1950–51 Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey season

The 1950–51 Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team represented the University of Michigan in intercollegiate college ice hockey during the 1950–51 NCAA men's ice hockey season. The head coach was Vic Heyliger and the team captain was Gil Burford. The team won the 1951 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. The team's leading scorer was Neil Celley, who broke Michigan's single-season scoring record with 79 points (40 goals, 39 assists) and led the NCAA in scoring.

Standings

Schedule During the season Michigan compiled a 22–4–1 record, the fourth consecutive year that the team won at least 80% of their games. Their schedule was as follows. Dec. 8, 1950Detroit Auto Club 8–6WinWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 1–0Dec. 15, 1950Princeton 11–6WinWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 2–0Dec. 16, 1950Princeton 10–2WinWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 3–0Dec. 21, 1950Western Ontario8–2WinWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 4–0Dec. 22, 1950Western Ontario14–1WinWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 5–0Dec. 27, 1950Boston College 11–2WinBoston ArenaBoston, MA 6–0Dec. 29, 1950Boston University 3–2WinBoston ArenaBoston, MA 7–0Jan. 5, 1951Minnesota 5–4*WinWilliams ArenaMinneapolis, MN 8–0Jan. 6, 1951Minnesota 6–4WinWilliams ArenaMinneapolis, MN 9–0Jan. 12, 1951Montreal 8–8*TieWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 9–0–1Jan. 13, 1951Montreal 2–3LossWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 9–1–1Jan. 19, 1951Minnesota 12–2WinWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 10–1–1Jan. 20, 1951Minnesota 8–0WinWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 11–1–1Feb. 5, 1951Denver 5–4WinDU ArenaDenver, CO 12–1–1Feb. 7, 1951Denver 3–5LossDU ArenaDenver, CO 12–2–1Feb. 9, 1951Colorado College 6–4WinBroadmoor Ice PalaceColorado Springs, CO 13–2–1Feb. 10, 1951Colorado College 7–9LossBroadmoor Ice PalaceColorado Springs, CO 13–3–1Feb. 16, 1951Toronto 9–5WinWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 14–3–1Feb. 17, 1951Toronto 4–6LossWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 14–4–1Feb. 21, 1951Michigan State 10–1WinDemonstration HallEast Lansing, MI 15–4–1Feb. 23, 1951North Dakota 11–4WinWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 16–4–1Feb. 24, 1951North Dakota 12–4WinWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 17–4–1Mar. 3, 1951Michigan State 9–6WinWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 18–4–1Mar. 9, 1951Michigan Tech 8–3WinWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 19–4–1Mar. 10, 1951Michigan Tech 7–4WinWeinberg ColiseumAnn Arbor, MI 20–4–1NCAA TOURNAMENTMarch 15, 1951Boston University8–2WinBroadmoor World ArenaColorado Springs, CO 21–4–1March 17, 1951Brown7–1WinBroadmoor World ArenaColorado Springs, CO 22–4–1 212–100 22–4–1 * Denotes overtime periods

Roster and scoring statistics

No.Name Year Position Hometown S/P/C Games Goals Assists Pts 6 Senior LW Eveleth, MN 27 40 39 79 10 8 Senior RW Detroit, MI 27 37 34 71 8 10 Sophomore RW Toronto, ON 27 35 22 57 24 4 Sophomore C Eveleth, MN 27 25 31 56 30 7 Sophomore C/G Tiverton, ON 27 18 25 43 28 15 Senior F Walpole, MA 27 16 17 33 14 5 Junior D Calgary, AB 27 12 21 33 40 18 Sophomore D Montreal, PQ 27 7 20 27 47 9 Junior C Toronto, ON 17 9 8 17 32 12 Senior LW East Boston, MA 27 4 12 16 37 11 Junior D Edmonton, AB 27 1 12 13 18 14 Sophomore RW Montreal, PQ 27 3 8 11 10 3 Junior D Edmonton, AB 20 4 2 6 8 7 0 0 0 12 1 Senior G Melrose, MA 27 0 0 0 0 Total 212

Goaltending Statistics No.Name GamesMinutesWinsLosses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs 1 – – – – – – – 1 – –7 2 – 2 0 0 7 49 0 .875 3.50 Total 27 – 22 4 1 100 – 1 – –

1951 national championship (W1) Michigan vs. (E1) Brown

Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st UMEddie MayNaylor and Marmo 03:49 1–0 UM UMGil Burford – GWMacLellan 15:24 2–0 UM 2nd UMNeil Celleyunassisted 26:41 3–0 UM UMJohn McKennellunassisted 30:56 4–0 UM UMAl BasseyKeyes and MacLellan 34:19 5–0 UM 3rd BRNTony MaloWheeler 47:54 5–1 UM UMJohn McKennellBurford and Keyes 51:15 6–1 UM UMNeil CelleyBurford 59:38 7–1 UM

Shots by period Team 1 2 3 T Michigan 17 21 14 52 Brown 5 4 11 20

Goaltenders Team Name Saves Goals against Time on ice UM Hal Downes 19 1 BRN Donald Whiston 45 7

Bob Heathcott, Gil Burford, John Matchefts and Neil Celley were named to the All-Tournament Team

Notes Less than year after winning the tournament, Hal Downes was shot down in his B-26 over North Korea and was declared MIA. Though all living POWs were returned to the US in 1953 Downes remained listed as MIA until his remains were returned in 2018.

See also 1951 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament List of NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament champions

References

External links Official Site History of the 1950–51 team , at page 6