1978–79 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season

1978–79 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season
The Olympia Stadium served as the host for the 1979 Frozen Four
DurationOctober 1978–
March 24, 1979
NCAA tournament1979
National championshipOlympia Stadium
Detroit, Michigan
NCAA championMinnesota
List of NCAA Division I men's ice hockey seasons
← 1977–78 1979–80 →

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 Poll
Rank Team
1 Minnesota
2 Boston University
3 (tie) Denver
3 (tie) North Dakota
5 Wisconsin
6 Bowling Green
7 (tie) Boston College
7 (tie) Cornell
9 Notre Dame
10 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

1978–79 Big Ten standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Minnesota† 12 10 2 0 20 80 43 44 32 11 1 239 147
Wisconsin 12 8 4 0 16 73 50 41 25 13 3 215 172
Michigan 12 3 9 0 6 43 75 36 8 27 1 132 210
Michigan State 12 3 9 0 6 46 77 36 15 21 0 140 192
† indicates conference regular season champion
1978–79 Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Bowling Green†* 24 21 2 1 43 142 54 45 37 6 2 179 113
Ohio State 24 15 8 1 31 126 101 40 25 13 2 218 170
Northern Michigan 24 13 10 1 27 109 93 34 19 13 2 168 126
Lake Superior State 24 11 12 1 23 118 112 36 16 18 2 164 181
Saint Louis 24 9 13 2 20 104 137 35 16 16 3 174 189
Western Michigan 24 8 16 0 16 116 142 36 17 19 0 171 182
Ferris State‡ 24 4 20 0 8 87 163 34 10 24 0 155 217
Championship: Bowling Green
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
‡ Ferris State was still considered a member of the NAIA
1978–79 ECAC Hockey standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T Pct. GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Boston University† 23 17 4 2 .783 101 76 30 21 7 2 138 106
New Hampshire* 25 17 5 3 .740 151 103 35 22 10 3 203 148
Cornell 22 16 6 0 .727 129 88 29 21 8 0 166 114
Dartmouth 22 14 7 1 .659 104 78 30 19 9 2 144 102
Clarkson 22 13 9 0 .591 135 106 31 19 12 0 184 136
Providence 24 13 9 2 .583 105 102 28 16 10 2 134 123
Yale 22 12 9 1 .568 105 91 27 13 12 2 129 125
Vermont 21 11 10 0 .524 97 98 30 12 18 0 122 141
Northeastern 22 11 11 0 .500 94 107 27 12 15 0 112 129
Brown 21 10 11 0 .476 86 89 25 11 14 0 105 108
Boston College 22 10 12 0 .455 106 112 30 16 14 0 167 141
Colgate 20 7 13 0 .350 97 124 28 15 13 0 166 144
Rensselaer 25 8 16 1 .340 124 136 28 10 17 1 141 145
Harvard 22 5 16 1 .250 86 109 26 7 18 1 108 131
St. Lawrence 24 5 18 1 .229 81 132 31 8 21 2 118 162
Princeton 21 2 15 4 .190 71 119 26 5 17 4 95 138
Championship: New Hampshire
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
1978–79 NCAA Division I Independent ice hockey standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Air Force 0 0 0 0 - - - 31 18 12 1 157 139
Miami 0 0 0 0 - - - 37 22 14 1 257 145
1978–79 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
North Dakota†* 32 22 10 0 44 168 110 42 30 11 1 245 144
Minnesota* 32 20 11 1 41 177 116 44 32 11 1 239 147
Minnesota-Duluth 32 18 10 4 40 176 141 40 22 14 4 213 170
Wisconsin 32 19 11 2 40 164 138 41 25 13 3 215 172
Notre Dame 32 17 14 1 35 161 153 38 18 19 1 184 196
Denver 32 14 16 2 30 147 174 43 20 20 3 188 217
Michigan Tech 32 13 16 3 29 152 141 38 17 18 3 182 165
Colorado College 32 11 19 2 24 144 185 38 12 24 2 165 218
Michigan State 32 12 20 0 24 122 180 36 15 21 0 140 192
Michigan 32 6 25 1 13 117 190 36 8 27 1 132 210
Championship: Minnesota, North Dakota
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion

[1][2][3]

Final regular season polls

The final top 10 teams as ranked by coaches (WMPL) before the conference tournament finals.

WMPL Coaches Poll
Ranking Team
1 North Dakota
2 Bowling Green State
3 Minnesota
4 Boston University
5 New Hampshire
6 Minnesota Duluth
7 Wisconsin
8 Cornell
9 Ohio State
10 Dartmouth

1979 NCAA Tournament

Main article: 1979 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
First round
March 18 		Semifinals
March 22–23 		National championship
March 24
         
E1 New Hampshire 3
W2 Minnesota 4
W2 Minnesota 6
A Bowling Green 3
W2 Minnesota 4
W1 North Dakota 3
W1 North Dakota 4 Third-place game
E2 Dartmouth 2
E1 New Hampshire 3
E2 Dartmouth 7

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

[4]

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
Mark Johnson Junior Wisconsin 40 41 49 90 34
George McPhee Freshman Bowling Green 43 40 48 88 58
Dave Delich Senior Colorado College 36 32 52 84 26
Mark Wells Senior Bowling Green 45 26 57 83 30
Mark Taylor Junior North Dakota 42 24 59 83 28
Kevin Maxwell Freshman North Dakota 42 31 51 82 79
John Markell Senior Bowling Green 42 31 49 80 96
Mark Pavelich Junior Minnesota–Duluth 37 31 48 79 52
Steve Christoff Junior Minnesota 43 38 39 77 50
Paul Tilley Junior Ohio State 39 32 44 76 55

[5]

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
Wally Charko Sophomore Bowling Green 39 2307 32 - - 92 - .914 2.39
Bob Iwabuchi Freshman North Dakota 22 1274 - - - 61 1 .907 2.74
Dan Kodatsky Freshman Miami - - - - - - - - 2.82
Bob Gaudet Sophomore Dartmouth 23 1385 - - - 70 2 .896 3.03
Rick Mills Freshman Clarkson 14 706 - - - 38 0 .893 3.23
Steve Janaszak Senior Minnesota 41 2428 29 11 1 131 1 .895 3.23
Steve Weeks Junior Northern Michigan 25 1437 13 8 2 82 0 .902 3.42
Jim Craig Junior Boston University 19 1009 13 4 2 60 1 - 3.57
Mel Donnelly Junior North Dakota 10 561 - - - 34 0 .881 3.66
Greg Moffett Sophomore New Hampshire 31 1431 21 - - 89 0 .892 3.73

[5]

Awards

1979 NHL Entry Draft

Main article: 1979 NHL Entry Draft
Round Pick Player College Conference NHL team
1 11 Mike Ramsey Minnesota WCHA Buffalo Sabres
2 40 Dave Christian North Dakota WCHA Winnipeg Jets
3 42 Neal Broten Minnesota WCHA Minnesota North Stars
3 61 Bill Whelton Boston University ECAC Hockey Winnipeg Jets
3 63 Kevin Maxwell North Dakota WCHA Minnesota North Stars
4 69 Glenn Anderson Denver WCHA Edmonton Oilers
5 92 Jim Brown Notre Dame WCHA Los Angeles Kings
5 97 Dan Makuch Clarkson ECAC Hockey New York Rangers
6 113 Jay McFarlane Wisconsin WCHA Los Angeles Kings
6 114 Bill McCreary Colgate ECAC Hockey Toronto Maple Leafs
6 115 Marc Chorney North Dakota WCHA Pittsburgh Penguins
6 117 Glenn Johnson Denver WCHA Atlanta Flames
6 121 Greg Moffett New Hampshire ECAC Hockey Montreal Canadiens
6 122 John Gibb Bowling Green CCHA New York Islanders
6 123 Dave McDonald ‡ Minnesota–Duluth WCHA Hartford Whalers
6 124 Tim Watters Michigan Tech WCHA Winnipeg Jets

† incoming freshman
‡ McDonald had left school mid-season.
[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "2012-13 CCHA Media Guide". CCHA. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  2. ^ "2008-09 ECAC Hockey Media Guide" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  3. ^ "2008-09 WCHA Yearbook 113-128" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  4. ^ "NCAA Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  5. ^ a b "1978-79 NCAA Division I Statistics". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  6. ^ "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  7. ^ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  8. ^ "CCHA Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  9. ^ "CCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  10. ^ "ECAC Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  11. ^ "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  12. ^ "WCHA Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  13. ^ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  14. ^ "1979 NHL Entry Draft". Hockey DB. Retrieved October 25, 2023.