1978 NCAA Division II men's ice hockey tournament

August 2023 1978 men's Division II 4 American International College Springfield, Massachusetts Merrimack Warriors 1st 1st 1st Lake Forest Foresters 1st 1st Mankato State Mavericks 1st Elmira Soaring Eagles 1st J. Thom Lawler 1st Jim Toomey Merrimack 2,409 The 1978 NCAA Men's Division II Ice Hockey Tournament involved 4 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college ice hockey. A total of 4 games were played, hosted by American International College. Merrimack, coached by Thom Lawler, won the national title with a 12–2 victory in the final game over Lake Forest. Jim Toomey, of Merrimack, was named the Most Outstanding Player and was the high scorer of the tournament with seven points (1 goal, 6 assists). Qualifying teams Due to the lack of conferences and tournaments for western schools the NCAA held a Western regional tournament to help select teams for the national tournament. The Western regional tournament is not considered as part of the NCAA championship but is included here for reference. No automatic bids were offered. Western Championship Tournament Regional semifinals Regional final   Mankato State 7   Illinois–Chicago 3   Lake Forest 5   St. Cloud State 1   Mankato State 2   Lake Forest 5 National Tournament Teams Team RecordElmira 26–4–0Lake Forest 22–4–0Merrimack 19–9–2Mankato State 16–15–1 Bracket National semifinalsMarch 16–17 National championshipMarch 18   Merrimack 6   Mankato State 1   Lake Forest 4   Elmira 1   Merrimack 12   Lake Forest 2   Mankato State 5   Elmira 3 Note: * denotes overtime period(s) All-Tournament team G: Gilles Moffet (Merrimack) D: Dean Fraser (Merrimack) D: Ron Bisplinghoff (Elmira) F: Jim Toomey* (Merrimack) F: John Kenney (Elmira) F: John Pratt (Lake Forest) External links http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/winter_champs_records/2004/2004_winter_champs_records.pdf NCAA Record Book 2016-04-13 NCAA NCAA Men's Division II Ice Hockey Tournament Category:NCAA Division II men's ice hockey tournament Category:1978 in sports in Massachusetts Category:Sports competitions in Springfield, Massachusetts Category:March 1978 sports events in the United States Category:20th century in Springfield, Massachusetts Category:College ice hockey tournaments in Massachusetts