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

August 2023 March 2026 men i 1980 October 1980–March 28, 1981 Duluth Arena Duluth, Minnesota Wisconsin Neal Broten Minnesota 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 PollRankTeam1 Minnesota2 Michigan Tech3 Providence4 Boston College5 Wisconsin6 North Dakota7 Northern Michigan8 Michigan9 (tie) Denver9 (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 2012-13 CCHA Media Guide http://issuu.com/cchahockey/docs/2012-13_ccha_media_guide_final_2a_compressed CCHA 2014-06-292008-09 ECAC Hockey Media Guide http://www.ecachockey.com/men/history/Summaries-I.pdf ECAC Hockey 2014-06-292008-09 WCHA Yearbook 113-128 http://wcha.com/pdf/mguide0910/Ybk-113-128.pdf WCHA 2014-06-29 Final regular season polls The final top 10 teams as ranked by coaches (WMPL) before the conference tournament finals. WMPL Coaches PollRankingTeam1 Minnesota2 Clarkson3 Wisconsin3 (tie) Michigan Tech5 Northern Michigan6 Denver7 Boston College8 North Dakota9 Colgate10 Michigan10 (tie) New Hampshire 1981 NCAA Tournament 1981 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament 2/1 score QuarterfinalsMarch 19–21 SemifinalsMarch 25–26 National championshipMarch 27 Third-place game E1 Clarkson 2 6 8 W4 Wisconsin 3 6 9 W2 Northern Michigan 7 3 10 E3 Cornell 3 4 7 W1 Minnesota 9 5 14 E4 Colgate 4 4 8 E2 Providence 3 5 8 W3 Michigan Tech 7 6 13 W4 Wisconsin 5 W2 Northern Michigan 1 W1 Minnesota 7 W3 Michigan Tech 2 W4 Wisconsin 6 W1 Minnesota 3 W2 Northern Michigan 2 W3 Michigan Tech 5 Note: * denotes overtime period(s) NCAA Tournament http://www.augenblick.org/chha/ncaa_trn.html College Hockey Historical Archives May 19, 2013 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 PIMAaron Broten Sophomore Minnesota 45 47 59 106 24Steve Ulseth Senior Minnesota 45 41 52 93 18Steve Bozek Junior Northern Michigan 44 35 55 90 46Jeff Pyle Jeff Pyle (ice hockey) Junior Northern Michigan 40 35 53 88 20Bryan Erickson Bryan Erickson (ice hockey) Sophomore Minnesota 44 39 47 86 30Troy Murray Freshman North Dakota 38 33 45 78 28Scott Lecy Senior Wisconsin 42 26 49 75 44Ross Fitzpatrick Ross Fitzpatrick (ice hockey) Junior Western Michigan 36 28 43 71 22Neal Broten Sophomore Minnesota 36 17 54 71 56Dan Fridgen Junior Colgate 33 37 31 68 164Bryan Cleaver Senior Clarkson 37 24 44 68 38 1980-81 NCAA Division I Statistics http://www.eliteprospects.com/league.php?leagueid=NCAA&season=1980 Elite Prospects 2016-06-04 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% GAADon Sylvestri Freshman Clarkson 29 1740 22 3 4 84 2 .904 2.92Gary Laskoski Junior St. Lawrence 21 1196 10 10 1 64 0 .895 3.21Frank Krieber Senior Michigan Tech 28 1701 - - - 91 1 .895 3.21Jeff Poeschl Freshman Northern Michigan 32 1855 20 9 2 101 1 .895 3.27Marc Behrend Sophomore Wisconsin 16 913 11 4 1 50 0 .909 3.29Alain Chevrier Freshman Miami 19 1053 8 10 1 73 0 - 3.40Darren Eliot Sophomore Cornell 18 912 8 7 0 52 1 .908 3.42Scott Robinson Scott Robinson (ice hockey, born 1960) Junior Denver 31 1885 17 12 2 110 0 .882 3.50Mike Blake Senior Ohio State 37 2098 22 9 3 125 2 .896 3.57Brian Hayward Junior Cornell 19 967 11 4 1 58 1 .904 3.60 Awards NCAA AwardNCAA Division I Awards http://www.augenblick.org/chha/ncaa_awd.html College Hockey Historical Archives June 11, 2013 RecipientHobey Baker Memorial Award Neal Broten, MinnesotaSpencer Penrose Award Bill O'Flaherty, ClarksonMost Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament Marc Behrend, WisconsinAHCA All-American TeamsMen's Ice Hockey Award Winners http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_icehockey_rb/2013/MIH%20awards%20for%202013.pdf NCAA.org June 11, 2013 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 AwardsCCHA Awards http://www.augenblick.org/chha/ccha_awd.html College Hockey Historical Archives May 19, 2013 RecipientPlayer of the Year Jeff Pyle, Northern MichiganRookie of the Year Jeff Poeschl, Northern Michigan Paul Pooley, Ohio StateCoach of the Year Rick Comley, Northern MichiganAll-CCHA TeamsCCHA All-Teams http://www.augenblick.org/chha/ccha_all.html College Hockey Historical Archives May 19, 2013 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 AwardECAC Awards http://www.augenblick.org/chha/ecac_awd.html College Hockey Historical Archives May 19, 2013 RecipientPlayer of the Year Ed Small, ClarksonRookie of the Year Don Sylvestri, ClarksonMost Outstanding Player in Tournament Kurt Kleinendorst, ProvidenceAll-ECAC Hockey TeamsECAC All-Teams http://www.augenblick.org/chha/ecac_all.html College Hockey Historical Archives May 19, 2013 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 AwardWCHA Awards http://www.augenblick.org/chha/wcha_awd.html College Hockey Historical Archives May 19, 2013 RecipientMost Valuable Player Steve Ulseth, MinnesotaFreshman of the Year Ron Scott, Michigan StateCoach of the Year John Giordano, MichiganAll-WCHA TeamsWCHA All-Teams http://www.augenblick.org/chha/wcha_all.html College Hockey Historical Archives May 19, 2013 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 1981 NHL entry draft 1981 NHL entry draft Round Pick Player College Conference NHL team 1 9 James Patrick James Patrick (ice hockey) † North Dakota WCHA white New York Rangers 2 27 Dave Donnelly † North Dakota WCHA white Minnesota North Stars 2 33 Tom Hirsch † Minnesota WCHA white Minnesota North Stars 2 34 David Preuss 1 † Minnesota WCHA white Minnesota North Stars 2 37 Rich Costello † Providence ECAC Hockey white Philadelphia Flyers 2 40 Chris Chelios † Wisconsin WCHA white Montreal Canadiens 4 64 Kirk McCaskill Vermont ECAC Hockey white Winnipeg Jets 4 68 Anthony Kellin 1 † Minnesota WCHA white Washington Capitals 4 71 Paul Houck † Wisconsin WCHA white Edmonton Oilers 4 76 James Malwitz 1 † Minnesota WCHA white Minnesota North Stars 4 81 Marty Dallman Rensselaer ECAC Hockey white Los Angeles Kings 5 85 Marc Behrend Wisconsin WCHA white Winnipeg Jets 5 88 Steve Rooney † Providence ECAC Hockey white Montreal Canadiens 5 95 Ed Lee Ed Lee (ice hockey) Princeton ECAC Hockey white Quebec Nordiques 6 106 Bob O'Connor 1 Boston College ECAC Hockey white Winnipeg Jets 6 108 Bruce Driver Wisconsin WCHA white Colorado Rockies 6 114 Eric Magnuson 1 Rensselaer ECAC Hockey white New York Rangers 6 117 Bill Schafhauser Northern Michigan CCHA white Chicago Black Hawks 6 118 Paul Guay † Providence ECAC Hockey white Minnesota North Stars 6 119 Bruce Milton 1 Boston University ECAC Hockey white Boston Bruins 6 124 Tom Anastos † Michigan State WCHA white Montreal Canadiens 7 135 Mike Guentzel † Minnesota WCHA white New York Rangers 7 139 Jim Archibald † North Dakota WCHA white Minnesota North Stars 7 141 Rick Heppner 1 † Wisconsin WCHA white Calgary Flames 7 143 Dan McFall † Michigan State WCHA white Winnipeg Jets 7 144 Peter Sawkins 1 † Yale ECAC Hockey white Los Angeles Kings 7 145 Tom Kurvers Minnesota–Duluth WCHA white Montreal Canadiens 8 149 Rick Zombo † North Dakota WCHA white Detroit Red Wings 8 163 Steve Taylor 1 Providence ECAC Hockey white Philadelphia Flyers 8 164 Gaetano Orlando Providence ECAC Hockey white Buffalo Sabres 8 165 Dan Brennan North Dakota WCHA white Los Angeles Kings 8 166 Paul Gess 1 † Lake Superior State CCHA white Montreal Canadiens 9 171 Tim Army Providence ECAC Hockey white Colorado Rockies 9 172 Jeff Poeschl 1 Northern Michigan CCHA white Hartford Whalers 9 173 George White 1 New Hampshire ECAC Hockey white Washington Capitals 9 177 Paul Reifenberger 1 † Western Michigan CCHA white New York Rangers 9 181 Scott Bjugstad Minnesota WCHA white Minnesota North Stars 9 182 Don Sylvestri Clarkson ECAC Hockey white Boston Bruins 9 183 George Boudreau 1 † Boston College ECAC Hockey white Calgary Flames 9 187 Scott Ferguson 1 † Colorado College WCHA white Montreal Canadiens 10 192 John Johannson Wisconsin WCHA white Colorado Rockies 10 197 Gord Sherven † North Dakota WCHA white Edmonton Oilers 10 198 Mario Proulx 1 Providence ECAC Hockey white New York Rangers 10 202 Steve Kudebeh 1 † Rensselaer ECAC Hockey white Minnesota North Stars 10 204 Bruce Eakin ‡ Wisconsin WCHA white Detroit Red Wings 10 206 Warren Harper 1 † Michigan State WCHA white Buffalo Sabres 10 207 Jeff Baikie 1 Cornell ECAC Hockey white Los Angeles Kings 10 210 Dave Randerson 1 † Bowling Green CCHA white New York Islanders † incoming freshman‡ Eakin had left school during the season 1981 NHL Entry Draft https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1981e.html Hockey DB October 25, 2023 See also 1980–81 NCAA Division II men's ice hockey season 1980–81 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season References 2 External links College Hockey Historical Archives 1980–81 NCAA Standings NCAA