1976 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

The 1976 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 17th conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 10 and March 15, 1976. All games were played at home team campus sites, including each of the two regional final series. By winning the regional tournaments, both Minnesota and Michigan Tech were invited to participate in the 1976 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

1976 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
DatesMarch 10-15, 1976
Teams8
Finals siteMunn Ice Arena
East Lansing, Michigan
Student Ice Arena
Houghton, Michigan
ChampionsMinnesota†[1] (5th title)
Michigan Tech‡[2] (8th title)
Winning coachHerb Brooks[3] (3rd title)
John MacInnes[4] (8th title)
WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments

Though not official designations, Minnesota is considered as the East Regional Champion† and Michigan Tech as the West Regional Champion‡.

Format

The top eight teams in the WCHA, according to their final conference standings, were eligible for the tournament and were seeded No. 1 through No. 8. In the first round the first and eighth seeds, the second and seventh seeds, the third and sixth seeds and the fourth and fifth seeds were matched in two-game series where the school that scored the higher number of goals was declared the winner. After the first round the remaining teams were reseeded No. 1 through No. 4 according to their final conference standings and advanced to the second round. In the second round the first and fourth seeds and the second and third seeds competed in an additional two-game, total goal series with the winners of each being declared as co-conference champions.

Conference Standings

[5] Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Michigan Tech†*32257050190134433490255177
Michigan State3220120401541394023152193176
Minnesota*3218131371291194428142190158
Michigan3217150341571413921180196176
Notre Dame3215152321431403819172171173
Colorado College3215161311311333815221151181
Wisconsin3211192241371513812242153177
Denver3212200241201403916230165175
Minnesota-Duluth3212200241321603615210159179
North Dakota3212200241191553615210142168
Championship: Minnesota, Michigan Tech
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion

Bracket

[6] Teams are reseeded after the first round

  First Round
March 10-11		 Second Round
March 13-15
                                 
1 Michigan Tech 5 8  
8 Denver 4 6 1 Michigan Tech 4 6
4 Michigan 2 5
  2 Michigan State 6 6
7 Wisconsin 4 4  
  3 Minnesota 7 5
6 Colorado College 4 1 2 Michigan State 2 6
3 Minnesota 2 7***
  4 Michigan 8 4
5 Notre Dame 3 5

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

First Round

(1) Michigan Tech vs. (8) Denver
Michigan Tech won series 13–10

(2) Michigan State vs. (7) Wisconsin
Michigan State won series 12–8

(3) Minnesota vs. (6) Colorado College
Minnesota won series 12–5

(4) Michigan vs. (5) Notre Dame
Michigan won series 12–8

Second Round

(1) Michigan Tech vs. (4) Michigan
Michigan Tech won series 10–7

(2) Michigan State vs. (3) Minnesota
Minnesota won series 9–8

Tournament awards

None

See also

References
  1. "Minnesota Men's Team History". Retrieved 2014-06-01.
  2. "Michigan Tech Men's Team History". Retrieved 2014-06-01.
  3. "Herb Brooks Year-by-Year Coaching Record". Retrieved 2014-06-01.
  4. "John MacInnes Year-by-Year Coaching Record". Retrieved 2014-06-01.
  5. "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 113-128" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved 2014-06-01.
  6. "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 129-144" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved 2014-06-01.
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