The 1977 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 18th conference playoff in league history. The tournament was played between March 9 and March 17, 1977. All games were played at home team campus sites including the championship series. By reaching the finals both Wisconsin and Michigan were invited to participate in the 1977 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

This was the first year that the WCHA had named one tournament champion in twelve years. After this championship the conference would revert to awarding two teams the postseason title for an additional four years.

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 advancing to the championship series, again a two-game, total goal match.

Conference standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

1976–77 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Wisconsin†*32265153192122453771264161
Notre Dame3219103411641273822133191147
Michigan3220120401831514528170260211
Denver3216142341541514021172206187
North Dakota3216160321681583819190202184
Michigan Tech3215161311431503819181177178
Minnesota3213163291351444117213177202
Colorado College3211201231561704013252194209
Michigan State3211201231221713614211145189
Minnesota-Duluth32624214119192379262148219
Championship: Wisconsin
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion

[3]

Bracket

[4] Teams are reseeded after the first round

First Round
March 9–10 		Semifinals
March 12–13 		Championship
March 16–17
               
1 Wisconsin 3 3 6
8 Colorado College 1 1 2
1 Wisconsin 9 8 17
7 Minnesota 5 3 8
2 Notre Dame 5 2 7
7 Minnesota 1 9 10
1 Wisconsin 4 5 9
3 Michigan 0 4 4
3 Michigan 6 5 11
6 Michigan Tech 5 2 7
3 Michigan 6 11 17
4 Denver 4 4 8
4 Denver 8 7 15
5 North Dakota 3 2 5

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

First round

(1) Wisconsin vs. (8) Colorado College

March 9 Wisconsin 3 – 1 Colorado College Dane County Coliseum
March 10 Wisconsin 3 – 1 Colorado College Dane County Coliseum
Wisconsin won series 6–2

(2) Notre Dame vs. (7) Minnesota

March 9 Notre Dame 5 – 1 Minnesota Edmund P. Joyce Center
March 10 Notre Dame 2 – 9 Minnesota Edmund P. Joyce Center
Minnesota won series 10–7

(3) Michigan vs. (6) Michigan Tech

March 9 Michigan 6 – 5 Michigan Tech Yost Ice Arena
March 10 Michigan 5 – 2 Michigan Tech Yost Ice Arena
Michigan won series 11–7

(4) Denver vs. (5) North Dakota

March 9 Denver 8 – 3 North Dakota DU Arena
March 10 Denver 7 – 2 North Dakota DU Arena
Denver won series 15–5

Semifinals

(1) Wisconsin vs. (7) Minnesota

March 12 Wisconsin 9 – 5 Minnesota Dane County Coliseum
March 13 Wisconsin 8 – 3 Minnesota Dane County Coliseum
Wisconsin won series 17–8

(3) Michigan vs. (4) Denver

March 12 Michigan 6 – 4 Denver Yost Ice Arena
March 13 Michigan 11 – 4 Denver Yost Ice Arena
Michigan won series 17–8

Championship

(1) Wisconsin vs. (3) Michigan

March 16 Wisconsin 4 – 0 Michigan Dane County Coliseum
March 17 Wisconsin 5 – 4 Michigan Dane County Coliseum
Wisconsin won series 9–4

Tournament awards

None

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Wisconsin Men's Team History". Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Bob Johnson Year-by-Year Coaching Record". Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  3. ↑ "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 113-128" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  4. ↑ "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 129-144" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
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