1976–77 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season

1976–77 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season
1976–77 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season
	The Olympia Stadium served as the host for the 1977 Frozen Four
Duration	October 1976–; March 26, 1977
NCAA tournament	1977
National championship	Olympia Stadium ; Detroit, Michigan
NCAA champion	Wisconsin
List of NCAA Division I men's ice hockey seasons
← 1975–76	1977–78 →

Last updated September 21, 2025

The 1976–77 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 1976 and concluded with the 1977 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 26, 1977, at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Michigan. This was the 30th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 83rd 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	Wisconsin
2	Minnesota
3	Brown
4	Michigan
5	Colorado College
6	New Hampshire
7	Saint Louis
8	Boston University
9	Michigan Tech
10	Bowling Green

Regular season

Season tournaments

Tournament	Dates	Teams	Champion
North Country Thanksgiving Festival	November 25–28	4	Clarkson
Binghamton Invitational	November 26–27	4	York
Brown Invitational	December 20–22	4	Vermont
Great Lakes Invitational	December 28–29	4	Michigan Tech
Syracuse Invitational	December 28–29	4	Boston College
Rensselaer Holiday Tournament	December 28–30	4	Rensselaer
Union Holiday Festival Tournament	December 29–30	4	Union, Western Ontario
Blue–Green Invitational	January 2–3	4	New Hampshire
ECAC Holiday Hockey Festival	January 2–3	4	Boston University
Beanpot	February 7, 14	4	Harvard

Standings

1976–77 Big Ten standings v t e
	Conference							Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Wisconsin†	12	9	3	0	18	78	47	45	37	7	1	264	161
Michigan	12	7	5	0	14	68	61	45	28	17	0	260	211
Minnesota	12	5	7	0	10	46	56	41	17	21	3	177	202
Michigan State	12	3	9	0	6	41	69	36	14	21	1	145	189
† indicates conference regular season champion

1976–77 Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings v t e
	Conference							Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Saint Louis†	16	13	2	1	27	89	52	39	27	11	1	197	128
Bowling Green*	16	10	6	0	20	94	52	39	28	11	0	209	113
Ohio State	16	8	7	1	17	64	74	38	17	20	1	160	178
Western Michigan	16	5	11	0	10	52	79	37	17	19	1	179	180
Lake Superior State	16	3	13	0	6	56	98	33	10	23	0	139	197
Championship: Bowling Green † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion

1976–77 ECAC Hockey standings v t e
	Conference							Overall
	GP	W	L	T	Pct.	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Clarkson†	23	19	4	0	.826	146	87	34	26	8	0	222	127
New Hampshire	27	21	6	0	.778	182	121	39	27	12	0	245	181
Cornell	23	16	6	1	.717	160	102	29	20	8	1	204	134
Boston University*	24	16	7	1	.688	142	110	34	22	11	1	198	160
Boston College	23	13	9	1	.587	125	106	30	18	11	1	174	130
Rensselaer	24	14	10	0	.583	138	131	30	17	12	1	184	168
Brown	21	12	9	0	.571	121	95	27	16	11	0	145	118
Providence	25	14	11	0	.560	124	105	30	17	13	0	146	128
Harvard	22	12	10	0	.545	92	78	26	14	12	0	108	95
Dartmouth	24	11	12	1	.479	136	118	26	12	12	2	146	124
Vermont	23	10	13	0	.435	105	103	30	15	15	0	141	122
Colgate	24	10	14	0	.417	110	144	28	12	16	0	128	170
Northeastern	22	9	13	0	.409	92	125	27	11	16	0	121	141
Pennsylvania	24	7	17	0	.292	93	148	26	9	17	0	105	157
Yale	23	5	17	1	.239	73	130	25	6	18	1	84	140
St. Lawrence	20	3	17	0	.150	86	147	28	8	20	0	134	182
Princeton	24	3	20	1	.146	70	143	25	3	21	1	72	150
Championship: Boston University † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion

1976–77 NCAA Division I Independent ice hockey standings v t e
	Conference							Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Air Force	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	27	20	7	0	170	104
Northern Michigan	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	33	19	13	1	174	130

1976–77 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings v t e
	Conference							Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Wisconsin†*	32	26	5	1	53	192	122	45	37	7	1	264	161
Notre Dame	32	19	10	3	41	164	127	38	22	13	3	191	147
Michigan	32	20	12	0	40	183	151	45	28	17	0	260	211
Denver	32	16	14	2	34	154	151	40	21	17	2	206	187
North Dakota	32	16	16	0	32	168	158	38	19	19	0	202	184
Michigan Tech	32	15	16	1	31	143	150	38	19	18	1	177	178
Minnesota	32	13	16	3	29	135	144	41	17	21	3	177	202
Colorado College	32	11	20	1	23	156	170	40	13	25	2	194	209
Michigan State	32	11	20	1	23	122	171	36	14	21	1	145	189
Minnesota-Duluth	32	6	24	2	14	119	192	37	9	26	2	148	219
Championship: Wisconsin † 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	Wisconsin
2	Clarkson
3	Notre Dame
4	Michigan
5	New Hampshire
6	Boston University
7	Saint Louis
8	Denver
9	Cornell
10	Bowling Green State

1977 NCAA Tournament

First round
March 20

Semifinals
March 24–25

National championship
March 26

E1

Boston University

4

W2

Michigan

6

W2

Michigan

6

A

Bowling Green

3

W2

Michigan

5

W1

Wisconsin

6*

W1

Wisconsin

4*

Third-place game

E2

New Hampshire

3

E1

Boston University

6

E2

New Hampshire

5

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
Dave Taylor	Senior	Clarkson	34	41	67	108	70
Dave Debol	Junior	Michigan	45	43	56	99	40
Bob Miller	Sophomore	New Hampshire	38	30	59	89	45
Craig Norwich	Junior	Wisconsin	44	18	65	83	70
Mike Eaves	Junior	Wisconsin	45	28	53	81	18
Mark Johnson	Freshman	Wisconsin	43	36	44	80	16
Rick Meagher	Senior	Boston University	34	34	46	80	42
Lance Nethery	Sophomore	Cornell	29	32	46	78	18
Brian Walsh	Senior	Notre Dame	38	30	47	77	70
Ralph Cox	Sophomore	New Hampshire	37	40	36	76	50
Kip Maurer	Junior	Michigan	-	38	38	76	8

^[5]

Leading goaltenders

^[5] 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
Mike Liut	Senior	Bowling Green	24	1346	18	4	0	61	2	.901	2.72
Lindsay Middlebrook	Senior	Saint Louis	18	1058	11	7	0	54	1	.893	3.07
Julian Baretta	Sophomore	Wisconsin	26	1458	21	2	0	75	2	.905	3.08
Tom Talbot	Sophomore	Air Force	-	-	-	-	-	64	-	.905	3.40
John Peterson	Junior	Notre Dame	17	-	-	-	-	70	0	.899	3.44
Peter Reynolds	Senior	Vermont	18	912	-	-	-	54	0	.878	3.55
Brian Shields	Senior	Clarkson	32	1850	26	-	0	111	1	.896	3.60
Brian Petrovek	Junior	Harvard	26	1575	14	12	0	95	1	.864	3.62
Chuck Stevens	Sophomore	Michigan Tech	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	.882	3.67
Barrie Oakes	Freshman	Northern Michigan	21	-	-	-	-	-	-	.884	3.70

Awards

NCAA

Award^[6]		Recipient
Spencer Penrose Award		Jerry York, Clarkson
Most Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament		Julian Baretta, Wisconsin
AHCA All-American Teams ^[7]
East Team	Position	West Team
Brian Shields, Clarkson	G	Julian Baretta, Wisconsin
Bill Blackwood, Clarkson	D	Jack Brownschidle, Notre Dame
Tim Burke, New Hampshire	D	Craig Norwich, Wisconsin
Rick Meagher, Boston University	F	Dave Debol, Michigan
Bob Miller, New Hampshire	F	Mike Eaves, Wisconsin
Dave Taylor, Clarkson	F	Brian Walsh, Notre Dame

CCHA

Award ^[8]		Recipient
Player of the Year		Mike Liut, Bowling Green
Coach of the Year		Bill Selman, Saint Louis
All-CCHA Teams ^[9]
First Team	Position	Second Team
Mike Liut, Bowling Green	G	Pat Tims, Lake Superior State
John Mavity, Bowling Green	D	Ken Morrow, Bowling Green
Kent Jackson, Saint Louis	D	Doug Butler, Saint Louis
Mark Wells, Bowling Green	F	Gary Murphy, Saint Louis
John Markell, Bowling Green	F	Wayne Ormson, Saint Louis
Tim Dunlop, Western Michigan	F	Paul Tilley, Ohio State

ECAC

Award ^[10]		Recipient
Player of the Year		Dave Taylor, Clarkson
Rookie of the Year		Jack Hughes, Harvard
Most Outstanding Player in Tournament		Rick Meagher, Boston University
All-ECAC Hockey Teams ^[11]
First Team	Position	Second Team
Brian Shields, Clarkson	G	Paul Skidmore, Boston College
Jack Hughes, Harvard	D	Ron Wilson, Providence
Tim Bothwell, Brown	D	Bill Blackwood, Clarkson
	D	Tim Burke, New Hampshire
Dave Taylor, Clarkson	F	Mike Eruzione, Boston University
Rick Meagher, Boston University	F	Lance Nethery, Cornell
Bob Miller, New Hampshire	F	Bob Ferriter, Boston College

WCHA

Award ^[12]		Recipient
Most Valuable Player		Brian Walsh, Notre Dame
Freshman of the Year		Mark Johnson, Wisconsin
Coach of the Year		Bob Johnson, Wisconsin
All-WCHA Teams ^[13]
First Team	Position	Second Team
Julian Baretta, Wisconsin	G	John Peterson, Notre Dame
Jack Brownschidle, Notre Dame	D	Greg Woods, Denver
Craig Norwich, Wisconsin	D	John Taft, Wisconsin
Brian Walsh, Notre Dame	F	Dan Lempe, Minnesota-Duluth
Dave Debol, Michigan	F	Roger Lamoureux, North Dakota
Kris Manery, Michigan	F	Mike Eaves, Wisconsin

Drafted players

Round	Pick	Player	College	Conference	NHL team
2	27	Neil Labatte	Brown	ECAC Hockey	St. Louis Blues
2	35	Tom Gorence	Minnesota	WCHA	Philadelphia Flyers
2	36	Rod Langway	New Hampshire	ECAC Hockey	Montreal Canadiens
3	38	Doug Berry	Denver	WCHA	Colorado Rockies
4	66	Mark Johnson	Wisconsin	WCHA	Pittsburgh Penguins
4	69	Steve Stoyanovich	Rensselaer	ECAC Hockey	New York Islanders
4	72	Jim Craig	Boston University	ECAC Hockey	Atlanta Flames
5	73	Jim Korn	Providence	ECAC Hockey	Detroit Red Wings
5	82	Curt Christofferson	Colorado College	WCHA	Atlanta Flames
5	84	Julian Baretta	Wisconsin	WCHA	Los Angeles Kings
6	92	Dan Lempe	Minnesota–Duluth	WCHA	Colorado Rockies
6	93	Perry Schnarr	Denver	WCHA	Washington Capitals
6	96	Jack O'Callahan	Boston University	ECAC Hockey	Chicago Black Hawks
6	98	John Bethel	Boston University	ECAC Hockey	New York Rangers
6	105	Steve Letzgus	Michigan Tech	WCHA	New York Islanders
6	108	Bill Himmelright	North Dakota	WCHA	Montreal Canadiens
7	109	Randy Wilson	Providence	ECAC Hockey	Detroit Red Wings
7	118	Bobby Gould	New Hampshire	ECAC Hockey	Atlanta Flames
7	120	Bob Suter	Wisconsin	WCHA	Los Angeles Kings
7	122	Ralph Cox	New Hampshire	ECAC Hockey	Boston Bruins
8	131	Lance Nethery	Cornell	ECAC Hockey	New York Rangers
8	133	Jimmy Bennett	Brown	ECAC Hockey	Atlanta Flames
8	137	Keith Hendrickson	Minnesota–Duluth	WCHA	Montreal Canadiens
8	139	Mike Greeder	Minnesota	WCHA	Philadelphia Flyers
8	140	Mike Reilly	Colorado College	WCHA	Montreal Canadiens
9	142	Jack Hughes	Harvard	ECAC Hockey	Colorado Rockies
9	143	Don Micheletti	Minnesota	WCHA	Washington Capitals
9	145	Keith Hanson ^†	Northern Michigan	CCHA	Minnesota North Stars
9	148	Tim Harrer	Minnesota	WCHA	Atlanta Flames
9	149	Ray Robertson	St. Lawrence	ECAC Hockey	Toronto Maple Leafs
9	150	Tom Bauer	Providence	ECAC Hockey	Philadelphia Flyers
9	153	Bruce Crowder	New Hampshire	ECAC Hockey	Philadelphia Flyers
9	154	Sid Tanchak	Clarkson	ECAC Hockey	Montreal Canadiens
10	157	Peter Raps	Western Michigan	CCHA	New York Rangers
10	160	Mark Holden	Brown	ECAC Hockey	Montreal Canadiens
10	161	Steve Jones	Ohio State	CCHA	Philadelphia Flyers
10	162	Craig Laughlin	Clarkson	ECAC Hockey	Montreal Canadiens
11	164	Mike Brown	Western Michigan	CCHA	New York Rangers
11	165	Jim Trainor	Harvard	ECAC Hockey	Philadelphia Flyers
11	168	Rod McNair	Ohio State	CCHA	Philadelphia Flyers
12	171	Mark Miller	Michigan	WCHA	New York Rangers
12	172	Mike Laycock	Brown	ECAC Hockey	Philadelphia Flyers
13	176	Mark Wells	Bowling Green	CCHA	Montreal Canadiens
13	177	Stan Palmer	Minnesota–Duluth	WCHA	Montreal Canadiens
15	181	Ed Hill	Vermont	ECAC Hockey	Detroit Red Wings
15	182	Bob Boileau	Boston University	ECAC Hockey	Montreal Canadiens

^[14]

References

↑ "2012-13 CCHA Media Guide". CCHA. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
↑ "2008-09 ECAC Hockey Media Guide" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
↑ "2008-09 WCHA Yearbook 113-128" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
↑ "NCAA Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
1 2 "1976-77 NCAA Division I Statistics". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
↑ "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
↑ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
↑ "CCHA Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
↑ "CCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
↑ "ECAC Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
↑ "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
↑ "WCHA Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
↑ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
↑ "1977 NHL Amateur Draft". Hockey DB. Retrieved October 25, 2023.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[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.

[stats-5] 1 2 "1976-77 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] "1977 NHL Amateur Draft". Hockey DB. Retrieved October 25, 2023.

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v t e NCAA men's ice hockey seasons
Pre–NCAA	1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47
NCAA pre-divisional	1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64
NCAA University Division / NCAA Division I	1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
NCAA College Division	1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73
NCAA Division II	1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
NCAA Division III	1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26