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.
Season Outlook Pre-season poll The top teams in the nation voted on by coaches before the start of the season. The poll was compiled by radio station WMPL. WMPL PollRankTeam1 Minnesota2 Boston University3 (tie) Denver3 (tie) North Dakota5 Wisconsin6 Bowling Green7 (tie) Boston College7 (tie) Cornell9 Notre Dame10 Minnesota Duluth
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
Final regular season polls The final top 10 teams as ranked by coaches (WMPL) before the conference tournament finals. WMPL Coaches PollRankingTeam1 North Dakota2 Bowling Green State3 Minnesota4 Boston University5 New Hampshire6 Minnesota Duluth7 Wisconsin8 Cornell9 Ohio State10 Dartmouth
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 RecipientSpencer Penrose Award Charlie Holt, New HampshireMost Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament Steve Janaszak, MinnesotaAHCA 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 Award RecipientPlayer of the Year Ken Morrow, Bowling GreenRookie of the Year George McPhee, Bowling GreenCoach of the Year Ron Mason, Bowling GreenAll-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 RecipientPlayer of the Year Ralph Cox, New HampshireRookie of the Year Bill Whelton, Boston UniversityMost Outstanding Player in Tournament Greg Moffett, New HampshireAll-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 RecipientMost Valuable Player Mark Johnson, WisconsinFreshman of the Year Kevin Maxwell, North DakotaCoach of the Year Gino Gasparini, North DakotaAll-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
1979 NHL entry draft
Round Pick Player College Conference NHL team 1 11 Minnesota WCHA 2 40 North Dakota WCHA 3 42 Minnesota WCHA 3 61 Boston University ECAC Hockey 3 63 North Dakota WCHA 4 69 Denver WCHA 5 92 Notre Dame WCHA 5 97 Clarkson ECAC Hockey 6 113 Wisconsin WCHA 6 114 Colgate ECAC Hockey 6 115 North Dakota WCHA 6 117 Denver WCHA 6 121 New Hampshire ECAC Hockey 6 122 Bowling Green CCHA 6 123 ‡ Minnesota–Duluth WCHA 6 124 Michigan Tech WCHA † incoming freshman‡ McDonald had left school mid-season.
See also 1978–79 NCAA Division II men's ice hockey season 1978–79 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season
References
External links College Hockey Historical Archives 1978–79 NCAA Standings