 |
| Chuck Delich | Freshman | Air Force | 27 | 43 | 24 | 67 | 36 |

### 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 |
| Cap Raeder | Sophomore | New Hampshire | 22 | 1318 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 58 | 1 | .908 | 2.64 |
| Ed Walsh | Junior | Boston University | 29 | 1633 | - | - | - | 78 | 2 | .911 | 2.86 |
| Jim Warden | Sophomore | Michigan Tech | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | - | .910 | 3.01 |
| Rick Quance | Junior | Michigan Tech | 21 | - | - | - | - | - | - | .894 | 3.01 |
| Brad Shelstad | Senior | Minnesota | 34 | 2148 | - | - | - | 111 | 1 | .906 | 3.10 |
| Barney Buppert | Sophomore | New Hampshire | 11 | 520 | - | - | - | 32 | 0 | .873 | 3.69 |
| Harry Aikens | Freshman | St. Lawrence | 12 | 616 | - | - | - | 38 | 0 | .903 | 3.70 |
| Gordy Hangsleben | Freshman | North Dakota | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | .900 | 3.74 |
| Dick Perkins | Sophomore | Wisconsin | 23 | 1381 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 87 | 0 | .891 | 3.78 |
| Syl LaRose | Freshman | Clarkson | 23 | 1311 | 10 | - | - | 83 | 0 | .896 | 3.80 |

## 1974 NHL Amateur Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | College | Conference | NHL team |
| 2 | 21 | Bruce Affleck | Denver | WCHA | California Golden Seals |
| 3 | 42 | Pete LoPresti | Denver | WCHA | Minnesota North Stars |
| 3 | 46 | Dick Spannbauer | Minnesota | WCHA | Atlanta Flames |
| 4 | 72 | Bill Reed $^‡$ | Ohio State | Independent | Boston Bruins |
| 5 | 75 | Jim Warden | Michigan Tech | WCHA | California Golden Seals |
| 5 | 79 | Mike Zuke | Michigan Tech | WCHA | St. Louis Blues |
| 5 | 81 | John Taft | Wisconsin | WCHA | Detroit Red Wings |
| 5 | 86 | Dennis Olmstead | Wisconsin | WCHA | New York Rangers |
| 6 | 93 | Tom Sundberg $^‡$ | Minnesota | WCHA | California Golden Seals |
| 6 | 96 | John Sheridan | Minnesota | WCHA | Minnesota North Stars |
| 6 | 98 | Buzz Schneider | Minnesota | WCHA | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 6 | 99 | Don Dufek | Michigan | WCHA | Detroit Red Wings |
| 6 | 100 | Bill Moen | Minnesota | WCHA | Atlanta Flames |
| 6 | 101 | Dave Given | Brown | ECAC Hockey | Buffalo Sabres |
| 6 | 105 | John Stewart | Bowling Green | CCHA | Montreal Canadiens |
| 7 | 112 | Dave Langevin | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | New York Islanders |
| 7 | 118 | Peter Brown | Boston University | ECAC Hockey | Atlanta Flames |
| 7 | 123 | Joe Micheletti | Minnesota | WCHA | Montreal Canadiens |
| 7 | 124 | Eddie Mio | Colorado College | WCHA | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 8 | 135 | Tom Lindskog | Michigan | WCHA | Atlanta Flames |
| 8 | 140 | Jamie Hislop | New Hampshire | ECAC Hockey | Montreal Canadiens |
| 8 | 142 | Steve Short $^‡$ | Wisconsin | WCHA | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 8 | 143 | Darryl Drader | North Dakota | WCHA | Boston Bruins |
| 9 | 147 | Marc Gaudreault | Lake Superior State | CCHA | Vancouver Canucks |
| 9 | 158 | Steve Colp | Michigan State | WCHA | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 9 | 160 | Peter Roberts $^†$ | Michigan Tech | WCHA | Boston Bruins |
| 10 | 165 | John Ahern | Brown | ECAC Hockey | St. Louis Blues |
| 10 | 175 | Peter Waselovich | North Dakota | WCHA | Boston Bruins |
| 11 | 187 | Cliff Cox | New Hampshire | ECAC Hockey | Montreal Canadiens |
| 11 | 189 | Scott Jessee | Michigan Tech | WCHA | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 12 | 197 | Lindsay Thomson | Denver | WCHA | Los Angeles Kings |
| 12 | 199 | Dave Lumley | New Hampshire | ECAC Hockey | Montreal Canadiens |
| 13 | 204 | Neil Smith $^†$ | Western Michigan | CCHA | New York Islanders |
| 13 | 211 | Brad Morrow | Minnesota | WCHA | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 14 | 216 | Bill Davis | Colgate | ECAC Hockey | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 14 | 219 | Craig Arvidson | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 15 | 221 | Dave Otness | Wisconsin | WCHA | New York Islanders |
| 16 | 226 | Jim Murray | Michigan Tech | WCHA | New York Islanders |
| 17 | 229 | Mike Dibble | Wisconsin | WCHA | New York Islanders |
| 20 | 239 | Jim Mayer | Michigan Tech | WCHA | New York Rangers |
| 21 | 241 | Warren Miller | Minnesota | WCHA | New York Rangers |
| 22 | 243 | Kevin Walker | Cornell | ECAC Hockey | New York Rangers |
| 23 | 245 | Jim Warner $^†$ | Colorado College | WCHA | New York Rangers |
† incoming freshman ‡ Reed, Short and Sundberg had left school before this season before.