The NCAA News - News and Features

March 17, 1997

Division I

Michigan looking to successfully defend title during 50th anniversary year

Event: 1997 Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship.

Overview: The 50th anniversary of the Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship will feature three teams -- Michigan, Clarkson and Minnesota -- celebrating their 75th year of hockey. Defending champion Michigan (30-3-4) is the top-ranked team in the country and favored to become the first repeat winner since Boston University 25 years ago. The Wolverines posted their seventh straight 30-win season and won their fourth consecutive regular-season Central Collegiate Hockey Association title. Senior center Brendan Morrison (24 goals, 47 assists, 71 points), who scored the game-winner in overtime in last year's final, became the Wolverines' all-time assist and points leader this season. The team captain leads the nation in assists and is a leading candidate to win the Hobey Baker Award. Senior left wing John Madden (23, 30, 53) leads the country with eight shorthanded goals and holds the NCAA career mark with 13. Goaltender Marty Turco (27 wins, 2.36 goals-against average) has been steady all season, as have the special teams. Michigan leads the nation in power-play scoring (.303) and ranks third in killing penalties at .885 ... Clarkson (24-8) is the hottest team in college hockey, having won nine in a row and 15 of its last 16. The Golden Knights won their seventh Eastern College Athletic Conference regular-season title and their third of the 1990s. Hobey Baker candidate and senior cocaptain Todd White (33, 32, 65) is having another all-America season. White leads the country in points per game (2.03), goals per game (1.03) and game-winning goals (eight). Senior cocaptain Jean-Francois Houle (16, 34, 50) has exploded offensively this year. Houle is one of the top defensive forwards in the country and one of the team's best penalty killers. Junior goaltender Dan Murphy (24-7, 2.35, .920 save percentage) has started 106 of the last 107 Clarkson games and has played all but 55 minutes this season ... Minnesota (24-11-1), which will make its 13th consecutive appearance in the championship and an NCAA record 24th overall, tied North Dakota for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season title on the last weekend of the season. The Golden Gophers led the WCHA in penalty killing and power-play efficiency, thanks largely to all-American defenseman Mike Crowley (5, 41, 46). The senior Hobey Baker candidate tied for the conference scoring title and became the first defenseman to lead in scoring in 34 years. In goal, Steve DeBus (21-10-1, 3.10, .891) led all WCHA goalies in victories.

Field: Twelve teams, including the regular-season and postseason champions from each of four conferences -- the Eastern College Athletic Conference and Hockey East, Central Collegiate Hockey and Western Collegiate Hockey Associations. If a regular-season champion also wins the postseason tournament, the committee will select another conference team using established selection criteria. The committee also will select four at-large teams.

Dates and sites: Regional competition will be March 21-23 at Worcester, Massachusetts (East region), and Grand Rapids, Michigan (West). The two highest-seeded teams at each regional will receive first-round byes. Two winners from each region will advance to the semifinals and final at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. The semifinals will be March 27 and the championship game will be March 29. The tournament uses a single-elimination format.

Media coverage: NCAA Productions will produce all regional games for television coverage. The March 27 semifinals will be televised live by ESPN2. The championship game will be televised live by ESPN at 1 p.m. (Eastern time) March 29. Audio "cybercasting" of all tournament games is accessible through the NCAA's web site at www.ncaa.org.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3060 (passcode 1915); request numbers are 1410 for bracket/schedule and 5120 (semifinals) and 5121 (championship game) for results. Championship results will be published in the April 7 issue of The NCAA News.