1956 NCAA men's
ice hockey tournament
Teams4
Finals site
ChampionsMichigan Wolverines (6th title)
Runner-upMichigan Tech Huskies (1st title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachVic Heyliger (6th title)
MOPLorne Howes (Michigan)

The 1956 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1955–56 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, the 9th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 15 and 17, 1956, and concluded with Michigan defeating Michigan Tech 7–5. All games were played at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Vic Heyliger captured his 6th and final National title with the Wolverines, all done in the first 9 years of the tournament. As of 2016 he stands as the coach with the most championships overall and the most with one team (6).

Qualifying teams

Four teams qualified for the tournament, two each from the eastern and western regions. The two best WIHL teams and a Tri-State League representative received bids into the tournament as did one independent school.

Clarkson, who had completed a 23–0 record in the regular season, were offered a bid by the selection committee. The Golden Knights, however, had 8 four-year seniors on the team (who would not have been allowed to play in the tournament) and declined the invitation, leaving the second place team from the Tri-State League to go in their stead.[1]

East West
Seed School Conference Record Berth type Appearance Last bid Seed School Conference Record Berth type Appearance Last bid
1 Boston College Independent 14–5–0 At-Large 5th 1954 1 Michigan WIHL 18–2–1 At-Large 9th 1955
2 St. Lawrence Tri-State League 17–4–0 At-Large 3rd 1955 2 Michigan Tech WIHL 20–6–0 At-Large 1st Never

[2]

Format

The eastern team judged as better was seeded as the top eastern team while the WIHL champion was given the top western seed. The second eastern seed was slotted to play the top western seed and vice versa. All games were played at the Broadmoor Ice Palace. All matches were Single-game eliminations with the semifinal winners advancing to the national championship game and the losers playing in a consolation game.

Bracket

Semifinals
March 15–16 		National championship
March 17
      
E1 Boston College 4
W2 Michigan Tech 10
W2 Michigan Tech 5
W1 Michigan 7
W1 Michigan 2*
E2 St. Lawrence 1 Third-place game
E1 Boston College 2
E2 St. Lawrence 6

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Semifinals

Boston College vs. Michigan Tech

March 15 Boston College 4 – 10 Michigan Tech Broadmoor Ice Palace

Michigan vs. St. Lawrence

March 16 Michigan 2 – 1 OT St. Lawrence Broadmoor Ice Palace Recap  
No Scoring First period
Second period 19:52 - Bernie McKinnon (unassisted)
(McDonald, Pitts) Ed Switzer - 03:59 Third period
(McIntosh) Tom Rendall - GW - 01:21 First overtime period No scoring
Lorne Howes Goalie stats Sarge Whittier

Consolation Game

Boston College vs. St. Lawrence

March 17 Boston College 2 – 6 St. Lawrence Broadmoor Ice Palace Recap  
(Cassidy) Francis Quinn - 06:33
(unassisted) Bill Leary - 11:16		 First period 07:03 - Bernie McKinnon (Coluccio, Henry)
No scoring Second period 06:22 - Joe McLean (unassisted)
07:14 - William Brown (Bigelow)
07:17 - Bill Renner (Stitt, Riopelle)
No scoring Third period 01:21 - Ron O'Brien (unassisted)
03:47 - Bernie McKinnon (Coluccio, Morrison)

Championship Game

Michigan vs. Michigan Tech

March 17[3] Michigan 7 – 5 Michigan Tech Broadmoor Ice Palace
Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st UM Ed Switzer McDonald 00:23 1–0 UM
MTU Dick Wilson J. McManus 02:42 1–1
UM Neil McDonald Schiller 09:22 2–1 UM
UM Don McIntosh Rendall 10:14 3–1 UM
MTU Pete Aubry unassisted 11:04 3–2 UM
UM Bob Schiller McDonald 13:11 4–2 UM
MTU Dick Wilson unassisted 19:45 4–3 UM
2nd MTU Tom Kennedy Wilson 24:47 4–4
MTU Pete Aubry – PP Wilson 27:25 5–4 MTU
UM Ed Switzer Hanna 27:58 5–5
UM Ed Switzer – GW PP Dunnigan 34:28 6–5 UM
UM Neil McDonald unassisted 34:49 7–5 UM
3rd None

All-Tournament team

[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Harrison - Clarkson Athletic Hall of Fame". Clarkson Golden Knights. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  2. ↑ "NCAA Division 1 Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Team History" (PDF). Michigan Wolverines. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  4. ↑ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  5. ↑ "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
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