# 1954 NCAA men's ice hockey tournament

The 1954 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament was the culmination of the 1953–54 NCAA men's ice hockey season, the 7th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 11 and 13, 1954, and concluded with Rensselaer defeating Minnesota 5-4 in overtime. All games were played at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
This was the first championship game to go into overtime.
Rensselaer's title was the only championship won by a team from the Tri-State League. Despite its low membership the Tri-State League would send at least one representative to the tournament every year from 1952 through 1964 before being dissolved in 1972.
Minnesota's victory in the semifinal over Boston College holds two separate records: the most goals scored by one team in an NCAA tournament game (14, tied with Michigan in 1953) and the largest single-game margin of victory in an NCAA tournament (+13).
Boston College, by being outscored 3-21 in their two games, also holds the worst single-tournament goal differential (-18). (as of 2016)

## Qualifying teams

Four teams qualified for the tournament, two each from the eastern and western regions. The two best WIHL teams and a Tri-State League representative received bids into the tournament as did one independent school.
| 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 | Boston College | Independent | 17–2–0 | At-Large | 4th | 1950 | 1 | Michigan | WIHL | 14–5–2 | At-Large | 7th | 1953 |
| 2 | Rensselaer | Tri-State League | 16–5–0 | At-Large | 2nd | 1953 | 2 | Minnesota | WIHL | 22–5–1 | At-Large | 2nd | 1953 |

## Format

The eastern team judged as better was seeded as the top eastern team while the WIHL champion 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 Broadmoor Ice Palace. All matches were Single-game eliminations with the semifinal winners advancing to the national championship game and the losers playing in a consolation game.

## Bracket

| Semifinals March 11–12 | Semifinals March 11–12 | Semifinals March 11–12 | National championship March 13 | National championship March 13 | National championship March 13 |
| E1 | Boston College | 1 | | | |
| W2 | Minnesota | 14 | | | |
| W2 | Minnesota | 14 | W2 | Minnesota | 4 |
| | | | E2 | Rensselaer | 5* |
| W1 | Michigan | 4 | E2 | Rensselaer | 5* |
| E2 | Rensselaer | 6 | Third-place game | Third-place game | Third-place game |
| | | | W1 | Michigan | 7 |
| | | | E1 | Boston College | 2 |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

## Results
### National Championship
#### (W2) Minnesota vs. (E2) Rensselaer

Scoring summary :
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | RPI | Abbie Moore | Mosco | 17:07 | 1–0 RPI |
| 1st | RPI | Frank Chiarelli – PP | Paradise | 19:42 | 2–0 RPI |
| 2nd | RPI | Ambrose Mosco | Moore | 22:45 | 3–0 RPI |
| 2nd | MIN | Ken Yackel | unassisted | 23:09 | 3–1 RPI |
| 2nd | MIN | Dick Dougherty | Campbell | 25:32 | 3–2 RPI |
| 3rd | MIN | John Mayasich | Dougherty | 44:29 | 3–3 |
| 3rd | MIN | Dick Dougherty | Mayasich | 48:30 | 4–3 Minn |
| 3rd | RPI | Abbie Moore | Chiarelli | 56:10 | 4–4 |
| 1st Overtime | RPI | Gordie Peterkin – GW | Magadini | 61:54 | 5–4 RPI |
Shots by period :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | T |
| Minnesota | 8 | 14 | 22 | 0 | 44 |
| Rensselaer | 11 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 25 |
Goaltenders :
| Team | Name | Saves | Goals against | Time on ice |
| MIN | Jim Mattson | 20 | 5 | |
| RPI | Bob Fox | 40 | 4 | |