The 1955–56 NCAA men's ice hockey season began in November 1955 and concluded with the 1956 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 17, 1956, at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This was the 9th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 62nd year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.
Clarkson completed the first undefeated season, going 23–0, since the inception of the NCAA tournament. As of 2016 only Cornell (in 1970) has been able to accomplish the same feat.
Regular season
Season tournaments Tournament Dates Teams Champion Boston Arena Christmas Tournament December 26–31 9 Clarkson Rensselaer Holiday Tournament December 30–January 2 4 Minnesota Beanpot February 6, 8 4 Boston College
Standings
1956 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 Clarkson 23 27 38 65 - Senior Minnesota 30 31 27 58 102 Sophomore Rensselaer 18 26 32 58 23 Junior Northeastern 24 30 27 57 - Sophomore Clarkson 23 36 17 53 - Junior Michigan Tech 28 29 23 52 14 Freshman Colorado College - 27 25 52 - Junior North Dakota 28 28 23 51 24 Junior Colorado College - 24 26 50 - Sophomore Harvard 25 23 27 50 -
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 Michigan Tech - - - - - - - .928 2.00 Senior St. Lawrence 20 1049 16 4 0 37 4 .912 2.12 Sophomore Denver 10 - - - - - 1 .907 2.50 Sophomore Clarkson 23 1381 23 0 0 58 2 - 2.52 Sophomore Minnesota 24 1440 - - - 67 0 - 2.80 Junior Rensselaer 18 1088 12 6 0 56 2 .892 3.09 Junior Michigan Tech - - - - - - - .895 3.13 Senior Yale - - - - - - - - 3.38 Junior North Dakota 28 - 11 16 1 - 2 .862 3.96
Awards
NCAA
Award RecipientSpencer Penrose Award Bill Harrison, ClarksonMost Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament Lorne Howes, MichiganAHCA All-American Teams First Team Position Second Team Lorne Howes, Michigan G Bill Sloan, St. Lawrence Bob Schiller, Michigan D Chuck Lundberg, St. Lawrence Doug Silverberg, Colorado College D Art Smith, Clarkson Garry Kearns, Rensselaer F Jack McManus, Michigan Tech Bill MacFarland, Michigan F Ken Yackel, Minnesota Ed Rowe, Clarkson F Ed Zifcak, St. Lawrence
WIHL No Awards
All-WIHL Teams First Team Position Second Team Lorne Howes, Michigan G Bob McManus, Michigan Tech Ken Yackel, Minnesota D Ed Zemrau, Denver Doug Silverberg, Colorado College D Bob Pitts, Michigan Bill MacFarland, Michigan F John Andrews, Colorado College Bill Reichart, North Dakota F Tom Rendall, Michigan Jack McManus, Michigan Tech F Clare Smith, Colorado College
References
External links College Hockey Historical Archives 1955–56 NCAA Standings