1949–50 Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey season

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1949–50 Colorado College Tigers
men's ice hockey season
Colorado College athletics text logo.png
National champion
1950 NCAA Tournament, champion
Home iceBroadmoor Ice Palace
Record
Overall18–5–1
Home13–2–1
Road5–3
Neutral2–0
Coaches and Captains
Head CoachCheddy Thompson
Captain(s)Milo Yalich[1]
Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey seasons
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The 1949–50 Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey team represented the Colorado College in intercollegiate college ice hockey during the 1949–50 NCAA men's ice hockey season. The head coach was Cheddy Thompson and the team captain was Milo Yalich. The team won the 1950 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. The team's leading scorer was Harry Whitworth, who finished third in the nation with 60 points.

Season[]

Colorado College entered the 1949–50 season looking for a bit of redemption after they lost their first three NCAA tournament games over the previous two seasons. With returning senior Milo Yalich named as team captain, the team opened on the road against the Wichita All-Stars before hosting the same team the following week. The first game was a close affair, with the Tigers winning 5–4 but the next three matches were easily won by Cheddy Thompson's team. The Tigers stayed at home until mid-January and used that advantage to win their first 10 games of the season. The visiting UBC Thunderbirds spoiled their perfect record, handing the Tigers their first two losses of the year but that series was sandwiched between two weekends against the brand new Denver program that was hopelessly outmatched by Colorado College. CC took all four games against their future rival by a combined score of 50–4. After splitting two games during a trip up to Minnesota the Tigers met their biggest competition in the west, the Michigan Wolverines.

CC had lost five of their previous six meetings against the Wolverines and hadn't beaten Michigan since 1946.[2] In the first game Michigan shut down the high-powered CC offense, holding the Tigers to a season-low one goal in a 5–1 CC loss. The next day turned out even worse for the Tigers when they were trounced by Michigan 11–1. The bitter taste of those two losses remained in the team's mouth for two weeks but once they returned to the ice the team was able to take some of their frustration out on Minnesota, winning two games to end the regular season. While Michigan had the best record by far, Colorado College and North Dakota were in contention for the second western seed. While their two records were very similar (15–6–2 vs. 16–5–1) the series the two played against one another ended in CC's favor and was likely the deciding factor in sending the Tigers back to the NCAA tournament.

The Tigers welcomed Boston College in the semifinal and, after BC opened the scoring early in the first, Colorado College produced what was then the most lopsided victory in tournament history. The Tigers' Carl Lawrence gave the team its first lead and then proceeded to score four more times before the game was over.[2] Ron Hartwell, Tony Frasca, Chris Ray and Bill MacDonald also hit the net as CC rolled to a 10–3 win, their first tournament victory. In the championship game CC faced off against Boston University who were in their first season playing varsity ice hockey and led by the nation's leading scorer Jack Garrity. Once again the Tigers surrendered the first goal and went into the second period down 1–0. CC remained off the score sheet until about midway through the game when they notched two goals in the span of 18 seconds and followed it up with a third just over six minutes later. With the game close through two periods there was still hope for both teams but, when Ron Hartwell scored 52 seconds in, the championship appeared to be slipping away from BU. Chris Ray built the lead to 4 before future Hall of Famer Jack Kelley made the score 5–2. After that brief respite the CC offense went on a rampage and scored seven goals in just under 7 minutes of game time with all but one coming from different players. Three more goals were scored before the game ended but the outcome had already been decided and Colorado College skated away with their first national championship.

CC set numerous records over the course of the season. With their 190 goals coming in only 24 games the team averaged just under 8 goals per game (7.91) which is the best rating in history for an NCAA champion (as of 2018). Colorado College twice broke the record for largest margin of victory in the NCAA tournament, winning 10–3 in their first game (+7) and 13–4 in their second (+9). As of 2018 the championship game has the second-widest margin (1961). The 13 goals CC scored in the championship set a record for most in any tournament game that was broken by Michigan in 1953 and remains a record for a championship game (tied with the 1957 CC team). The 23 goals scored in the tournament was a record that was not broken until the tournament expanded to at last double the number of games for a championship team, but still remains a record for any team in the Frozen Four. The +16 total goal differential is still a record for a single tournament that is shared by Michigan in 1953 and Wisconsin in 1983.

Standings[]

1949–50 NCAA Independent ice hockey standings
Intercollegiate Overall
GP W L T Pct. GF GA GP W L T GF GA
American International – – – – – – – 12 6 5 1 – –
Army – – – – – – – 12 3 9 0 39 83
Boston College – – – – – – – 19 14 5 0 122 83
Boston University – – – – – – – 24 19 5 0 170 70
Bowdoin – – – – – – – 13 7 4 0 – –
Brown – – – – – – – 20 11 9 0 134 85
Clarkson – – – – – – – 14 4 8 2 61 67
Colby – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Colgate – – – – – – – 15 7 7 1 63 83
Colorado College 16 12 3 1 .781 131 60 24 18 5 1 190 90
Dartmouth – – – – – – – 20 11 9 0 93 86
Denver – – – – – – – 17 4 13 0 50 202
Hamilton – – – – – – – 13 4 9 0 – –
Harvard – �� – – – – – 18 10 8 0 106 89
Massachusetts – – – – – – – 7 2 3 2 31 45
Michigan – – – – – – – 27 23 4 0 176 72
Michigan State – – – – – – – 14 0 14 0 27 157
Michigan Tech – – – – – – – 17 10 7 0 110 65
Middlebury – – – – – – – 21 11 10 0 – –
Minnesota – – – – – – – 16 5 11 0 75 74
MIT – – – – – – – 12 4 8 0 – –
New Hampshire – – – – – – – 4 0 4 0 8 28
North Dakota – – – – – – – 23 15 6 2 147 95
Northeastern – – – – – – – 18 7 10 1 92 105
Norwich – – – – – – – 10 6 4 0 – –
Princeton – – – – – – – 20 6 13 1 81 112
Rensselaer – – – – – – – 10 4 6 0 40 58
St. Lawrence – – – – – – – 9 9 0 0 67 32
Williams – – – – – – – 9 3 6 0 – –
Wyoming – – – – – – – 8 0 8 0 – –
Yale – – – – – – – 18 12 6 0 83 55

Schedule[]

During the season Colorado College compiled an 18–5–1 record, and was selected for the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year.[2]

Date Opponent Score Result Venue Location Record
Dec. 9, 1949 5–4 Win Wichita, KS 1–0
Dec. 10, 1949 10–1 Win Wichita, KS 2–0
Dec. 16, 1949 9–0 Win Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, CO 3–0
Dec. 17, 1949 13–3 Win Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, CO 4–0
Dec. 22, 1949 Saskatchewan 6–3 Win Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, CO 5–0
Dec. 23, 1949 Saskatchewan 9–6 Win Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, CO 6–0
Dec. 29, 1949 Brown 12–7 Win Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, CO 7–0
Dec. 30, 1949 Brown 8–5 Win Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, CO 8–0
Jan. 6, 1950 Denver 16–0 Win Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, CO 9–0
Jan. 7, 1950 Denver 10–0 Win Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, CO 10–0
Jan. 13, 1950 British Columbia 4–8 Loss Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, CO 10–1
Jan. 14, 1950 British Columbia 3–5 Loss Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, CO 10–2
Jan. 21, 1950 Denver 14–1 Win DU Arena Denver, CO 11–2
Jan. 30, 1950 Denver 10–3 Win DU Arena Denver, CO 12–2
Feb. 3, 1950 North Dakota 8–5 Win Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, CO 13–2
Feb. 4, 1950 North Dakota 3–3* tie Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, CO 13–2–1
Feb. 10, 1950 Minnesota 8–6 Win St. Paul Auditorium Saint Paul, MN 14–2–1
Feb. 11, 1950 Minnesota 2–4 Loss Mayo Civic Center Rochester, MN 14–3–1
Feb. 17, 1950 Michigan 1–5 Loss Weinberg Coliseum Ann Arbor, MI 14–4–1
Feb. 18, 1950 Michigan 1–11 Loss Weinberg Coliseum Ann Arbor, MI 14–5–1
Mar. 3, 1950 Minnesota 9–2 Win Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, CO 15–5–1
Mar. 4, 1950 Minnesota 6–1 Win Broadmoor Ice Palace Colorado Springs, CO 16–5–1
NCAA TOURNAMENT
March 16, 1950 Boston College 10–3 Win Broadmoor World Arena Colorado Springs, CO 17–5–1
March 18, 1950 Boston University 13–4 Win Broadmoor World Arena Colorado Springs, CO 18–5–1
190–90 18–5–1

* Denotes overtime periods

Roster and scoring statistics[]

No. Name Year Position Hometown S/P/C Games Goals Assists Pts PIM
Senior C Toronto, ON Ontario 24 25 35 60 14
Chris Ray Junior F Belmont, MA Massachusetts 24 31 13 44 19
Ron Hartwell Sophomore RW Swan Lake, MB Manitoba 24 28 13 41 2
Andy Gambucci Sophomore F Eveleth, MN Minnesota – 25 5 30 30
Sophomore LW Saskatoon, SK Saskatchewan – 5 18 23 18
Senior D Buhl, MN Minnesota – 15 7 22 26
Jim Starrak Junior D Moose Jaw, SK Saskatchewan – 14 7 21 27
Sophomore F New Westminster, BC British Columbia – 4 11 15 12
Senior C New Haven, CT Connecticut – 4 11 15 22
Senior LW Hamden, CT Connecticut – 4 6 10 2
Freshman D Wellesley, MA Massachusetts – 2 6 8 19
Freshman D Waterloo, ON Ontario – 4 3 7 8
Junior F Rimbey, AB Alberta – 3 3 6 10
Tony Frasca Sophomore F Cambridge, MA Massachusetts 24 34 – – 10
Senior G Rochester, MN Minnesota 12 – – – –
Sophomore G Cambridge, MA Massachusetts 6 – – – –
Senior G Eveleth, MN Minnesota 4 – – – –
Total 190
  • The team scored 190 goals over the course of the season, however, there are 194 goals collectively attributed to the players. These extra goals may have come from the alumni game that officially counts as an exhibition game.

[3]

Goaltending Statistics[]

No. Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
12 – – – – – – – – –
6 – – – – – – – – –
4 – – – – – – – – –
Total 24 – – – – – – – – –

1950 national championship[]

(W2) Colorado College vs. (E2) Boston University[]

March 18[2] Colorado College 13 – 4 Boston University Broadmoor Ice Palace


Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st BU Garrity 6:16 1–0 BU
2nd CC Starrak 27:53 1–1
CC Frasca and Berry 28:05 2–1 CC
CC Chris Ray Hartwell and Yalich 34:27 3–1 CC
3rd CC Ron Hartwell – GW unassisted 40:52 4–1 CC
CC Chris Ray Whitworth 45:26 5–1 CC
BU Jack Kelley Garrity 46:47 5–2 CC
CC Ray and Hartwell 49:49 6–2 CC
CC Chris Ray Whitworth 51:20 7–2 CC
CC Ron Hartwell Whitworth and Ray 51:34 8–2 CC
CC Tony Frasca Berry and MacDonald 53:03 9–2 CC
CC Frasca and MacDonald 53:18 10–2 CC
CC Jim Starrak unassisted 56:15 11–2 CC
CC Chris Ray unassisted 56:39 12–2 CC
BU Jack Garrity Kelley 58:21 12–3 CC
CC Tony Frasca Lawrence 58:29 13–3 CC
BU Robinson and Bradley 59:56 13–4 CC
Penalty summary
Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM
1st BU William Jurgelevich 2:00
BU Lloyd Robinson 2:00
BU Jack Garrity 2:00
CC Jim Starrak 2:00
CC Milo Yalich 2:00
CC Bud Eastwood 2:00
2nd BU Jack Kelley 2:00
BU Joe Folino 2:00
BU Joe Czarnotta 5:00
CC Tony Frasca 2:00
3rd CC Leonard Maccini 2:00
CC William MacDonald 2:00

Jim Starrak and Tony Frasca were named to the All-Tournament First Team while and Ron Hartwell were on the All-Tournament Second Team[4]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Home at Last". Colorado College Tigers. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  2. ^ a b c d "Colorado College 2013-14 Media Guide" (PDF). CC Tigers. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
  3. ^ "Colorado College 1949-50 roster and statistics". EliteProspects. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  4. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-06-22. Retrieved 2013-06-19.

External links[]

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