The 1969–70 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season began in November 1969 and concluded with the 1970 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 21, 1970, at the Olympic Arena in Lake Placid, New York. This was the 23rd season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 76th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.
In 1969 the NCAA changed their bylaws to permit freshman to play on the Varsity team. Beginning with this season universities were permitted to not only have first-year students play for their teams but to also have said players earn letters for four seasons rather than the previous limit of three. As a consequence the WCHA offered both a Sophomore-of-the-Year and Freshman-of-the-Year awards with the previous being formally retired following the campaign.
Cornell finished the 1969–70 season with an undefeated record of 29–0, only the second flawless campaign in the modern history of Division I ice hockey. The previous unblemished season (Clarkson in 1955–56), however, came with a caveat as 8 Golden Knight players were 4-year seniors (a violation of NCAA regulations at the time). As a result, the Clarkson team declined to play in the NCAA tournament. Cornell's undefeated team had no such issues and was able to compete in, and win, both their conference tournament and the NCAA tournament to become the first and thus far only undefeated NCAA champion (as of 2022).
Season Outlook Pre-season conference polls Conference pre-season polls as voted on by coaches. The ECAC coaches voted on the top 10 teams instead of the entire conference. ECAC PollRankTeam1 Cornell2 Harvard3 Boston University4 Clarkson5 Boston College6 St. Lawrence7 New Hampshire8 Yale9 Brown10 Rensselaer WCHA PollRankTeam1 Denver2 Michigan Tech3 North Dakota4 Michigan5 Minnesota Duluth6 Wisconsin7 Minnesota8 Michigan State9 Colorado College
Regular season
Season tournaments Tournament Dates Teams Champion Christmas City of the North Tournament November 27–28 4 Michigan Tech Cleveland Cup Tournament December 17–19 6 Bowling Green ECAC Christmas Hockey Tournament December 19–20 4 Harvard Great Lakes Invitational December 19–20 4 New Hampshire Big Ten Holiday Tournament December 21–23 4 Wisconsin ECAC Holiday Hockey Festival December 22–23 4 Cornell St. Louis Invitational December 28–29 4 Wisconsin Boston Arena Christmas Tournament December 29–30 4 Boston University Syracuse Invitational January 2–3 4 Cornell Rensselaer Holiday Tournament January 2–4 4 Providence Beanpot February 2, 9 4 Boston University
Standings
1970 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 Senior Boston College 24 28 40 68 20 Junior New Hampshire 31 27 36 63 24 Junior Brown 24 26 37 63 22 Senior Colgate - 37 25 62 - Senior Cornell 29 24 37 61 40 Freshman Notre Dame 30 24 35 59 22 Sophomore Clarkson 32 35 22 57 24 Junior Denver 32 30 27 57 12 Senior Cornell 28 22 35 57 32 Junior Colorado College 30 18 39 57 36
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 Junior Cornell 29 1710 29 0 0 53 3 .921 1.86 Freshman New Hampshire – - - - - - - .898 2.00 Sophomore Boston University 23 1340 - - - 63 2 .897 2.82 Junior Wisconsin 21 1250 14 7 0 60 1 - 2.88 Junior Army 23 1388 13 10 0 68 4 .904 2.94 Junior Clarkson 27 1550 19 - - 79 4 .897 3.06 Sophomore Ohio State 25 1500 - - - 79 4 - 3.16 Senior Minnesota 25 1500 18 7 0 81 2 .904 3.24 Senior Brown - 1441 - - - 79 1 .907 3.29 Freshman Denver 30 1800 19 10 1 103 1 .883 3.43
Awards
NCAA Award RecipientSpencer Penrose Award John MacInnes, Michigan TechMost Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament Dan Lodboa, CornellAHCA All-American Teams East Team Position West Team Bruce Bullock, Clarkson G Murray McLachlan, Minnesota Dan Lodboa, Cornell D Ron Busniuk, Minnesota-Duluth Mike Hyndman, Boston University D John Jagger, Wisconsin D John Marks, North Dakota D Wally Olds, Minnesota Curt Bennett, Brown F Bob Collyard, Colorado College Joe Cavanagh, Harvard F Murray Keogan, Minnesota-Duluth Tommy Earl, Colgate F George Morrison, Denver Tim Sheehy, Boston College F
ECAC Award RecipientPlayer of the Year Tim Sheehy, Boston CollegeRookie of the Year Tom Mellor, Boston CollegeMost Outstanding Player in Tournament Bruce Bullock, ClarksonAll-ECAC Hockey Teams First Team Position Second Team Brian Cropper, Cornell G Don McGinnis, Brown Mike Hyndman, Boston University D Tom Mellor, Boston College Dan Lodboa, Cornell D Wayne LaChance, Clarkson Tommy Earl, Colgate F Joe Cavanagh, Harvard Curt Bennett, Brown F John Hughes, Cornell Tim Sheehy, Boston College F David Poile, Northeastern
WCHA Award RecipientMost Valuable Player Murray McLachlan, MinnesotaFreshman of the Year Murray Keogan, Minnesota-DuluthSophomore of the Year Don Thompson, Michigan StateCoach of the Year Glen Sonmor, MinnesotaAll-WCHA Teams First Team Position Second Team Murray McLachlan, Minnesota G Wayne Thomas, Wisconsin John Marks, North Dakota D John Jagger, Wisconsin Ron Busniuk, Minnesota-Duluth D Wally Olds, Minnesota George Morrison, Denver F Bernie Gagnon, Michigan Murray Keogan, Minnesota-Duluth F Murray Heatley, Wisconsin Bob Collyard, Colorado College F Tom Gilmore, Denver
1970 NHL Amateur Draft
Round Pick Player College Conference NHL team 2 23 Minnesota–Duluth WCHA 4 50 Boston University ECAC Hockey 4 56 Minnesota–Duluth WCHA 5 65 Minnesota–Duluth WCHA 5 66 North Dakota WCHA 5 68 Boston College ECAC Hockey 6 80 Boston University ECAC Hockey 6 83 North Dakota WCHA 7 84 Boston University ECAC Hockey 7 85 Denver WCHA 7 95 Denver WCHA 8 100 North Dakota WCHA 8 105 Boston University ECAC Hockey 9 108 Colorado College WCHA 10 111 Denver WCHA 11 112 Wisconsin WCHA
See also 1969–70 NCAA College Division men's ice hockey season
References
External links College Hockey Historical Archives 1969–70 NCAA Standings