# 1969–70 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season

The 1969–70 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season began in November 1969 and concluded with the 1970 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 21, 1970, at the Olympic Arena in Lake Placid, New York. This was the 23rd season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 76th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.
In 1969 the NCAA changed their bylaws to permit freshman to play on the Varsity team. Beginning with this season universities were permitted to not only have first-year students play for their teams but to also have said players earn letters for four seasons rather than the previous limit of three. As a consequence the WCHA offered both a Sophomore-of-the-Year and Freshman-of-the-Year awards with the previous being formally retired following the campaign.
Cornell finished the 1969–70 season with an undefeated record of 29–0, only the second flawless campaign in the modern history of Division I ice hockey. The previous unblemished season (Clarkson in 1955–56), however, came with a caveat as 8 Golden Knight players were 4-year seniors (a violation of NCAA regulations at the time). As a result, the Clarkson team declined to play in the NCAA tournament. Cornell's undefeated team had no such issues and was able to compete in, and win, both their conference tournament and the NCAA tournament to become the first and thus far only undefeated NCAA champion (as of 2022).

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

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

## Regular season
### Season tournaments

| Tournament | Dates | Teams | Champion |
| Christmas City of the North Tournament | November 27–28 | 4 | Michigan Tech |
| Cleveland Cup Tournament | December 17–19 | 6 | Bowling Green |
| Great Lakes Invitational | December 19–20 | 4 | New Hampshire |
| Big Ten Holiday Tournament | December 21–23 | 4 | Wisconsin |
| ECAC Holiday Hockey Festival | December 22–23 | 4 | Cornell |
| St. Louis Invitational | December 28–29 | 4 | Wisconsin |
| Boston Arena Christmas Tournament | December 29–30 | 4 | Boston University |
| Syracuse Invitational | January 2–3 | 4 | Cornell |
| Rensselaer Holiday Tournament | January 2–4 | 4 | Providence |
| Beanpot | February 2, 9 | 4 | Boston University |

### Standings

1969–70 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 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 48 | 41 | 33 | 21 | 12 | 0 | 122 | 112 |
| Wisconsin | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 49 | 36 | 34 | 23 | 11 | 0 | 151 | 98 |
| Michigan | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 47 | 53 | 30 | 14 | 16 | 0 | 133 | 122 |
| Michigan State | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 40 | 49 | 29 | 13 | 16 | 0 | 112 | 124 |
| † indicates conference regular season champion |||||||||||||||
1969–70 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†* | 21 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 142 | 39 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 179 | 56 |
| Clarkson | 17 | 14 | 3 | 0 | .824 | 87 | 51 | 32 | 24 | 8 | 0 | 171 | 107 |
| Boston University | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0 | .773 | 120 | 67 | 27 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 149 | 82 |
| Harvard | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0 | .700 | 116 | 62 | 25 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 145 | 92 |
| Brown | 21 | 14 | 6 | 1 | .690 | 104 | 70 | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 117 | 81 |
| Boston College | 21 | 14 | 7 | 0 | .667 | 116 | 86 | 26 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 143 | 116 |
| New Hampshire | 17 | 9 | 6 | 2 | .588 | 98 | 73 | 31 | 19 | 10 | 2 | 172 | 120 |
| Colgate | 17 | 7 | 7 | 3 | .500 | 65 | 69 | 24 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 117 | 86 |
| St. Lawrence | 17 | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 | 75 | 83 | 26 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 112 | 124 |
| Providence | 19 | 7 | 10 | 2 | .421 | 65 | 85 | 25 | 11 | 12 | 2 | 89 | 107 |
| Army | 13 | 5 | 8 | 0 | .385 | 32 | 50 | 25 | 13 | 12 | 0 | 72 | 79 |
| Yale | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0 | .273 | 65 | 107 | 24 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 68 | 113 |
| Dartmouth | 19 | 5 | 14 | 0 | .263 | 80 | 121 | 24 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 101 | 142 |
| Princeton | 21 | 5 | 15 | 1 | .262 | 65 | 132 | 23 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 68 | 139 |
| Rensselaer | 17 | 3 | 13 | 1 | .206 | 54 | 103 | 24 | 8 | 15 | 1 | 85 | 128 |
| Pennsylvania | 15 | 3 | 12 | 0 | .200 | 46 | 80 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 88 | 114 |
| Northeastern | 17 | 1 | 16 | 0 | .059 | 51 | 105 | 23 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 80 | 138 |
| Championship: Cornell † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1969–70 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 |
| Clarkson† | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 21 | 11 | 32 | 24 | 8 | 0 | 171 | 107 |
| Rensselaer | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 21 | 24 | 8 | 15 | 1 | 85 | 128 |
| St. Lawrence | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 19 | 26 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 112 | 124 |
| † indicates conference regular season champion |||||||||||||||
1969–70 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 | - | - | - | 29 | 11 | 17 | 1 | 120 | 133 |
| Alaska–Fairbanks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 12 | 4 | 7 | 1 | - | - |
| Notre Dame | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 30 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 186 | 108 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 27 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 178 | 82 |
1969–70 Western Collegiate Hockey Association 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† | 26 | 18 | 8 | 0 | .692 | 106 | 86 | 33 | 21 | 12 | 0 | 122 | 112 |
| Denver | 22 | 13 | 8 | 1 | .614 | 96 | 78 | 32 | 21 | 10 | 1 | 153 | 107 |
| Michigan Tech* | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | .614 | 98 | 79 | 34 | 19 | 12 | 3 | 148 | 127 |
| Wisconsin* | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | .545 | 84 | 72 | 34 | 23 | 11 | 0 | 151 | 98 |
| North Dakota | 26 | 12 | 13 | 1 | .481 | 98 | 114 | 30 | 14 | 15 | 1 | 115 | 131 |
| Michigan | 24 | 11 | 13 | 0 | .458 | 106 | 104 | 30 | 14 | 16 | 0 | 133 | 122 |
| Michigan State | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | .455 | 86 | 92 | 29 | 13 | 16 | 0 | 112 | 124 |
| Minnesota-Duluth | 24 | 10 | 13 | 1 | .438 | 89 | 93 | 29 | 13 | 15 | 1 | 118 | 107 |
| Colorado College | 20 | 3 | 17 | 0 | .150 | 70 | 115 | 30 | 7 | 22 | 1 | 117 | 154 |
| Championship: Michigan Tech, Wisconsin † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||

## 1970 NCAA Tournament

| Semifinals March 19–20 | Semifinals March 19–20 | Semifinals March 19–20 | National Championship March 21 | National Championship March 21 | National Championship March 21 |
| E1 | Cornell | 2 | | | |
| W2 | Wisconsin | 1 | | | |
| W2 | Wisconsin | 1 | E1 | Cornell | 6 |
| | | | E2 | Clarkson | 4 |
| W1 | Michigan Tech | 2 | E2 | Clarkson | 4 |
| E2 | Clarkson | 4 | Third Place Game | Third Place Game | Third Place Game |
| | | | W1 | Michigan Tech | 5 |
| | | | W2 | Wisconsin | 6 |
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 |
| Tim Sheehy | Senior | Boston College | 24 | 28 | 40 | 68 | 20 |
| Louis Frigon | Junior | New Hampshire | 31 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 24 |
| Curt Bennett | Junior | Brown | 24 | 26 | 37 | 63 | 22 |
| Tommy Earl | Senior | Colgate | - | 37 | 25 | 62 | - |
| Dan Lodboa | Senior | Cornell | 29 | 24 | 37 | 61 | 40 |
| John Noble | Freshman | Notre Dame | 30 | 24 | 35 | 59 | 22 |
| Jerry Kemp | Sophomore | Clarkson | 32 | 35 | 22 | 57 | 24 |
| George Morrison | Junior | Denver | 32 | 30 | 27 | 57 | 12 |
| John Hughes | Senior | Cornell | 28 | 22 | 35 | 57 | 32 |
| Bob Collyard | Junior | Colorado College | 30 | 18 | 39 | 57 | 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 |
| Brian Cropper | Junior | Cornell | 29 | 1710 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 3 | .921 | 1.86 |
| Peter Ormiston | Freshman | New Hampshire | – | - | - | - | - | - | - | .898 | 2.00 |
| Tim Regan | Sophomore | Boston University | 23 | 1340 | - | - | - | 63 | 2 | .897 | 2.82 |
| Wayne Thomas | Junior | Wisconsin | 21 | 1250 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 60 | 1 | - | 2.88 |
| Dan Scioletti | Junior | Army | 23 | 1388 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 68 | 4 | .904 | 2.94 |
| Bruce Bullock | Junior | Clarkson | 27 | 1550 | 19 | - | - | 79 | 4 | .897 | 3.06 |
| Bill McKenzie | Sophomore | Ohio State | 25 | 1500 | - | - | - | 79 | 4 | - | 3.16 |
| Murray McLachlan | Senior | Minnesota | 25 | 1500 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 81 | 2 | .904 | 3.24 |
| Donald McGinnis | Senior | Brown | - | 1441 | - | - | - | 79 | 1 | .907 | 3.29 |
| Ron Grahame | Freshman | Denver | 30 | 1800 | 19 | 10 | 1 | 103 | 1 | .883 | 3.43 |

## Awards
### WCHA

| Award | Award | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Most Valuable Player | Murray McLachlan, Minnesota |
| Freshman of the Year | Freshman of the Year | Murray Keogan, Minnesota-Duluth |
| Sophomore of the Year | Sophomore of the Year | Don Thompson, Michigan State |
| Coach of the Year | Coach of the Year | Glen Sonmor, Minnesota |
| All-WCHA Teams |||
| First Team | Position | Second Team |
| Murray McLachlan, Minnesota | G | Wayne Thomas, Wisconsin |
| John Marks, North Dakota | D | John Jagger, Wisconsin |
| Ron Busniuk, Minnesota-Duluth | D | Wally Olds, Minnesota |
| George Morrison, Denver | F | Bernie Gagnon, Michigan |
| Murray Keogan, Minnesota-Duluth | F | Murray Heatley, Wisconsin |
| Bob Collyard, Colorado College | F | Tom Gilmore, Denver |

## 1970 NHL Amateur Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | College | Conference | NHL team |
| 2 | 23 | Murray Keogan | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | St. Louis Blues |
| 4 | 50 | Bob Gryp | Boston University | ECAC Hockey | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 4 | 56 | Walt Ledingham | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 5 | 65 | Mike Stevens | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | St. Louis Blues |
| 5 | 66 | Rick Wilson | North Dakota | WCHA | Montreal Canadiens |
| 5 | 68 | Tom Mellor | Boston College | ECAC Hockey | Detroit Red Wings |
| 6 | 80 | Bob Brown | Boston University | ECAC Hockey | Montreal Canadiens |
| 6 | 83 | Murray Wing | North Dakota | WCHA | Boston Bruins |
| 7 | 84 | Tim Regan | Boston University | ECAC Hockey | Buffalo Sabres |
| 7 | 85 | Jack Taggart | Denver | WCHA | St. Louis Blues |
| 7 | 95 | Ed Hays | Denver | WCHA | Detroit Red Wings |
| 8 | 100 | Al Henry | North Dakota | WCHA | California Golden Seals |
| 8 | 105 | Ric Jordan | Boston University | ECAC Hockey | Montreal Canadiens |
| 9 | 108 | Bob Winograd | Colorado College | WCHA | St. Louis Blues |
| 10 | 111 | Mike Lampman | Denver | WCHA | St. Louis Blues |
| 11 | 112 | Jeff Rotsch | Wisconsin | WCHA | St. Louis Blues |