# 1987–88 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season

The 1987–88 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season began in October 1987 and concluded on March 25 of the following year. This was the 15th season of Division III college ice hockey.
In 1990 the NCAA ruled that Plattsburgh State had violated regulations by allowing some of their players to reside in houses owned by people invested in the ice hockey program and were provided with some measure of benefits including free housing, free meals and cash loans. Because these violations occurred between 1985 and 1988 Plattsburgh State's participation in all NCAA games during that time was vacated.
Merrimack became the first non-Division I program to receive a bid to the Division I Tournament. As of 2019 no other school outside the top tier has made an appearance in the national championship. The Warriors made the most of their chance, winning two games and reaching the quarterfinals before falling to the eventual national champion Lake Superior State.

## Regular season
### Season tournaments

| Tournament | Dates | Teams | Champion |
| Potsdam Invitational | October 30–31 | 4 | Merrimack |
| Brockport Invitational | November 6–7 | 4 | Brockport State |
| Cardinal Classic | November 6–7 | 4 | Army |
| RIT Tournament | November 6–7 | 4 | Michigan–Dearborn |
| Elmira Tournament | | 4 | Elmira |
| Merrimack Thanksgiving Tournament | November 21–22 | 4 | Merrimack |
| McCabe Tournament | December 4–5 | 4 | Connecticut College |
| Codfish Bowl | December 28–29 | 4 | Massachusetts–Boston |
| Salem State Tournament | January 3–4 | 4 | Salem State |
| Lake Forest Tournament | January 15–16 | 4 | Bowdoin |
| Spurrier Invitational | January 15–16 | 4 | |
| Roger Williams Tournament | February 19–20 | 4 | Saint Michael's |
| SUNYAC Tournament | February 20–21 | 4 | Plattsburgh State |

### Standings

1987–88 ECAC East 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 |
| Merrimack †* | 22 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 187 | 51 | 40 | 34 | 6 | 0 | 261 | 98 |
| Babson | 24 | 19 | 5 | 0 | .792 | 126 | 74 | 33 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 155 | 101 |
| Bowdoin | 21 | 15 | 6 | 0 | .714 | 105 | 68 | 27 | 19 | 8 | 0 | | |
| Norwich | 21 | 15 | 6 | 0 | .714 | 121 | 80 | 25 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 143 | 98 |
| Salem State | 27 | 18 | 9 | 0 | .667 | 147 | 95 | 36 | 22 | 14 | 0 | | |
| American International | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0 | .667 | 146 | 112 | 31 | 21 | 10 | 0 | | |
| Massachusetts–Boston | 19 | 11 | 8 | 0 | .579 | 84 | 83 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 120 | 110 |
| Holy Cross | 26 | 12 | 14 | 0 | .462 | 122 | 126 | 36 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 169 | 165 |
| Connecticut | 21 | 9 | 12 | 0 | .429 | 113 | 136 | 27 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 142 | 164 |
| North Adams State | 23 | 9 | 13 | 1 | .413 | 89 | 138 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 1 | | |
| Williams | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 77 | 82 | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | | |
| Colby | 21 | 6 | 15 | 0 | .286 | 70 | 107 | | | | | | |
| New England College | 24 | 6 | 18 | 0 | .250 | 114 | 175 | 25 | 7 | 18 | 0 | | |
| Middlebury | 17 | 3 | 13 | 1 | .206 | 57 | 90 | 24 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 84 | 116 |
| Saint Anselm | 22 | 2 | 19 | 1 | .114 | 54 | 107 | 25 | 3 | 20 | 2 | 60 | 122 |
| Westfield State | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 | .000 | 39 | 131 | 21 | 1 | 19 | 1 | | |
| Championship: March 7, 1988 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1987–88 ECAC North/South 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 |
| North Division |||||||||||||||
| Curry † | 24 | 23 | 1 | 0 | .958 | 158 | 72 | 29 | 26 | 3 | 0 | | |
| Fitchburg State ~ | 20 | 18 | 1 | 1 | .925 | 146 | 59 | 29 | 22 | 6 | 1 | | |
| Southeastern Massachusetts | 21 | 19 | 2 | 0 | .905 | 130 | 61 | 27 | 22 | 5 | 0 | | |
| Tufts | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0 | .700 | 113 | 86 | 25 | 18 | 7 | 0 | | |
| Saint Michael's | 19 | 13 | 6 | 0 | .684 | 98 | 82 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 108 | 103 |
| Plymouth State | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | .591 | 114 | 83 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 0 | | |
| Southern Maine | 17 | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 75 | 76 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 88 | 78 |
| Hawthorne | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | .455 | 102 | 97 | 24 | 12 | 12 | 0 | | |
| New Hampshire College | 23 | 9 | 13 | 1 | .413 | 102 | 119 | 27 | 11 | 14 | 2 | | |
| Assumption | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0 | .400 | 104 | 95 | 25 | 8 | 17 | 0 | | |
| Stonehill | 25 | 10 | 15 | 0 | .400 | 98 | 125 | 25 | 10 | 15 | 0 | | |
| Suffolk | 21 | 7 | 14 | 0 | .333 | 94 | 134 | 24 | 9 | 15 | 0 | | |
| Worcester State | 20 | 6 | 14 | 0 | .300 | 96 | 132 | 23 | 7 | 16 | 0 | | |
| Framingham State | 19 | 5 | 14 | 0 | .263 | 75 | 106 | 25 | 5 | 19 | 1 | | |
| Nichols | 23 | 2 | 21 | 0 | .087 | 70 | 165 | 24 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 80 | 178 |
| South Division |||||||||||||||
| Trinity †~* | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 126 | 42 | 26 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 158 | 79 |
| Mercyhurst | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 23 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | | |
| Connecticut College | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | .833 | 101 | 42 | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 127 | 67 |
| Iona | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | .675 | 139 | 70 | 26 | 16 | 9 | 1 | | |
| Skidmore | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0 | .600 | 127 | 84 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 0 | | |
| Quinnipiac | 23 | 13 | 9 | 1 | .587 | 104 | 75 | 26 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 113 | 89 |
| Roger Williams | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | .556 | 86 | 81 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 0 | | |
| Bentley | 21 | 9 | 12 | 0 | .429 | 92 | 90 | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 97 | 98 |
| Wesleyan | 19 | 7 | 11 | 1 | .395 | 90 | 92 | 22 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 99 | 104 |
| St. John's | 16 | 5 | 10 | 1 | .344 | 54 | 94 | 21 | 6 | 14 | 1 | | |
| Amherst | 17 | 5 | 11 | 1 | .324 | 57 | 71 | 23 | 5 | 17 | 1 | | |
| Western New England | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 54 | 108 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 0 | | |
| Villanova | 26 | 7 | 18 | 1 | .288 | 65 | 103 | | | | | | |
| Fairfield | 26 | 6 | 19 | 1 | .250 | 82 | 163 | 26 | 6 | 19 | 1 | | |
| Scranton | 13 | 3 | 10 | 0 | .231 | 64 | 103 | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | | |
| Upsala | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 3 | 59 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | | |
| Championship: March 5, 1988 † indicates division regular season champions ~ indicates division tournament champions * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1987–88 ECAC West 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 |
| Elmira †* | 22 | 20 | 2 | 0 | .909 | 137 | 50 | 33 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 195 | 95 |
| Plattsburgh State | 25 | 19 | 6 | 0 | .760 | | | 36 | 24 | 12 | 0 | 239 | 144 |
| Oswego State | 25 | 18 | 7 | 0 | .720 | 190 | 99 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 210 | 129 |
| RIT | 21 | 13 | 7 | 1 | .643 | 121 | 86 | 30 | 14 | 15 | 1 | 151 | 144 |
| Brockport State | 22 | 13 | 8 | 1 | .614 | 132 | 117 | 26 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 159 | 125 |
| Union | 21 | 12 | 7 | 2 | .619 | 91 | 88 | 26 | 13 | 11 | 2 | | |
| Canisius | 17 | 10 | 7 | 0 | .588 | 107 | 94 | 27 | 15 | 12 | 0 | 183 | 135 |
| Hamilton | 21 | 12 | 9 | 0 | .571 | 169 | 116 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 0 | | |
| Cortland State | 17 | 6 | 11 | 0 | .353 | 75 | 88 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 0 | | |
| Potsdam State | 25 | 8 | 16 | 1 | .340 | 108 | 164 | 26 | 8 | 17 | 1 | | |
| Geneseo State | 24 | 8 | 16 | 0 | .333 | 117 | 142 | 28 | 9 | 19 | 0 | | |
| Hobart | 24 | 7 | 17 | 0 | .292 | 98 | 109 | 25 | 8 | 17 | 0 | 108 | 114 |
| St. Bonaventure | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | .278 | 84 | 136 | 26 | 8 | 17 | 1 | | |
| Binghamton | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 34 | 80 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | | |
| Fredonia State | 18 | 0 | 18 | 0 | .000 | 71 | 238 | 22 | 0 | 22 | 0 | | |
| Championship: March 5, 1988 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1987–88 NCAA Division III Independent ice hockey standingsvte :
| | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Lawrence | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | | |
| Mercyhurst | 23 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 178 | 86 |
1987–88 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 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 |
| Saint Mary's † | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 27 | 75 | 58 | 30 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 172 | 115 |
| St. Thomas * | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 93 | 40 | 31 | 21 | 10 | 0 | 150 | 97 |
| Gustavus Adolphus | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 92 | 71 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 126 | 145 |
| St. Olaf | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 68 | 74 | 29 | 13 | 15 | 1 | 143 | 124 |
| Concordia (MN) | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 67 | 73 | 21 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 88 | 88 |
| Bethel | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 72 | 73 | 24 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 92 | 125 |
| Saint John's | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 68 | 90 | 25 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 122 | 133 |
| Augsburg | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 60 | 84 | 27 | 5 | 22 | 0 | 101 | 161 |
| Hamline | 16 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 50 | 98 | 26 | 6 | 19 | 1 | 98 | 145 |
| Championship: March 6, 1988 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1987–88 Northern 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 |
| Wisconsin–River Falls †* | 24 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 138 | 82 | 38 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 230 | 125 |
| Bemidji State | 24 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 33 | 115 | 79 | 38 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 196 | 123 |
| Wisconsin–Stevens Point | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 113 | 86 | 29 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 165 | 118 |
| Mankato State | 24 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 30 | 119 | 82 | 32 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 155 | 112 |
| Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 24 | 8 | 15 | 1 | 17 | 89 | 118 | 30 | 12 | 17 | 1 | 130 | 138 |
| Wisconsin–Superior | 24 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 85 | 108 | 30 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 133 | 132 |
| St. Scholastica | 24 | 1 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 66 | 169 | 30 | 3 | 27 | 0 | 84 | 202 |
| Championship: March 5, 1988 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
Note: Mini-game are not included in final standings

## 1988 NCAA Tournament

| Quarterfinals March 11–13 | Quarterfinals March 11–13 | Quarterfinals March 11–13 | Quarterfinals March 11–13 | Quarterfinals March 11–13 | Semifinals March 18–19 | Semifinals March 18–19 | Semifinals March 18–19 | Semifinals March 18–19 | Semifinals March 18–19 | National Championship March 25–26 | National Championship March 25–26 | National Championship March 25–26 | National Championship March 25–26 | National Championship March 25–26 |
| Elmira | Elmira | 6 | 10 | - | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oswego State | Oswego State | 3 | 2 | - | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oswego State | Oswego State | 3 | 2 | - | Elmira | Elmira | 3 | 9 | 2 | | | | | |
| | | | | | Babson | Babson | 4 | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
| Babson | Babson | 5 | 2 | 1 | Babson | Babson | 4 | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
| Plattsburgh State † | Plattsburgh State † | 2 | 3 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Plattsburgh State † | Plattsburgh State † | 2 | 3 | 0 | | | | | | Elmira | Elmira | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| | | | | | | | | | | Wisconsin–River Falls | Wisconsin–River Falls | 7 | 3 | 3 |
| Wisconsin–River Falls | Wisconsin–River Falls | 6 | 9 | - | | | | | | | | | | | Wisconsin–River Falls | Wisconsin–River Falls | 7 | 3 | 3 |
| Wisconsin–Stevens Point | Wisconsin–Stevens Point | 5 | 5 | - | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wisconsin–Stevens Point | Wisconsin–Stevens Point | 5 | 5 | - | Wisconsin–River Falls | Wisconsin–River Falls | 6 | 5 | - | | | | | |
| | | | | | Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 4 | 3 | - | | | | | |
| Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 5 | 3 | - | Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 4 | 3 | - | | | | | |
| St. Thomas | St. Thomas | 1 | 1 | - | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s) Note: † Plattsburgh State's participation in the tournament was later vacated by the NCAA

## 1988 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | College | Conference | NHL team |
| 5 | 101 | Ben Lebeau | Merrimack | ECAC East | Winnipeg Jets |
| 9 | 176 | Matt Hentges $^†$ | Merrimack | ECAC East | Chicago Blackhawks |
† incoming freshman

## 1988 NHL Supplemental Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | College | Conference | NHL team |
| 2 | 6 | Dave Schofield | Merrimack | ECAC East | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 2 | 10 | Ron Lecinskas | Salem State | ECAC East | New York Rangers |
| 2 | 12 | Sean Fitzgerald | Oswego State | ECAC West | Los Angeles Kings |
| 2 | 16 | Todd Krygier | Connecticut | ECAC East | Hartford Whalers |