| 1981 WCHA Men's ice hockey tournament | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 6–15, 1981 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Finals site | Student Ice Arena Houghton, Michigan Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Champions | Michigan Tech† [1] (9th title) Minnesota‡ [2] (8th title) |
| Winning coach | John MacInnes [3] (9th title) Brad Buetow [4] (2nd title) |
WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments | |
The 1981 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 22nd conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 6 and March 15, 1981. All games were played at home team campus sites, including each of the two regional final series. By winning the regional tournaments, both Michigan Tech and Minnesota received automatic bids to the 1981 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
Though not official designations, Michigan Tech is considered as the East Regional Champion† and Minnesota as the West Regional Champion‡.
This was the final year that the WCHA crowned two teams as tournament champions. (as of 2014)
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. The Tournament Champions each received automatic bids to the 1981 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against
| 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 | ||||||||||||||
[6] Teams are reseeded after the first round
| First Round March 6–8 | Second Round March 13–15 | ||||||||||
| 1 | Minnesota | 5 | 5 | ||||||||
| 8 | Minnesota-Duluth | 1 | 7 | ||||||||
| 1 | Minnesota | 7 | 7 | ||||||||
| 7 | Colorado College | 1 | 9 | ||||||||
| 2 | Wisconsin | 8 | 4 | ||||||||
| 7 | Colorado College | 2 | 11 | ||||||||
| 3 | Michigan Tech | 7 | 4 | ||||||||
| 6 | North Dakota | 4 | 1 | ||||||||
| 3 | Michigan Tech | 2 | 7 | ||||||||
| 5 | Michigan | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 4 | Denver | 2 | 4 | ||||||||
| 5 | Michigan | 5 | 5 | ||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
| March 7 | Minnesota | 5 – 1 | Minnesota-Duluth | Williams Arena | ||||
| March 8 | Minnesota | 5 – 7 | Minnesota-Duluth | Williams Arena | ||||
| Minnesota won series 10–8 | |
| March 7 | Wisconsin | 8 – 2 | Colorado College | Dane County Coliseum | ||||
| March 8 | Wisconsin | 4 – 11 | Colorado College | Dane County Coliseum | ||||
| Colorado College won series 13–12 | |
| March 6 | Michigan Tech | 7 – 4 | North Dakota | Student Ice Arena | ||||
| March 7 | Michigan Tech | 4 – 1 | North Dakota | Student Ice Arena | ||||
| Michigan Tech won series 11–5 | |
| March 6 | Denver | 2 – 5 | Michigan | DU Arena | ||||
| March 7 | Denver | 4 – 5 | Michigan | DU Arena | ||||
| Michigan won series 10–6 | |
| March 14 | Minnesota | 7 – 1 | Colorado College | Williams Arena | ||||
| March 15 | Minnesota | 7 – 9 | Colorado College | Williams Arena | ||||
| Minnesota won series 14–10 | |
| March 13 | Michigan Tech | 2 – 1 | Michigan | Student Ice Arena | ||||
| March 14 | Michigan Tech | 7 – 1 | Michigan | Student Ice Arena | ||||
| Michigan Tech won series 9–2 | |
None
The 1996 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 37th conference playoff in league history and 44th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The tournament was played between March 1 and March 9, 1996. First round games were played at home team campus sites while all 'Final Five' matches were held at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. By winning the tournament, Minnesota was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 1992 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 33rd conference playoff in league history and 40th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The tournament was played between March 13 and March 21, 1992. First round games were played at home team campus sites while all 'Final Four' matches were held at the Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. By winning the tournament, Northern Michigan was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 1992 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 1986 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 27th conference playoff in league history and 34th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The tournament was played between February 28 and March 15, 1986. First round and semifinal games were played at home team campus sites while the championship match was held at the DU Arena in Denver, Colorado. By winning the tournament, Denver was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 1986 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 1985 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 26th conference playoff in league history and 33rd season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The tournament was played between March 1 and March 16, 1985. First round and semifinal games were played at home team campus sites while the championship match was held at the Duluth Arena Auditorium in Duluth, Minnesota. By winning the tournament, Minnesota-Duluth was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 1985 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 1982 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 23rd conference playoff in league history and 30th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The tournament was played between March 4 and March 14, 1982. First round and semifinal games were played at home team campus sites while the championship match was held at the Winter Sports Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota. By winning the tournament, Wisconsin received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 1982 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 1980 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 21st conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 7 and March 15, 1980. All games were played at home team campus sites, including each of the two regional final series. By winning the regional tournaments, both Minnesota and North Dakota were invited to participate in the 1980 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 1979 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 20th conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 6 and March 11, 1979. All games were played at home team campus sites, including each of the two regional final series. By winning the regional tournaments, both Minnesota and North Dakota were invited to participate in the 1979 NCAA Division I 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.
The 1977 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 18th conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 9 and March 17, 1977. All games were played at home team campus sites including the championship series. By reaching the finals both Wisconsin and Michigan were invited to participate in the 1977 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 1976 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 17th conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 10 and March 15, 1976. All games were played at home team campus sites, including each of the two regional final series. By winning the regional tournaments, both Minnesota and Michigan Tech were invited to participate in the 1976 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 1975 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 16th conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 3 and March 9, 1975. All games were played at home team campus sites, including each of the two regional final series. By winning the regional tournaments, both Michigan Tech and Minnesota were invited to participate in the 1975 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 1974 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 15th conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 5 and March 10, 1974. All games were played at home team campus sites, including each of the two regional final series. By winning the regional tournaments, both Michigan Tech and Minnesota were invited to participate in the 1974 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
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The 1972 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 13th conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 7 and March 11, 1972. 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 Denver were invited to participate in the 1972 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
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The 1969 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament was the 10th conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 6 and March 8, 1969. All East Regional games were played at the Weinberg Coliseum in Ann Arbor, Michigan while West Regional games were held at the DU Arena in Denver, Colorado. By winning the regional tournaments, both the East Regional Champion†, Michigan Tech, and West Regional Champion‡, Denver, were invited to participate in the 1969 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey tournament.
The 1968 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 9th conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 5 and March 9, 1968. All games were played at home team campus sites. By being declared as co-champions, both North Dakota and Denver were invited to participate in the 1968 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 1961 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 2nd conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 10 and March 11, 1961. All games were played at home team campus sites. By being declared as co-champions, both Minnesota and Denver were invited to participate in the 1961 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 1960 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 1st conference playoff in league history. Additionally it is the first conference tournament ever held for an American college ice hockey conference. The tournament was played between March 11 and March 12, 1960. All games were played at home team campus sites. By being declared as co-champions, both Michigan Tech and Denver were invited to participate in the 1960 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.