1980–81 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season

1980–81 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season
Duration	October 1980– March 28, 1981
NCAA tournament	1981
National championship	Duluth Arena Duluth, Minnesota
NCAA champion	Wisconsin
Hobey Baker Award	Neal Broten (Minnesota)
List of NCAA Division I men's ice hockey seasons ←  1979–80 1981–82  →

The 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 1980 and concluded with the 1981 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 28, 1981 at the Duluth Arena in Duluth, Minnesota. This was the 34th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 87th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.

For the first time the Hobey Baker Award was conferred after the conclusion of the regular season.

After the season four teams from the WCHA left to join the CCHA. As a result of dividing the four Big Ten schools that had previously been in the WCHA the Big Ten stopped declaring a conference ice hockey champion until the formation of a separate conference in 2013–14.

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	Michigan Tech
3	Providence
4	Boston College
5	Wisconsin
6	North Dakota
7	Northern Michigan
8	Michigan
9 (tie)	Denver
9 (tie)	Minnesota Duluth

Regular season

Season tournaments

Tournament	Dates	Teams	Champion
Elmira Invitational	November 14–15	4	St. Lawrence
North Country Thanksgiving Festival	November 27–29	4	Clarkson
Empire Cup	December 20–21	4	Colgate
I Love New York Tournament	November 22–24	4	St. Lawrence
Great Lakes Invitational	December 27–28	4	Michigan Tech
First National Hockey Tournament	December 27–29	4	Cornell
Western Michigan Tournament	December 28–29	4	Western Michigan
Rensselaer Holiday Tournament	December 28–30	4	Maine
Auld Lang Syne Classic	December 30–31	4	Dartmouth
Yale Invitational	January 2–3	4	North Dakota
Colonial Bank Hockey Invitational	January 3–4	4	Clarkson
Beanpot	February 2, 9	4	Harvard

Standings

1980–81 Big Ten standings v t e
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	Pct.	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Minnesota†	10	9	1	0	.900	61	35		45	33	12	0	261	174
Wisconsin	10	5	5	0	.500	45	45		42	27	14	1	218	155
Michigan	12	4	8	0	.333	42	54		40	23	17	0	185	161
Michigan State	8	2	6	0	.250	23	37		36	12	22	2	116	144
† indicates conference regular season champion

1980–81 Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings v t e
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Northern Michigan†*	22	18	4	0	36	115	81		44	27	14	3	201	158
Ohio State	22	15	6	1	31	107	82		39	24	12	3	189	149
Ferris State	22	13	9	0	26	101	92		36	20	14	2	166	144
Bowling Green	22	10	12	0	20	98	99		39	13	24	2	153	188
Western Michigan	22	8	13	1	17	99	107		36	15	19	2	178	165
Lake Superior State	22	6	15	1	13	101	134		36	14	21	1	183	202
Miami^	12	0	11	1	1	42	68		35	16	17	2	174	142
Championship: Northern Michigan † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion ^ Only Miami's road games were counted for conference standings

1980–81 ECAC Hockey standings v t e
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	Pct.	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
East Region
Boston College	22	13	6	3	.659	85	72		31	20	8	3	126	100
Maine	21	12	9	0	.571	101	93		34	23	11	0	197	147
Northeastern	21	12	9	0	.571	118	104		26	13	13	0	140	139
Providence*	22	12	9	1	.568	106	90		33	17	15	1	165	143
New Hampshire	24	13	10	1	.563	128	100		33	19	13	1	166	129
Boston University	22	10	12	0	.455	87	88		29	14	15	0	115	116
West Region
Clarkson†	20	17	2	1	.875	119	65		37	26	7	4	202	119
Colgate	20	12	7	1	.625	99	84		35	21	12	2	194	150
Rensselaer	21	10	11	0	.476	98	83		29	16	13	0	158	118
St. Lawrence	22	9	12	1	.432	77	87		33	15	16	2	137	126
Vermont	22	4	16	2	.227	81	114		34	9	23	2	136	173
Ivy Region
Cornell	22	12	9	1	.568	95	79		31	19	11	1	144	110
Yale	21	11	9	1	.548	96	101		26	13	12	1	127	137
Princeton	21	10	11	0	.476	78	99		25	12	13	0	93	111
Harvard	21	8	12	1	.405	79	98		26	11	14	1	103	119
Dartmouth	22	8	14	0	.364	87	115		26	10	16	0	100	138
Brown	22	3	18	1	.159	67	125		26	5	20	1	83	144
Independent
Army^	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		35	21	13	1	230	160
Championship: Providence † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion ^ Army had been accepted into ECAC Hockey but had not begun a conference schedule

1980–81 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	-	-	-		26	13	13	0	103	128
Kent State	0	0	0	0	-	-	-		35	17	18	0
US International	0	0	0	0	-	-	-		21	8	13	0

1980–81 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings v t e
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Minnesota†*	28	20	8	0	40	152	104		45	33	12	0	261	174
Wisconsin	28	17	11	0	34	131	101		42	27	14	1	218	155
Michigan Tech*	28	17	11	0	34	118	102		44	29	14	1	195	155
Denver	28	15	11	2	32	120	111		40	23	15	2	233	197
Michigan	28	15	13	0	30	138	122		40	23	17	0	185	161
North Dakota	28	14	12	2	30	133	134		38	21	15	2	186	168
Colorado College	28	12	16	0	24	128	142		36	17	19	0	174	183
Minnesota-Duluth	28	11	17	0	22	120	150		39	17	21	1	165	197
Notre Dame	28	9	18	1	19	100	137		36	13	21	2	139	166
Michigan State	28	7	20	1	15	82	119		36	12	22	2	116	144
Championship: Michigan Tech, Minnesota † 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	Minnesota
2	Clarkson
3	Wisconsin
3 (tie)	Michigan Tech
5	Northern Michigan
6	Denver
7	Boston College
8	North Dakota
9	Colgate
10	Michigan
10 (tie)	New Hampshire

1981 NCAA Tournament

Main article: 1981 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

	Quarterfinals March 19–21							Semifinals March 25–26					National championship March 27
	E1	Clarkson	2	6	8
	W4	Wisconsin	3	6	9
								W4	Wisconsin	5
								W2	Northern Michigan	1
	W2	Northern Michigan	7	3	10
	E3	Cornell	3	4	7
													W4	Wisconsin	6
													W1	Minnesota	3
	W1	Minnesota	9	5	14
	E4	Colgate	4	4	8
								W1	Minnesota	7			Third-place game
								W3	Michigan Tech	2
	E2	Providence	3	5	8								W2	Northern Michigan	2
	W3	Michigan Tech	7	6	13								W3	Michigan Tech	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
Aaron Broten	Sophomore	Minnesota	45	47	59	106	24
Steve Ulseth	Senior	Minnesota	45	41	52	93	18
Steve Bozek	Junior	Northern Michigan	44	35	55	90	46
Jeff Pyle	Junior	Northern Michigan	40	35	53	88	20
Bryan Erickson	Sophomore	Minnesota	44	39	47	86	30
Troy Murray	Freshman	North Dakota	38	33	45	78	28
Scott Lecy	Senior	Wisconsin	42	26	49	75	44
Ross Fitzpatrick	Junior	Western Michigan	36	28	43	71	22
Neal Broten	Sophomore	Minnesota	36	17	54	71	56
Dan Fridgen	Junior	Colgate	33	37	31	68	164
Bryan Cleaver	Senior	Clarkson	37	24	44	68	38

^[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
Don Sylvestri	Freshman	Clarkson	29	1740	22	3	4	84	2	.904	2.92
Gary Laskoski	Junior	St. Lawrence	21	1196	10	10	1	64	0	.895	3.21
Frank Krieber	Senior	Michigan Tech	28	1701	-	-	-	91	1	.895	3.21
Jeff Poeschl	Freshman	Northern Michigan	32	1855	20	9	2	101	1	.895	3.27
Marc Behrend	Sophomore	Wisconsin	16	913	11	4	1	50	0	.909	3.29
Alain Chevrier	Freshman	Miami	19	1053	8	10	1	73	0	-	3.40
Darren Eliot	Sophomore	Cornell	18	912	8	7	0	52	1	.908	3.42
Scott Robinson	Junior	Denver	31	1885	17	12	2	110	0	.882	3.50
Mike Blake	Senior	Ohio State	37	2098	22	9	3	125	2	.896	3.57
Brian Hayward	Junior	Cornell	19	967	11	4	1	58	1	.904	3.60

^[5]

Awards

NCAA Award [6] Recipient Hobey Baker Memorial Award Neal Broten, Minnesota Spencer Penrose Award Bill O'Flaherty, Clarkson Most Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament Marc Behrend, Wisconsin AHCA All-American Teams [7] East Team   Position   West Team Don Sylvestri, Clarkson G Paul Fricker, Michigan Mark Fusco, Harvard D Marc Chorney, North Dakota Ed Small, Clarkson D Tim Watters, Michigan Tech Sandy Beadle, Northeastern F Steve Bozek, Northern Michigan Bryan Cleaver, Clarkson F Neal Broten, Minnesota Gary Conn, Maine F Aaron Broten, Minnesota

CCHA Awards [8] Recipient Player of the Year Jeff Pyle, Northern Michigan Rookie of the Year Jeff Poeschl, Northern Michigan Paul Pooley, Ohio State Coach of the Year Rick Comley, Northern Michigan All-CCHA Teams [9] First Team   Position   Second Team Mike Blake, Ohio State G Jeff Poeschl, Northern Michigan Dan Mandich, Ohio State D Jim File, Ferris State D George Harrison, Ferris State D Brent Morrow, Ohio State D Jeff Pyle, Northern Michigan F Paul Pooley, Ohio State Steve Bozek, Northern Michigan F George McPhee, Bowling Green Ross Fitzpatrick, Western Michigan F Brian Hills, Bowling Green

ECAC Award [10] Recipient Player of the Year Ed Small, Clarkson Rookie of the Year Don Sylvestri, Clarkson Most Outstanding Player in Tournament Kurt Kleinendorst, Providence All-ECAC Hockey Teams [11] First Team   Position   Second Team Don Sylvestri, Clarkson G Jeff Nord, Maine Ed Small, Clarkson D Chris Renaud, Colgate Mark Fusco, Harvard D Andre Aubut, Maine Bryan Cleaver, Clarkson F Billy O'Dwyer, Boston College Gary Conn, Maine F Steve Cruickshank, Clarkson Sandy Beadle, Northeastern F Dan Fridgen, Colgate

WCHA Award [12] Recipient Most Valuable Player Steve Ulseth, Minnesota Freshman of the Year Ron Scott, Michigan State Coach of the Year John Giordano, Michigan All-WCHA Teams [13] First Team   Position   Second Team Ron Scott, Michigan State G Paul Fricker, Michigan Marc Chorney, North Dakota D John Blum, Michigan Tim Watters, Michigan Tech D Theran Welsh, Wisconsin Steve Ulseth, Minnesota F Ken Berry, Denver Neal Broten, Minnesota F Bruce Aikens, Colorado College Aaron Broten, Minnesota F Troy Murray, North Dakota

Drafted players

Main article: 1981 NHL entry draft

Round	Pick	Player	College	Conference	NHL team
1	9	James Patrick †	North Dakota	WCHA	New York Rangers
2	27	Dave Donnelly †	North Dakota	WCHA	Minnesota North Stars
2	33	Tom Hirsch †	Minnesota	WCHA	Minnesota North Stars
2	34	David Preuss†	Minnesota	WCHA	Minnesota North Stars
2	37	Rich Costello †	Providence	ECAC Hockey	Philadelphia Flyers
2	40	Chris Chelios †	Wisconsin	WCHA	Montreal Canadiens
4	64	Kirk McCaskill	Vermont	ECAC Hockey	Winnipeg Jets
4	68	Anthony Kellin†	Minnesota	WCHA	Washington Capitals
4	71	Paul Houck †	Wisconsin	WCHA	Edmonton Oilers
4	76	James Malwitz†	Minnesota	WCHA	Minnesota North Stars
4	81	Marty Dallman	Rensselaer	ECAC Hockey	Los Angeles Kings
5	85	Marc Behrend	Wisconsin	WCHA	Winnipeg Jets
5	88	Steve Rooney †	Providence	ECAC Hockey	Montreal Canadiens
5	95	Ed Lee	Princeton	ECAC Hockey	Quebec Nordiques
6	106	Bob O'Connor	Boston College	ECAC Hockey	Winnipeg Jets
6	108	Bruce Driver	Wisconsin	WCHA	Colorado Rockies
6	114	Eric Magnuson	Rensselaer	ECAC Hockey	New York Rangers
6	117	Bill Schafhauser	Northern Michigan	CCHA	Chicago Black Hawks
6	118	Paul Guay †	Providence	ECAC Hockey	Minnesota North Stars
6	119	Bruce Milton	Boston University	ECAC Hockey	Boston Bruins
6	124	Tom Anastos †	Michigan State	WCHA	Montreal Canadiens
7	135	Mike Guentzel †	Minnesota	WCHA	New York Rangers
7	139	Jim Archibald †	North Dakota	WCHA	Minnesota North Stars
7	141	Rick Heppner†	Wisconsin	WCHA	Calgary Flames
7	143	Dan McFall †	Michigan State	WCHA	Winnipeg Jets
7	144	Peter Sawkins†	Yale	ECAC Hockey	Los Angeles Kings
7	145	Tom Kurvers	Minnesota–Duluth	WCHA	Montreal Canadiens
8	149	Rick Zombo †	North Dakota	WCHA	Detroit Red Wings
8	163	Steve Taylor	Providence	ECAC Hockey	Philadelphia Flyers
8	164	Gaetano Orlando	Providence	ECAC Hockey	Buffalo Sabres
8	165	Dan Brennan	North Dakota	WCHA	Los Angeles Kings
8	166	Paul Gess†	Lake Superior State	CCHA	Montreal Canadiens
9	171	Tim Army	Providence	ECAC Hockey	Colorado Rockies
9	172	Jeff Poeschl	Northern Michigan	CCHA	Hartford Whalers
9	173	George White	New Hampshire	ECAC Hockey	Washington Capitals
9	177	Paul Reifenberger†	Western Michigan	CCHA	New York Rangers
9	181	Scott Bjugstad	Minnesota	WCHA	Minnesota North Stars
9	182	Don Sylvestri	Clarkson	ECAC Hockey	Boston Bruins
9	183	George Boudreau†	Boston College	ECAC Hockey	Calgary Flames
9	187	Scott Ferguson†	Colorado College	WCHA	Montreal Canadiens
10	192	John Johannson	Wisconsin	WCHA	Colorado Rockies
10	197	Gord Sherven †	North Dakota	WCHA	Edmonton Oilers
10	198	Mario Proulx	Providence	ECAC Hockey	New York Rangers
10	202	Steve Kudebeh†	Rensselaer	ECAC Hockey	Minnesota North Stars
10	204	Bruce Eakin ‡	Wisconsin	WCHA	Detroit Red Wings
10	206	Warren Harper†	Michigan State	WCHA	Buffalo Sabres
10	207	Jeff Baikie	Cornell	ECAC Hockey	Los Angeles Kings
10	210	Dave Randerson†	Bowling Green	CCHA	New York Islanders

† incoming freshman
‡ Eakin had left school during the season
^[14]

See also

• 1980–81 NCAA Division II men's ice hockey season
• 1980–81 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season

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. "1980-81 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. "1981 NHL Entry Draft". Hockey DB. Retrieved October 25, 2023.

External links

• College Hockey Historical Archives
• 1980–81 NCAA Standings