1947–48 Middlebury Panthers men's ice hockey season

1947–48 Middlebury Panthers
men's ice hockey season
Silver Anniversary Hamilton Tournament, Champion
Conference6th NEIHL
Home iceMcCullough Arena
Record
Overall10–5–1
Conference2–4–0
Home4–0–1
Road4–5–0
Neutral2–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachDuke Nelson
Captain(s)Kyle Prescott
Middlebury Panthers men's ice hockey seasons
« 1946–47 1948–49 »

The 1947–48 Middlebury Panthers men's ice hockey season was the 23rd season of play for the program but first under the oversight of the NCAA. The Panthers represented Middlebury College and were coached by Duke Nelson, in his 6th season.

Season

Middlebury's season began with a trip to Clinton, New York for a tournament held by Hamilton. The first two games could hardly have gone better for the Panthers as they pumped 39 goal into the net to post the two most overwhelming wins in program history. They concluded the series by defeated the host Continentals in a much closer game and began the year with a stirling record.[1]

A week later, the team headed down to Boston to begin their conference slate and came away with mixed results. While they were swamped by Northeastern in the first game, the Panthers managed to pull out a victory against MIT the following night. By the end of the week they had returned to Vermont for their first two home games of the year and produced two more wins against in-state rivals.[2] After coming from behind to force a tie with Williams, Jim Marchese broke a bone in his foot at practice and was expected to miss the remainder of the season.[3]

he team did not play again until after the exam break. In their first game following the layoff, it appeared that the team had retained its form from earlier when they downed Union for the third time. However, they lost the very next evening to Norwich.[4] The loss put them in 3rd place in the NEIHL standings but they had a rough road ahead. Before that happened, Middlebury wrapped up its unofficial state championship with a second won over Vermont. Unfortunately, the victory was bittersweet as Fluff Grocott joined Marchese on the injured list while Bill McNamara, the team's leading scorer, was removed from the team.

Middlebury ended its season with a southern swing and ended up losing its final three games of the year. While the loss to Army didn't harm the Panthers' chances for a postseason bid, the whitewashing at the hands of Boston College meant that the team needed to beat Boston University in order to finish in the top four. Against all odds, Middlebury put forth a commendable performance versus one of the nation's top teams but fell just short, losing 4–5.[5] The pair of losses dropped the Panthers to 6th place, just behind MIT and Bowdoin and signaled the end of the season.[6]

Robert H. Shahan served as team manager.

Roster

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team
Massachusetts Roger F. Cassavant Junior G 1926-08-24 Natick, Massachusetts
Rhode Island Donald W. Christiansen Freshman G 1925-09-26 Slatersville, Rhode Island
Massachusetts John V. Corbisiero Sophomore 1926-08-08 Medford, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Wendall F. Forbes Freshman F/D 1927-01-22 Melrose, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Homer L. Gowing Freshman 1926-05-08 West Newton, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Robert Grocott Freshman 1927-05-27 Melrose, Massachusetts
Connecticut John F. Guetens Jr. Freshman G 1928-09-20 West Haven, Connecticut
Massachusetts James L. Marchese Jr. Sophomore 1925-03-17 Springfield, Massachusetts
Massachusetts William McNamara Sophomore D 1925-05-07 Melrose, Massachusetts
Connecticut Everett G. Painter Junior 1928-08-01 Darien, Connecticut
Connecticut Alexander G. Petrie Freshman 1923-01-05 Darien, Connecticut
Quebec W. Kyle Prescott (C) Junior 1927-03-17 Montreal, Quebec
Massachusetts David E. Thompson Junior 1925-04-07 Needham, Massachusetts
Paul Thompson
Massachusetts Dexter Whittinghill Jr. Sophomore 1926-07-23 Newton Center, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Robert J. Wilson Sophomore 1926-04-25 West Newton, Massachusetts

[7]

Standings

1947–48 NCAA Independent ice hockey standings
Intercollegiate Overall
GP W L T Pct. GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Army 16 11 4 1 .719 78 39 16 11 4 1 78 39
Bemidji State 5 0 5 0 .000 13 36 10 2 8 0 37 63
Boston College 19 14 5 0 .737 126 60 19 14 5 0 126 60
Boston University 24 20 4 0 .833 179 86 24 20 4 0 179 86
Bowdoin 9 4 5 0 .444 45 68 11 6 5 0 56 73
Brown 14 5 9 0 .357 61 91 14 5 9 0 61 91
California 10 2 8 0 .200 45 62 17 5 12 0 87 89
Clarkson 12 5 6 1 .458 67 39 17 10 6 1 96 54
Colby 8 2 6 0 .250 28 41 8 2 6 0 28 41
Colgate 10 7 3 0 .700 54 34 13 10 3 0 83 45
Colorado College 14 9 5 0 .643 84 73 27 19 8 0 207 120
Cornell 4 0 4 0 .000 3 43 4 0 4 0 3 43
Dartmouth 23 21 2 0 .913 156 76 24 21 3 0 156 81
Fort Devens State 13 3 10 0 .231 33 74 – – – – – –
Georgetown 3 2 1 0 .667 12 11 7 5 2 0 37 21
Hamilton – – – – – – – 14 7 7 0 – –
Harvard 22 9 13 0 .409 131 131 23 9 14 0 135 140
Lehigh 8 0 8 0 .000 8 95 10 0 10 0 12 108
Massachusetts 2 0 2 0 .000 1 23 3 0 3 0 3 30
Michigan 18 16 2 0 .889 105 53 23 20 2 1 141 63
Michigan Tech 19 7 12 0 .368 87 96 20 8 12 0 91 97
Middlebury 14 8 5 1 .607 111 68 16 10 5 1 127 74
Minnesota 16 9 7 0 .563 78 73 21 9 12 0 100 105
Minnesota–Duluth 6 3 3 0 .500 21 24 9 6 3 0 36 28
MIT 19 8 11 0 .421 93 114 19 8 11 0 93 114
New Hampshire 13 4 9 0 .308 58 67 13 4 9 0 58 67
North Dakota 10 6 4 0 .600 51 46 16 11 5 0 103 68
North Dakota Agricultural 5 3 2 0 .600 27 28 6 4 2 0 37 29
Northeastern 19 10 9 0 .526 135 119 19 10 9 0 135 119
Norwich 9 3 6 0 .333 38 58 13 6 7 0 56 70
Princeton 18 8 10 0 .444 65 72 21 10 11 0 79 79
St. Cloud State 12 10 2 0 .833 55 35 16 12 4 0 73 55
St. Lawrence 9 6 3 0 .667 65 27 13 8 4 1 95 50
Suffolk – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Tufts 4 3 1 0 .750 17 15 4 3 1 0 17 15
Union 9 1 8 0 .111 7 86 9 1 8 0 7 86
Williams 11 3 6 2 .364 37 47 13 4 7 2 – –
Yale 16 5 10 1 .344 60 69 20 8 11 1 89 85
1947–48 New England Intercollegiate Hockey League standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Boston University † 13 12 1 0 .923 86 40 24 20 4 0 179 86
Boston College * 10 9 1 0 .900 77 29 19 14 5 0 126 60
Northeastern 14 8 6 0 .571 108 79 19 10 9 0 135 119
Bowdoin 6 3 3 0 .500 32 38 11 6 5 0 56 73
MIT 14 5 9 0 .357 62 87 19 8 11 0 93 114
Middlebury 6 2 4 0 .333 27 48 16 10 5 1 127 74
New Hampshire 10 3 7 0 .300 42 56 13 4 9 0 58 67
Norwich 7 2 5 0 .286 25 50 13 6 7 0 56 70
Fort Devens State 11 3 8 0 .273 30 55 – – – – – –
Colby 5 1 4 0 .200 17 27 8 2 6 0 28 41
† indicates conference champion
* indicates conference tournament champion

Schedule and results

Date Opponent Site Result Record
Silver Anniversary Hamilton Tournament
January 1 vs. Union* Russell Sage Rink • Clinton, New York (Silver Anniversary Game 1) W 17–0  1–0–0
January vs. Lehigh* Russell Sage Rink • Clinton, New York (Silver Anniversary Game 2) W 22–0  2–0–0
January at Hamilton* Russell Sage Rink • Clinton, New York (Silver Anniversary Game 3) W 4–3  3–0–0
Regular Season
January 12 at Northeastern Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts L 4–16  3–1–0 (0–1–0)
January 13 at MIT Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts W 7–6  4–1–0 (1–1–0)
January 16 Norwich McCullough Arena • Middlebury, Vermont W 9–3  5–1–0 (2–1–0)
January 17 Vermont †* McCullough Arena • Middlebury, Vermont W 11–5  6–1–0
January 21 Williams* McCullough Arena • Middlebury, Vermont T 6–6 OT 6–1–1
January 28 at Union* Union Rink • Schenectady, New York W 13–0 ‡  7–1–1
February 12 Union* McCullough Arena • Middlebury, Vermont W 16–2  8–1–1
February 13 at Norwich Sabine Field Rink • Northfield, Vermont L 2–3  8–2–1 (2–2–0)
February Hamilton* McCullough Arena • Middlebury, Vermont W 4–2  9–2–1
February 21 at Vermont †* Burlington, Vermont W 5–1  10–2–1
February 25 at Army* Smith Rink • West Point, New York L 2–7  10–3–1
March 1 at Boston College Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts L 1–15  10–4–1 (2–3–0)
March 2 at Boston University Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts L 4–5  10–5–1 (2–4–0)
*Non-conference game.

† Vermont fielded a club team at this time
‡ Union records have the score of the game as 14–0
[7]

References

  1. ^ "Hockey Team Takes Hamilton Match; Downs Union, Lehigh, and Hamilton". Middlebury Campus. January 15, 1948. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  2. ^ "Skaters Rout Norwich, U.V.M. In State Series". Middlebury Campus. January 22, 1948. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  3. ^ "Middlebury Rally Ties Williams 6-6 in Overtime Match". Middlebury Campus. February 12, 1948. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  4. ^ "Pucksters Rout Union; Beaten by Norwich 3-2". Middlebury Campus. February 19, 1948. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  5. ^ "Sextet Loses Two in Boston Garden". Middlebury Campus. March 11, 1948. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  6. ^ "Ealges Shutout Devens to Clinch Playoff Spot". The Heights. February 27, 1948. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "The Kaleidoscope 1949". Middlebury College. Retrieved February 23, 2023.