The Rensselaer Holiday Tournament was a college ice hockey tournament hosted by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. The tournament was held annually for a duration of sixty years, from 1951 to 2010 at the Houston Field House. [1] It was, at various times, known as the Rensselaer Invitational, RPI Invitational, RPI Invitational Christmas Tournament, RPI Christmas Tournament, Rensselaer/Midland Bank Holiday Tournament, Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Tournament and Rensselaer/Bank of America Holiday Tournament. It was the oldest college hockey tournament in the United States, older than the Beanpot by a year. Since the tournament has not been renewed since the 2010-2011 season, The Beanpot is now the oldest.
In the first edition, eight teams played in a knockout bracket. From 1952 until 1980, four teams played a round-robin. Beginning in 1981, four teams were seeded and played a bracket format with a consolation game. Rensselaer won the championship for the first time in nearly a decade in what turned out to be the tournament's final year.
Year | Champion | Runner-up | Third place | Fourth place | Fifth place | Sixth place | Seventh place | Eighth place |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1951 | Brown | St. Patrick's | RPI | Loyola | Harvard | Dartmouth | Williams | MIT |
Year | Champion | Runner-up | Third place | Fourth place |
---|---|---|---|---|
1952 | Princeton | RPI | St. Patrick's | Yale |
1953 | St. Francis Xavier | RPI | Brown | Princeton |
1954 | Toronto | RPI | St. Francis Xavier | Yale |
1955 | Minnesota | RPI | Princeton | Loyola |
1956 | Michigan Tech | McGill | RPI | Laval |
1957 | RPI | Brown | Yale | New Brunswick |
1958 | Michigan State | RPI | Brown | Princeton |
1959 | North Dakota | Montreal | RPI | Yale |
1960 | RPI | Harvard | New Brunswick | Princeton |
1961 | Michigan | RPI | McGill | Yale |
1962 | Minnesota | McMaster | RPI | Providence |
1963 | RPI | Cornell | Loyola | Yale |
1964 | Minnesota–Duluth | McGill | RPI | Colgate |
1965 | Western Ontario | Bowdoin | RPI | Middlebury |
1966 | Michigan | RPI | Colgate | New Brunswick |
1967 | McMaster | Michigan Tech | RPI | Yale |
1968 | Waterloo | RPI | Army | Ohio |
1969 | Providence | RPI | Montreal | Bowling Green |
1970 | Wisconsin | RPI | Western Ontatio | Northeastern |
1971 | Clarkson | RPI | Ohio | New Brunswick |
1972 | Minnesota–Duluth | RPI | Providence | Carleton |
1973 | Boston University | RPI | Dartmouth | Ohio State |
1974 | Northeastern | Bowling Green | RPI | Sir George Williams |
1975 | Providence | RPI | Princeton | Northeastern |
1976 | RPI | Clarkson | Yale | Penn |
1977 | RPI | Ohio State | St. Mary's | McGill |
1978 | St. Lawrence | RPI | Princeton | Air Force |
1979 | Western Michigan | Northeastern | Western Ontario | RPI |
1980 | Maine | RPI | Vasby | Holy Cross |
1981 | St. Lawrence | Brown | North Dakota | RPI |
1982 | RPI | UMass Lowell | Bowling Green | Brown |
1983 | RPI | UMass Lowell | Northern Arizona | Yale |
1984 | RPI | Toronto | Miami (OH) | Ferris State |
1985 | RPI | Lake Superior State | RIT | Alaska–Anchorage |
1986 | Ferris State | Alaska–Fairbanks | Merrimack | RPI |
1987 | RPI | McGill | Holy Cross | U.S. International |
1988 | Providence | RPI | Air Force | Notre Dame |
1989 | RPI | Merrimack | Union | Brown |
1990 | RPI | Western Ontario | Union | Alaska–Fairbanks |
1991 | St. Lawrence | RPI | Northeastern | Union |
1992 | Providence | RPI | Clarkson | UMass Lowell |
1993 | RPI | UMass Lowell | Army | Mount Allison |
1994 | Maine | RPI | Merrimack | Miami (OH) |
1995 | Clarkson | Illinois–Chicago | Providence | RPI |
1996 | RPI | Brown | UMass | Bowling Green |
1997 | Lake Superior | RPI | Yale | Army |
1998 | RPI | Minnesota–Duluth | Merrimack | Union |
1999 | Providence | RPI | Bowling Green | Union |
2000 | St. Lawrence | Providence | RPI | Notre Dame |
2001 | RPI | UMass | Niagara | Quinnipiac |
2002 | Merrimack | Wayne State | Princeton | RPI |
2003 | Northeastern | Mercyhurst | Colgate | RPI |
2004 | Air Force | RPI | Robert Morris | Sacred Heart |
2005 | Nebraska–Omaha | Holy Cross | RPI | Providence |
2006 | Niagara | Colgate | RPI | Ohio State |
2007 | Notre Dame | RPI | Alabama–Huntsville | American International |
2008 | Northeastern | RPI | Mercyhurst | Princeton |
2009 | Union | RPI | Bentley | Lake Superior |
2010 | RPI | Bowling Green | Alabama-Huntsville | Connecticut |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van Rensselaer and Amos Eaton for the "application of science to the common purposes of life" and is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere.
ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United States. This relationship ended in 2004; however, the ECAC abbreviation was retained in the name of the hockey conference. ECAC Hockey is the only ice hockey conference with identical memberships in both its women's and men's divisions. Cornell has won the most ECAC men's hockey championships with 12, followed by Harvard at 11.
Houston Field House is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. It is the nation's third-oldest college hockey rink, behind Northeastern University's Matthews Arena and Princeton University's Hobey Baker Memorial Rink. Further, it is the second-oldest arena in the ECAC Hockey League, behind Princeton's rink. Until the opening of the Times Union Center in Albany in 1990, it was the largest arena in the Capital Region.
The Beanpot is an annual men's ice hockey tournament among the four major US college hockey teams of the Boston, Massachusetts area, usually held during the first two Mondays in February at TD Garden. The four teams are the Boston University Terriers, Boston College Eagles, Harvard University Crimson, and Northeastern University Huskies. The tournament has been held annually since the 1952–53 season and has been held at its current location since 1996, except for 2021 when it was cancelled due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Northeastern is the current Beanpot champion, having won the 2023 tournament.
The Boston University Terriers are the ten men's and fourteen women's varsity athletic teams representing Boston University in NCAA Division I competition. Boston University's team nickname is the Terriers, and the official mascot is Rhett the Boston Terrier. The school colors are Scarlet and White. The mascot is named Rhett after Rhett Butler from Gone With the Wind, because "no one loves Scarlet more than Rhett."
Nevin Donald Harkness was an NCAA head coach of ice hockey and lacrosse at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Cornell University and of ice hockey at Union College. Harkness was also head coach of the Detroit Red Wings and later was the team's general manager. He was inducted into the Lake Placid Hall of Fame in 1993, the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2001 and into the RPI Hockey Ring of Honor in 2007. He is also a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minnesota, having been inducted in 1994.
The Boston University Terriers men’s ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents Boston University. They played their first game in 1918 and have won five national championships, while making 22 appearances in the Frozen Four.
The 1985 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament was the culmination of the 1984–85 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, the 38th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 22 and 30, 1985, and concluded with Rensselaer defeating Providence 2-1. All Quarterfinals matchups were held at home team venues while all succeeding games were played at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
The RPI Engineers are composed of 21 teams representing Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, and track and field. Men's sports include baseball, football, and golf. Women's sports include field hockey, and softball. The Engineers compete in the NCAA Division III and are members of the Liberty League for all sports except ice hockey, which competes in NCAA Division I, as a member of ECAC Hockey.
The RPI Engineers women's ice hockey team are a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I women's college ice hockey program that represents Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The Engineers are a member of the ECAC Hockey (ECACHL) conference. They play at the Houston Field House in Troy, New York.
The RPI Engineers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The Engineers are a member of ECAC Hockey (ECACH). They play at the Houston Field House in Troy, New York.
The 2017–18 Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey team represented Boston College in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The team was coached by Jerry York, '67, his twenty-fourth season behind the bench at Boston College. The Eagles played their home games at Kelley Rink on the campus of Boston College, competing in Hockey East.
The 2018–19 Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey team represented Boston College in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The team was coached by Jerry York, '67, his twenty-fifth season behind the bench at Boston College. The Eagles played their home games at Kelley Rink on the campus of Boston College, competing in Hockey East.
The 1953–54 RPI Bachelors men's ice hockey team represented Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in intercollegiate college ice hockey during the 1953–54 NCAA men's ice hockey season. The head coach was Ned Harkness and the team co-captains were Frank Chiarelli and Jim Shildneck. The team won the 1954 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. The team's leading scorer was Abbie Moore, who finished tied for second in the nation with 68 points.
The 1970–71 Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey team represented Boston University in college ice hockey. In its 9th year under head coach Jack Kelley the team compiled a 28–2–1 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the seventh time. The Terriers defeated Minnesota 4–2 in the championship game at the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse, New York to win the national championship.
The 1971–72 Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey team represented Boston University in college ice hockey. In its 10th year under head coach Jack Kelley the team compiled a 26–4–1 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the eighth time. The Terriers defeated Cornell 4–0 in the championship game at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts to win their second consecutive national championship.
The 1984–85 RPI Engineers men's ice hockey team represented the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in college ice hockey. In its 6th year under head coach Mike Addesa the team compiled a 35–2–1 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the sixth time. The Engineers defeated Providence 2–1 to win the championship game at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
The 1988–89 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey team represented the Harvard University in college ice hockey. In its 18th year under head coach Bill Cleary the team compiled a 31–3–0 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the fourteenth time. The Crimson defeated Minnesota 4–3 in overtime to win the championship game at the St. Paul Civic Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Albert W. "Abbie" Moore is a Canadian retired ice hockey center who was the MOP for the 1954 NCAA Tournament.
The Clarkson–Rensselaer men's ice hockey rivalry is a college ice hockey rivalry between the Clarkson Golden Knights men's ice hockey and RPI Engineers men's ice hockey programs. The first meeting between the two occurred on January 24, 1925.