1947–48 Dartmouth Indians
men's ice hockey season
Pentagonal League, Champion
NCAA Tournament, Runner-Up
Conference1st Pentagonal League
Record
Overall21–3–0
Conference7–0–0
Home10–0–0
Road7–2–0
Neutral4–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachEddie Jeremiah
Captain(s)Bill Riley
Dartmouth Indians men's ice hockey seasons
« 1946–47 1948–49 »

The 1947–48 Dartmouth Indians men's ice hockey season was the 42nd season of play for the program but first under the oversight of the NCAA. The Indians represented Dartmouth College and were coached by Eddie Jeremiah, in his 8th season.

Season

With the NCAA instituting a national tournament for the first time for this season, Dartmouth was expected to be one of the two teams selected from the east for the competition. The Indians had won the last four eastern intercollegiate titles contested (one tied) and still boasted many of the players that had helped earn those championships. While the did lose scoring star Jack Riley to graduation, his place in the lineup was filled ably by brother Joe Riley, a transfer from the defunct program at Illinois. Joe was teamed with middle brother and team captain Bill Riley and Bob Merriam to form one of the top scoring lines in the nation and keep Dartmouth atop the college hockey landscape. The defense was also a strength of the team, led by Crawford Campbell and Bob Thayer, while Dick Desmond took on the role as the starter in goal.

After narrowly escaping Boston University in the season opener, Dartmouth settled in and reeled off several dominating victories. During the winter break the club headed to Buffalo and ran roughshod over the other three teams assembled. The Indians ran their hot start to a 7–0 mark before Boston College dented their record.[1] The narrow defeat seemed to spur the team and they responded with several overpowering performances. The greens were, however, able to get their revenge against the Eagles in the rematch and continued their winning ways for the rest of the regular season.

Dartmouth reeled off 13 consecutive wins to finish their slate of game with a 20–1 record and were the obvious choice as the top eastern representative. However, before the beginning of the tournament, Dartmouth still had a few game to play. After the annual alumni game, the Indians headed up to Toronto to take on the eastern Canadian champions, the Toronto Varsity Blues. The northerners handed Dartmouth its worst defeat in eight years and shut out the Indians for the first time since February 1941.[2] Just three days later, the team was in Colorado Springs and having to fight through both fatigue and a mile-high altitude as well as a strong Colorado College outfit. Dartmouth's scorers were not deterred and the team doubled up the nation's top offense to advance to the first national championship game in history.

The final game of the season pitted the top teams from each region and Dartmouth would have its hands full against Michigan. While the Wolverines weren't quite as productive on the offensive side as the Indians, their defense was possibly the best in the nation. The title tilt was kicked off by Michigan gaining a lead just 50 seconds into the game. Bill Riley tied the game shortly thereafter and the two then traded goals before the end of the first period to leave the score at 2-all. Dartmouth scored twice in the second period to take a 2-goal lead just past the midway point of the game. With everything appearing to break in the Indians' favor, the second half of the game turned into a tragedy for the greens.

Michigan cut the lead in half with five minutes remaining in the second. Just over a minute later, Gordon McMillan tied the score but the play was whistled down. Just prior to the goal, Al Renfrew had finished serving a penalty and had returned to the ice rather than his team's bench, as was required by some rules at the time. The referees decided to nullify the goal and the period ended 4–3 in Dartmouth's favor, however, Michigan's coach, Vic Heyliger protested during the intermission. The NCAA rules committee conferred and decided to reverse the decision, officially awarding Michigan the goal and leaving the two tied going into the third. While its unknown how this turn of events affected the team, it was the Wolverines' offense that provided the biggest turning point in the match. Michigan went on a tear in the final frame, scoring three times in the first seven minutes. Dartmouth was unable to respond and all of the shots they fired on goal were turned aside. Michigan finished the game on a 6-goal run and captured the inaugural national championship, much to the chagrin of the Dartmouth faithful.[3]

Roster

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team
Robert J. Amirault Junior F 1924-01-21
New Hampshire Crawford Campbell Senior D Manchester, New Hampshire
Massachusetts Walter H. Crowley Junior F 1925-04-23 Hingham, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Richard J. Desmond Junior G 1927-03-02 Medford, Massachusetts
Robert Gray D
Massachusetts Alan R. Kerivan Freshman F 1927-03-30 Wellesley, Massachusetts
Rhode Island John D. Kilmartin Jr. Junior D 1925-08-07 Providence, Rhode Island
Massachusetts Bruce A. Magoon Sophomore G 1927-08-23 Haverhill, Massachusetts
Massachusetts James B. Malone Senior F 1926-05-06 Cambridge, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Robert L. Merriam Senior F 1924-06-04 Greenfield, Massachusetts
Minnesota Arnold C. Oss Jr. Sophomore F 1928-04-19 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Rhode Island George Pulliam Graduate D Cranston, Rhode Island
Howard L. Richmond Sophomore F
Massachusetts Joseph A. Riley Junior F 1923-12-14 Medford, Massachusetts Illinois
Massachusetts William J. Riley (C) Graduate F 1921-10-06 Medford, Massachusetts
New York (state) William H. Taylor Jr. Sophomore F 1926-08-28 Buffalo, New York
Massachusetts Robert N. Thayer Junior D 1923-03-13 Melrose, Massachusetts
Thomas Warner Junior

[4]

Standings

1947–48 NCAA Independent ice hockey standings
Intercollegiate Overall
GP W L T Pct. GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Army161141.71978391611417839
Bemidji State5050.0001336102803763
Boston College191450.7371266019145012660
Boston University242040.8331798624204017986
Bowdoin9450.4444568116505673
Brown14590.3576191145906191
California10280.20045621751208789
Clarkson12561.45867391710619654
Colby8260.250284182602841
Colgate10730.70054341310308345
Colorado College14950.6438473271980207120
Cornell4040.0003434040343
Dartmouth232120.9131567624213015681
Fort Devens State133100.2313374––––––
Georgetown3210.667121175203721
Hamilton–––––––14770––
Harvard229130.409131131239140135140
Lehigh8080.00089510010012108
Massachusetts2020.0001233030330
Michigan181620.8891055323202114163
Michigan Tech197120.36887962081209197
Middlebury14851.6071116816105112774
Minnesota16970.5637873219120100105
Minnesota–Duluth6330.500212496303628
MIT198110.4219311419811093114
New Hampshire13490.3085867134905867
North Dakota10640.600514616115010368
North Dakota Agricultural5320.600272864203729
Northeastern191090.526135119191090135119
Norwich9360.3333858136705670
Princeton188100.444657221101107979
St. Cloud State121020.83355351612407355
St. Lawrence9630.6676527138419550
Suffolk–––––––––––––
Tufts4310.750171543101715
Union9180.1117869180786
Williams11362.364374713472––
Yale165101.34460692081118985
1947–48 Pentagonal League standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Dartmouth †77001.000492024213015681
Army4220.50012171611417839
Harvard7340.4293133239140135140
Princeton7250.286233121101107979
Yale7250.28620322081118985
† indicates conference champion

Schedule and results

DateOpponentSiteResultRecord
Regular Season
December 18 Boston University* Davis Rink • Hanover, New Hampshire W 6–5 OT 1–0–0
December 19 Devens State* Davis Rink • Hanover, New Hampshire W 10–3  2–0–0
December 29 vs. Williams* Buffalo Memorial Auditorium • Buffalo, New York W 7–1  3–0–0
December 31 vs. Colgate* Buffalo Memorial Auditorium • Buffalo, New York W 6–2  4–0–0
January 1 vs. Princeton* Buffalo Memorial Auditorium • Buffalo, New York W 5–1  5–0–0
January 4 vs. Clarkson* Watertown, New York W 2–1  6–0–0
January 10 Princeton Davis Rink • Hanover, New Hampshire W 6–2  7–0–0 (1–0–0)
January 12 at Boston College* Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts L 3–4  7–1–0
January 17 Northeastern* Davis Rink • Hanover, New Hampshire W 13–3  8–1–0
January 21 Brown* Davis Rink • Hanover, New Hampshire W 7–1  9–1–0
January 24 Yale New Haven Arena • New Haven, Connecticut W 6–0  10–1–0 (2–0–0)
January 26 at Boston University* Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts W 6–5  11–1–0
January 28 Clarkson* Davis Rink • Hanover, New Hampshire W 2–1  12–1–0
January 29 Boston College* Davis Rink • Hanover, New Hampshire W 6–4  13–1–0
February 12 California* Davis Rink • Hanover, New Hampshire W 13–4  14–1–0
February 14 Yale Davis Rink • Hanover, New Hampshire W 9–4  15–1–0 (3–0–0)
February 18 at Harvard Boston Arena • Boston, Massachusetts W 10–5  16–1–0 (4–0–0)
February 21 at Army Smith Rink • West Point, New York W 5–2  17–1–0 (5–0–0)
February 23 at Williams* Cole Field House Rink • Williamstown, Massachusetts W 9–1  18–1–0
February 28 Harvard Davis Rink • Hanover, New Hampshire W 8–5  19–1–0 (6–0–0)
March 6 at Princeton Hobey Baker Memorial Rink • Princeton, New Jersey W 5–2  20–1–0 (7–0–0)
March 12 Dartmouth Alumni* Davis Rink • Hanover, New Hampshire (Exhibition) L 4–8 
March 15 Toronto* Varsity Arena • Toronto, Ontario L 0–5  20–2–0
NCAA Tournament
March 18 at Colorado College* Broadmoor Ice Palace • Colorado Springs, Colorado (NCAA Semifinal) W 8–4  21–2–0
March 20 vs. Michigan* Broadmoor Ice Palace • Colorado Springs, Colorado (NCAA Championship) L 4–8  21–3–0
*Non-conference game.

[2]

National championship game

Michigan vs. Dartmouth

March 20 Michigan 8 – 4 Dartmouth Broadmoor Ice Palace
Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st UM Wally Gacek Grant 0:50 1–0 UM
DC Bill Riley Merriam 4:25 1–1
UM Wally Gacek Grant 10:55 2–1 UM
DC Crawford Campbell – PP unasisted 17:25 2–2
2nd DC Walt Crowley B. Riley 26:55 3–2 DC
DC Arnold Oss Malone 31:05 4–2 DC
UM Wally Grant Gacek 35:20 4–3 DC
UM Gordon McMillan Greer 36:40 4–4
3rd UM Wally Grant– GW Gacek and Greer 41:30 5–4 UM
UM Gordon McMillan Renfrew 46:15 6–4 UM
UM Wally Gacek Grant and Greer 46:20 7–4 UM
UM Ted Greer Gacek 55:14 8–4 UM

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Bob AmiraultF-----
Crawford CampbellD-----
Walt CrowleyF-----
Dick DesmondG-----
Bob GrayD-----
Alan KerivanF-----
John KilmartinD-----
Bruce MagoonG-----
Jim MaloneF-----
Bob MerriamC/LW-----
Arnie OssF-----
George PulliamD-----
Howard RichmondF-----
Bill RileyC/LW-302353-
Joe RileyRW-22---
Bill TaylorF-----
Bob ThayerD-----
Tom Warner-----
Total154

[5]
Note: Only sparse goaltending statistics are available.

Awards and honors

Player Award Ref
Joe Riley NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player [6]
Bill Riley AHCA First Team All-American [7]
George Pulliam AHCA Second Team All-American [7]
Bill Riley NCAA All-Tournament First Team [8]
Joe Riley
Dick Desmond NCAA All-Tournament Second Team [8]

References

  1. ↑ "Eagle Pucksters Hand Dartmouth Second Loss in 3 Years at Arena". The Heights. January 15, 1948. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Year-By-Year results" (PDF). Dartmouth Big Green. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Wolverines Capture National Hockey Title". The Michigan Daily. March 21, 1948. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  4. ↑ "1947-1948 Roster". Elite Prospects. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Dartmouth College 1947-48 roster and statistics". EliteProspects. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  6. ↑ "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  8. 1 2 "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
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