1978–79 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season

The 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 1978 and concluded with the 1979 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 24, 1979 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Michigan. This was the 32nd season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 85th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.
==Regular season==
===Season tournaments===
Tournament 	Dates 	Teams	Champion
North Country Thanksgiving Festival	November 24–25	4 	Clarkson
Pacific Rim Tournament 	December 7–13 	3 	Alberta
Union Holiday Festival Tournament 	December 15–16	4 	Colgate
Cornell Holiday Festival 	December 28–29	4 	Cornell
Broadmoor World Tournament 	December 28–30	3 	Soviet Traktor
Old Colony Invitational 	December 28–30	4 	Bowling Green
Rensselaer Holiday Tournament 	December 28–30	4 	St. Lawrence
Great Lakes Invitational 	December 29–30	4 	Michigan Tech
Auld Lang Syne Classic 	December 30–31	4 	Dartmouth
Yale Invitational 	January 5–6 	4 	New Hampshire
Beanpot 	February 5, 12	4 	Boston University
===Standings===
==1979 NCAA Tournament==
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
 	Junior 	Wisconsin 	40	41	49	90 	34
 	Freshman	Bowling Green 	43	40	48	88 	58
 	Senior 	Colorado College	36	32	52	84 	26
 	Senior 	Bowling Green 	45	26	57	83 	30
 	Junior 	North Dakota 	42	24	59	83 	28
 	Freshman	North Dakota 	42	31	51	82 	79
 	Senior 	Bowling Green 	42	31	49	80 	96
 	Junior 	Minnesota–Duluth	37	31	48	79 	52
 	Junior 	Minnesota 	43	38	39	77 	50
 	Junior 	Ohio State 	39	32	44	76 	55
===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
 	Sophomore	Bowling Green 	39	2307	32	- 	- 	92 	- 	.914	2.39
 	Freshman 	North Dakota 	22	1274	- 	- 	- 	61 	1 	.907	2.74
 	Freshman 	Miami 	- 	- 	- 	- 	- 	- 	- 	- 	2.82
 	Sophomore	Dartmouth 	23	1385	- 	- 	- 	70 	2 	.896	3.03
 	Freshman 	Clarkson 	14	706 	- 	- 	- 	38 	0 	.893	3.23
 	Senior 	Minnesota 	41	2428	29	11	1 	131	1 	.895	3.23
 	Junior 	Northern Michigan	25	1437	13	8 	2 	82 	0 	.902	3.42
 	Junior 	Boston University	19	1009	13	4 	2 	60 	1 	- 	3.57
 	Junior 	North Dakota 	10	561 	- 	- 	- 	34 	0 	.881	3.66
 	Sophomore	New Hampshire 	31	1431	21	- 	- 	89 	0 	.892	3.73
==Awards==
===NCAA===
Award 	Award 	Recipient
Spencer Penrose Award (Coach of the Year) 	Spencer Penrose Award (Coach of the Year) 	Charlie Holt, New Hampshire
Most Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament	Most Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament	Steve Janaszak, Minnesota
AHCA All-American Teams 	AHCA All-American Teams	AHCA All-American Teams
East Team 	  Position   	West Team
Jim Craig, Boston University 	G 	Bob Iwabuchi, North Dakota
Louis Cote, Vermont 	D 	Bill Baker, Minnesota
Jack O'Callahan, Boston University	D 	Curt Giles, Minnesota-Duluth
Ralph Cox, New Hampshire 	F 	Mark Johnson, Wisconsin
Joe Mullen, Boston College 	F 	Kevin Maxwell, North Dakota
Lance Nethery, Cornell 	F 	Mark Pavelich, Minnesota-Duluth
===CCHA===
Awards 	Awards 	Recipient
Player of the Year	Player of the Year	Ken Morrow, Bowling Green
Rookie of the Year	Rookie of the Year	George McPhee, Bowling Green
Coach of the Year 	Coach of the Year 	Ron Mason, Bowling Green
All-CCHA Teams 	All-CCHA Teams 	All-CCHA Teams
First Team 	  Position  	Second Team
Wally Charko, Bowling Green 	G 	Steve Jones, Ohio State
 	G 	Murray Skinner, Lake Superior State
 	G 	Steve Weeks, Northern Michigan
Ken Morrow, Bowling Green 	D 	George Kryzer, Saint Louis
Tom Laidlaw, Northern Michigan	D 	Doug Butler, Saint Louis
Paul Tilley, Ohio State 	F 	George McPhee, Bowling Green
John Markell, Bowling Green 	F 	Chris Valentine, Saint Louis
Mark Wells, Bowling Green 	F 	Ron Sandzik, Lake Superior State
===ECAC===
Award 	Award 	Recipient
Player of the Year 	Player of the Year 	Ralph Cox, New Hampshire
Rookie of the Year 	Rookie of the Year 	Bill Whelton, Boston University
Most Outstanding Player in Tournament	Most Outstanding Player in Tournament	Greg Moffett, New Hampshire
All-ECAC Hockey Teams 	All-ECAC Hockey Teams 	All-ECAC Hockey Teams
First Team 	  Position  	Second Team
Jim Craig, Boston University 	G 	Greg Moffett, New Hampshire
Louis Cote, Vermont 	D 	Jim Korn, Providence
Jack O'Callahan, Boston University	D 	Mike Mastrullo, Brown
Joe Mullen, Boston College 	F 	Bob Gould, New Hampshire
Lance Nethery, Cornell 	F 	Brock Tredway, Cornell
Ralph Cox, New Hampshire 	F 	Colin Ahern, Providence
===WCHA===
Award 	Award 	Recipient
Most Valuable Player	Most Valuable Player	Mark Johnson, Wisconsin
Freshman of the Year	Freshman of the Year	Kevin Maxwell, North Dakota
Coach of the Year 	Coach of the Year 	Gino Gasparini, North Dakota
All-WCHA Teams 	All-WCHA Teams 	All-WCHA Teams
First Team 	  Position  	Second Team
Bob Iwabuchi, North Dakota 	G 	John Rockwell, Michigan Tech
Curt Giles, Minnesota-Duluth 	D 	Bob Suter, Wisconsin
Bill Baker, Minnesota 	D 	Dave Feamster, Colorado College
Mark Pavelich, Minnesota-Duluth	F 	Gord Salt, Michigan Tech
Mark Johnson, Wisconsin 	F 	Dave Delich, Colorado College
Kevin Maxwell, North Dakota 	F 	Steve Christoff, Minnesota
==References==
==External links==
*College Hockey Historical Archives
*1978–79 NCAA Standings
 
NCAA