1978 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament

The 1978 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 19th conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 10 and March 15, 1978. All games were played at home team campus sites, including each of the two regional final series. By winning the regional tournaments, both Wisconsin and Colorado College were invited to participate in the 1978 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Though not official designations, Wisconsin is considered as the East Regional Champion† and Colorado College as the West Regional Champion‡.

Format

The top eight teams in the WCHA, according to their final conference standings, were eligible for the tournament and were seeded No. 1 through No. 8. In the first round the first and eighth seeds, the second and seventh seeds, the third and sixth seeds and the fourth and fifth seeds were matched in two-game series where the school that scored the higher number of goals was declared the winner. After the first round the remaining teams were reseeded No. 1 through No. 4 according to their final conference standings and advanced to the second round. In the second round the first and fourth seeds and the second and third seeds competed in an additional two-game, total goal series with the winners of each being declared as co-conference champions.

Conference standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

ConferenceOverall
GPWLTPTSGFGAGPWLTGFGA
Denver32275054192112403361235140
Wisconsin*322192441271134328123214149
Michigan Tech3221110421501234025141184157
Minnesota3218131371431343822142171150
Colorado College*3213190261621724118221212218
North Dakota3213190261461673815221172192
Minnesota-Duluth3212191251351553714221155182
Notre Dame3212191251171473812242137186
Michigan3212191251491753615201169192
Michigan State32723216119182367272130201
Championship: Wisconsin, Colorado College
indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion

[5]

Bracket

[6]

Teams are reseeded after the first round

First Round
March 10–11
Second Round
March 14–15
        
1Denver67
8Notre Dame61
1Denver34
5Colorado College63
2Wisconsin95
7Minnesota-Duluth24
3Michigan Tech23*
6North Dakota22
2Wisconsin47
3Michigan Tech34
4Minnesota34
5Colorado College35

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

First round

(1) Denver vs. (8) Notre Dame

March 10North Dakota6 – 6Notre DameDU Arena
March 11North Dakota7 – 1Notre DameDU Arena
Denver won series 13–7


(2) Wisconsin vs. (7) Minnesota-Duluth

March 10Wisconsin9 – 2Minnesota-DuluthDane County Coliseum
March 11Wisconsin5 – 4Minnesota-DuluthDane County Coliseum
Wisconsin won series 14–6


(3) Michigan Tech vs. (6) North Dakota

March 10Michigan Tech2 – 2North DakotaStudent Ice Arena
March 11Michigan Tech3 – 2OTNorth DakotaStudent Ice Arena
Michigan Tech won series 5–4


(4) Minnesota vs. (5) Colorado College

March 10Minnesota3 – 3Colorado CollegeWilliams Arena
March 11Minnesota4 – 5Colorado CollegeWilliams Arena
Colorado College won series 8–7


Second round

(1) Denver vs. (5) Colorado College

March 14Denver3 – 6Colorado CollegeDU Arena
March 15Denver4 – 3Colorado CollegeDU Arena
Colorado College won series 9–7


(2) Wisconsin vs. (3) Michigan Tech

March 14Wisconsin4 – 3Michigan TechDane County Coliseum
March 15Wisconsin7 – 4Michigan TechDane County Coliseum
Wisconsin won series 11–7


Tournament awards

None

See also

References