1996–97 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season

The 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 1996 and concluded with the 1997 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament's championship game on March 29, 1997, at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This was the 50th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 103rd year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.

Season Outlook

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Pre-season polls

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The top teams in the nation as ranked before the start of the season.

The WMPL Baker's Dozen poll was voted on by coaches. The WMEB was voted on by media. The USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll was voted on by coaches and media.

Adam Wodon, host of national college hockey talk show Around The Rinks, took over The Record poll. The poll was voted on by coaches, media, and NHL scouts. It was published by U.S. College Hockey Online.

WMPL Poll
Rank Team
1 Michigan (8)
2 Boston University
3 Vermont
4 Minnesota
5 Colorado College
6 Bowling Green
7 Michigan State
8 North Dakota
9 Clarkson
10 Lake Superior State
11 Maine
12 New Hampshire
13 (tie) Wisconsin
13 (tie) Denver
WMEB Poll
Rank Team
1 Michigan (8)
2 Vermont
3 Boston University
4 Colorado College
5 Minnesota
6 Bowling Green
7 Michigan State
8 Clarkson
9 New Hampshire
10 North Dakota
USCHO Poll
Rank Team
1 Michigan (29)
2 Vermont (1)
3 Boston University
4 Minnesota
5 Colorado College
6 Bowling Green
7 Michigan State
8 Clarkson
9 North Dakota
10 New Hampshire
USA Today Poll
Rank Team
1 Michigan (9)
2 Vermont
3 Boston University
4 Michigan State (1)
5 Minnesota
6 Colorado College
7 Denver
8 Bowling Green
9 Clarkson
10 New Hampshire

Regular season

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Season tournaments

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Tournament Dates Teams Champion
College Hockey Showcase November 29–30 4 Michigan
Governor's Cup November 29–30 4 New Hampshire
Williams Tournament November 30–December 1 4 Army
J. C. Penney Classic December 20–21 4 Maine
Badger Showdown December 27–28 4 New Hampshire
Denver Cup December 27–28 4 Denver
Great Lakes Invitational December 27–28 4 Michigan
Mariucci Classic December 27–28 4 Minnesota
Pepsi Cola Tournament December 27–28 4 St. Lawrence
Rensselaer Holiday Tournament December 27–28 4 Rensselaer
Syracuse Invitational December 27–28 4 Cornell
Auld Lang Syne Classic December 30–31 4 St. Lawrence
Beanpot February 3, 10 4 Boston University

Standings

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Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Michigan†* 27 21 3 3 46 151 64 43 35 4 4 242 98
Miami 27 19 7 1 39 112 79 40 27 12 1 174 119
Michigan State 27 16 7 4 36 99 76 40 23 13 4 145 118
Lake Superior State 27 15 8 4 34 106 98 38 19 14 5 154 142
Bowling Green 27 10 12 5 25 100 104 38 17 16 5 158 142
Western Michigan 27 10 12 5 25 94 99 37 14 18 5 125 134
Ohio State 27 9 16 2 20 95 132 39 12 25 2 135 190
Alaska-Fairbanks 27 8 18 1 17 92 126 37 14 22 1 135 169
Ferris State 27 7 18 2 16 83 121 37 11 23 3 125 166
Notre Dame 27 6 20 1 13 73 106 35 9 25 1 92 131
Championship: Michigan
indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Coaches Poll Top 10 Poll
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Clarkson 22 17 5 0 34 94 54 37 27 10 0 154 91
Cornell* 22 14 6 2 30 80 63 35 21 9 5 123 100
Vermont 22 13 6 3 29 67 60 36 22 11 3 125 105
Rensselaer 22 12 7 3 27 83 71 36 20 12 4 137 112
Union 22 11 8 3 25 63 54 34 18 13 3 106 79
Princeton 22 11 8 3 25 70 59 34 18 12 4 111 103
Colgate 22 10 9 3 23 79 79 33 16 14 3 126 124
Harvard 22 9 11 2 20 64 67 32 11 18 3 85 106
St. Lawrence 22 5 12 5 15 78 92 35 10 20 5 121 148
Yale 22 6 14 2 14 61 82 32 10 19 3 90 114
Dartmouth 22 5 15 2 12 75 100 29 10 17 2 105 121
Brown 22 4 16 2 10 81 114 29 7 19 3 108 148
Championship: Cornell
indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion (Whitelaw Cup)
Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Coaches Poll Top 10 Poll
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Boston University†* 24 16 4 4 36 116 71 41 26 9 6 178 115
New Hampshire 24 18 6 0 36 130 76 39 28 11 0 204 129
Maine^ 24 16 7 1 33 120 76 35 24 10 1 162 109
Providence 24 12 11 1 25 101 88 36 15 20 1 141 137
Merrimack 24 11 11 2 24 88 98 36 15 19 2 127 146
Boston College 24 9 12 3 21 96 112 38 15 19 4 145 170
Massachusetts–Lowell 24 9 14 1 19 83 113 38 15 21 2 126 163
Massachusetts 24 7 17 0 14 69 117 35 12 23 0 119 167
Northeastern 24 3 19 2 8 66 118 36 8 25 3 103 160
Championship: Boston University
indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
^ Maine was ineligible for the post season due to NCAA investigations
Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Coaches Poll Top 10 Poll
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Air Force 0 0 0 0 - - - 31 8 21 2 109 140
Army 0 0 0 0 - - - 34 19 13 2 158 119
Mankato State 0 0 0 0 - - - 34 17 14 3 141 123
Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Coaches Poll Top 10 Poll
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
North Dakota†* 32 21 10 1 43 137 105 43 31 10 2 190 130
Minnesota 32 21 10 1 43 129 94 42 28 13 1 179 128
St. Cloud State 32 18 10 4 40 127 105 40 23 13 4 152 130
Colorado College 32 17 11 4 38 121 107 44 25 15 4 169 141
Denver 32 17 11 4 38 127 99 41 24 13 4 163 122
Minnesota-Duluth 32 15 13 4 34 115 111 38 18 16 4 133 131
Wisconsin 32 15 15 2 32 115 115 38 15 21 2 132 151
Northern Michigan 32 9 21 2 20 78 127 40 13 24 3 108 152
Alaska-Anchorage 32 7 21 4 18 75 109 36 9 23 4 86 126
Michigan Tech 32 5 23 4 14 81 133 39 8 27 4 98 155
Championship: North Dakota
indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Coaches Poll Top 10 Poll

[1][2][3][4]

Final regular season polls

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The WMPL, WMEB, and Around The Rinks/USCHO polls were released before the conference tournaments. The USA Today poll was released before the conference tournament finals.

WMPL Coaches Poll
Ranking Team
1 Michigan (9)
2 Clarkson
3 Minnesota
4 New Hampshire
5 Boston University
(tie) North Dakota
7 Miami
8 Vermont
9 Cornell
10 Michigan State
11 Denver
12 St. Cloud State
13 Lake Superior State
WMEB Media Poll
Ranking Team
1 Michigan (6)
2 North Dakota
3 Clarkson
4 New Hampshire
5 Minnesota
6 Miami
7 Boston University
8 Maine
9 Michigan State
10 Vermont
USA Today / American Hockey Magazine Poll
Ranking Team
1 Michigan (10)
2 Clarkson
3 Minnesota
4 Boston University
5 North Dakota
6 New Hampshire
7 Miami
8 Michigan State
9 Cornell
10 Denver
Around The Rinks / USCHO Poll
Ranking Team
1 Michigan (30)
2 Clarkson
3 Minnesota
4 North Dakota
5 Miami
6 New Hampshire
7 Boston University
8 Vermont
9 Maine
10 Denver

1997 NCAA tournament

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Regional Quarterfinals
March 21–22
Regional semifinals
March 22–23
Frozen Four
March 27
National championship
March 29
            
E1 Clarkson
bye
E1 Clarkson 4
East Regional
E5 Colorado College 5
E4 New Hampshire 2
E5 Colorado College 3
E5 Colorado College 2
W2 North Dakota 6
W2 North Dakota
bye
W2 North Dakota 6
West Regional
W6 Cornell 2
W3 Miami 2
W6 Cornell 4
W2 North Dakota 6
E2 Boston University 4
W1 Michigan
bye
W1 Michigan 7
West Regional
W4 Minnesota 4
W4 Minnesota 6
W5 Michigan State 3
W1 Michigan 2
E2 Boston University 3
E2 Boston University
bye
E2 Boston University 4*
East Regional
E6 Denver 3
E3 Vermont 3
E6 Denver 6

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

[5]

Player stats

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Scoring leaders

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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
Brendan Morrison Senior Michigan 43 31 57 88 52
Todd White Senior Clarkson 37 38 36 74 22
Jason Krog Sophomore New Hampshire 39 23 44 67 28
Bill Muckalt Junior Michigan 36 26 38 64 69
John Madden Senior Michigan 42 26 37 63 56
Chris Drury Junior Boston University 41 38 24 62 64
Mike Johnson Senior Bowling Green 38 30 32 62 46
Jason Botterill Senior Michigan 42 37 24 61 129
Randy Robitaille Sophomore Miami 39 27 34 61 44
Curtis Fry Senior Bowling Green 37 21 40 61 50

[6]

Leading goaltenders

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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; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player Class Team GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA
Trevor Koenig Junior Union 28 1681 15 11 2 57 4 .931 2.03
Marty Turco Junior Michigan 41 2296 33 4 4 87 4 .894 2.27
Aaron Schweitzer Freshman North Dakota 23 1170 17 3 0 45 4 .908 2.31
Dan Murphy Junior Clarkson 37 2162 27 9 0 84 3 .917 2.33
Michel Larocque Sophomore Boston University 24 1466 16 4 4 58 0 .911 2.37
Chad Alban Junior Michigan State 39 2272 23 11 4 103 3 .894 2.72
Jason Elliott Junior Cornell 27 1475 16 7 2 67 0 .909 2.73
Trevor Prior Sophomore Miami 28 1645 17 10 1 75 1 .895 2.74
Jim Mullin Senior Denver 22 2 .900 2.75
Tim Thomas Senior Vermont 36 2158 22 11 3 101 2 .914 2.81

[6]

Awards

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WCHA

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Award[18] Recipient
Player of the Year Mike Crowley, Minnesota
Defensive Player of the Year Eric Rud, Colorado College
Rookie of the Year Brant Nicklin, Minnesota-Duluth
Student-Athlete of the Year Petri Gunther, Denver
Coach of the Year Dean Blais, North Dakota
Most Valuable Player in Tournament David Hoogsteen, North Dakota
All-WCHA Teams[19][20]
First Team   Position   Second Team
Steve DeBus, Minnesota G Kirk Daubenspeck, Wisconsin
Mike Crowley, Minnesota D Eric Rud, Colorado College
Curtis Murphy, North Dakota D Rick Mrozik, Minnesota-Duluth
Brian Swanson, Colorado College F Dave Paradise, St. Cloud State
Jason Blake, North Dakota F Matt Cullen, St. Cloud State
David Hoogsteen, North Dakota F Mike Peluso, Minnesota-Duluth
Third Team   Position   Rookie Team
Jim Mullin Denver G Brant Nicklin, Minnesota-Duluth
Dane Litke, North Dakota D Ben Clymer, Minnesota
Calvin Elfring, Colorado College D Curtis Doell, Minnesota-Duluth
Sacha Molin, St. Cloud State F Buddy Smith, Northern Michigan
Ryan Kraft, Minnesota F Dave Spehar, Minnesota
Andre Savage, Michigan Tech F Toby Petersen, Colorado College
Round Pick Player College Conference NHL team
2 27 Ben Clymer Minnesota WCHA Boston Bruins
2 28 Brad DeFauw North Dakota WCHA Carolina Hurricanes
2 30 Jean-Marc Pelletier Cornell ECAC Hockey Philadelphia Flyers
2 44 Brian Gaffaney St. Cloud State WCHA Pittsburgh Penguins
3 57 Jeff Farkas Boston College Hockey East Toronto Maple Leafs
3 63 Lee Goren North Dakota WCHA Boston Bruins
3 66 Josh Langfeld Michigan CCHA Ottawa Senators
3 67 Michael Souza New Hampshire Hockey East Chicago Blackhawks
3 70 Erik Andersson Denver WCHA Calgary Flames
4 83 Joe Corvo Western Michigan CCHA Los Angeles Kings
5 110 Ben Simon Notre Dame CCHA Chicago Blackhawks
5 115 Adam Edinger Bowling Green CCHA New York Islanders
5 116 Kevin Caulfield Boston College Hockey East Washington Capitals
5 120 Pete Gardiner Rensselaer ECAC Hockey Chicago Blackhawks
5 133 Aaron Miskovich Minnesota WCHA Colorado Avalanche
6 136 Mike York Michigan State CCHA New York Rangers
6 147 Heath Gordon Providence Hockey East Chicago Blackhawks
7 163 Joe Dusbabek Notre Dame CCHA San Jose Sharks
7 169 Andrew Merrick Michigan CCHA Carolina Hurricanes
7 172 Ben Guité Maine Hockey East Montreal Canadiens
7 179 Mark Moore Harvard ECAC Hockey Pittsburgh Penguins
7 181 Mat Snesrud Michigan Tech WCHA Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
7 182 Mike Mottau Boston College Hockey East New York Rangers
7 183 Tyler Palmer Lake Superior State CCHA Florida Panthers
8 191 Antti Laaksonen Denver WCHA Boston Bruins
8 193 Jay Kopischke Notre Dame CCHA Los Angeles Kings
8 194 Russ Bartlett Boston University Hockey East Toronto Maple Leafs
8 196 Jeremy Symington St. Lawrence ECAC Hockey New York Islanders
8 203 Nick Gillis Boston University Hockey East Ottawa Senators
8 206 Bob Haglund Northeastern Hockey East St. Louis Blues
8 211 Doug Schueller Bowling Green CCHA Florida Panthers
8 215 Scott Clemmensen Boston College Hockey East New Jersey Devils
8 217 Doug Schmidt Northern Michigan WCHA Colorado Avalanche
9 222 Ryan Clark Notre Dame CCHA New York Islanders
9 224 Paul Comrie Denver WCHA Tampa Bay Lightning
9 226 Matt Oikawa St. Lawrence ECAC Hockey Washington Capitals
9 227 Peter Brady Alaska–Anchorage WCHA Vancouver Canucks
9 230 Chris Feil Ohio State CCHA Chicago Blackhawks
9 233 Wyatt Smith Minnesota WCHA Phoenix Coyotes
9 234 Eric Lind New Hampshire Hockey East Pittsburgh Penguins
9 235 Tommi Degerman Boston University Hockey East New York Islanders
9 236 Richard Miller Providence Hockey East New York Rangers
9 243 Kyle Kidney Massachusetts–Lowell Hockey East Colorado Avalanche

† incoming freshman
‡ Andersson had previous been selected by the Los Angeles Kings in 1990.
[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2012-13 CCHA Media Guide". CCHA. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  2. ^ "2008-09 ECAC Hockey Media Guide". ECAC Hockey. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  3. ^ "2013-14 Hockey East Media Guide". Hockey East. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  4. ^ "2008-09 WCHA Yearbook 113-128" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  5. ^ "NCAA Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "1996-97 NCAA Division I Statistics". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  7. ^ "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  8. ^ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  9. ^ "CCHA Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  10. ^ "CCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  11. ^ "CCHA All-Rookie Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  12. ^ "ECAC Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  13. ^ "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  14. ^ "ECAC All-Rookie Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  15. ^ "Hockey East Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  16. ^ "Hockey East All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  17. ^ "Hockey East All-Rookie Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  18. ^ "WCHA Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  19. ^ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  20. ^ "WCHA All-Rookie Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  21. ^ "1997 NHL Entry Draft". Hockey DB. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
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