# 1971 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey tournament

The 1971 NCAA Men's University Division Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1970–71 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season, the 24th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 18 and 20, 1971, and concluded with Boston University defeating Minnesota 4–2. All games were played at the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse, New York.
This was the first time that a team with a losing record participated in an NCAA tournament.

## Qualifying teams

Four teams qualified for the tournament, two each from the eastern and western regions. The ECAC tournament champion and the two WCHA tournament co-champions received automatic bids into the tournament. An at-large bid was offered to a second eastern team based upon both their ECAC tournament finish as well as their regular season record.
| East | East | East | East | East | East | East | West | West | West | West | West | West | West |
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Appearance | Last bid | Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Appearance | Last bid |
| 1 | Harvard | ECAC Hockey | 18–6–1 | Tournament champion | 5th | 1969 | 1 | Denver | WCHA | 24–9–1 | Tournament co-champion | 9th | 1969 |
| 2 | Boston University | ECAC Hockey | 26–2–1 | At-Large | 7th | 1967 | 2 | Minnesota | WCHA | 13–16–1 | Tournament co-champion | 4th | 1961 |

## Format

The ECAC champion was seeded as the top eastern team while the WCHA co-champion with the better regular season record was given the top western seed. The second eastern seed was slotted to play the top western seed and vice versa. All games were played at the Onondaga War Memorial. All matches were Single-game eliminations with the semifinal winners advancing to the national championship game and the losers playing in a consolation game.

## Tournament Bracket

| Semifinals March 18–19 | Semifinals March 18–19 | Semifinals March 18–19 | National Championship March 20 | National Championship March 20 | National Championship March 20 |
| E1 | Harvard | 5 | | | |
| W2 | Minnesota | 6* | | | |
| W2 | Minnesota | 6* | W2 | Minnesota | 2 |
| | | | E2 | Boston University | 4 |
| W1 | Denver | 2 | E2 | Boston University | 4 |
| E2 | Boston University | 4 | Third Place Game | Third Place Game | Third Place Game |
| | | | W1 | Denver | 1 |
| | | | E2 | Harvard | 0 |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

### National Championship
#### (E2) Boston University vs. (W2) Minnesota

Scoring summary :
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | BU | Steve Stirling - PP | Danby and Brown | 5:32 | 1–0 BU |
| 1st | BU | Bob Gryp | Gowing | 10:10 | 2–0 BU |
| 2nd | BU | Steve Stirling - GW | unassisted | 29:13 | 3–0 BU |
| 3rd | MIN | Doug Peltier | Sarner and McIntosh | 53:07 | 3–1 BU |
| 3rd | BU | Ron Anderson | Dolloff and Brown | 57:45 | 4–1 BU |
| 3rd | MIN | Dean Blais | McIntosh | 59:44 | 4–2 BU |
| Penalty summary ||||||
| Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
| 1st | MIN | Frank Sanders | Charging | 5:01 | 2:00 |
| 1st | BU | Bob Murray | Holding | 14:18 | 2:00 |
| 2nd | BU | Mike LaGarde | High–Sticking | 29:32 | 2:00 |
| 2nd | BU | Ron Anderson | Elbowing | 37:18 | 2:00 |
| 2nd | MIN | Wally Olds | Interference | 39:44 | 2:00 |
| 3rd | BU | Mike LaGarde | Holding | 51:04 | 2:00 |
| 3rd | BU | Bob Murray | Hooking | 58:09 | 2:00 |
| 3rd | MIN | Doug Peltier | Offensive Check | 58:09 | 2:00 |
| 3rd | MIN | Dean Blais | Cross–Checking | 59:49 | 2:00 |
Shots by period :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
| Minnesota | 13 | 11 | 8 | 32 |
| Boston University | 12 | 11 | 9 | 32 |
Goaltenders :
| Team | Name | Saves | Goals against | Time on ice |
| MIN | Dennis Erickson | 28 | 4 | |
| BU | Dan Brady | 30 | 2 | |

## All-Tournament Team

* G: Dan Brady* (Boston University)
* D: Bob Brown (Boston University)
* D: Bruce McIntosh (Minnesota)
* F: Dean Blais (Minnesota)
* F: Don Cahoon (Boston University)
* F: Steve Stirling (Boston University)
* Most Outstanding Player(s)