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1972–73 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey season

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1972–73 Wisconsin Badgers
men's ice hockey season
National champion
Big Ten, champion
WCHA Tournament, co-champion
NCAA Tournament, champion
Conference1st (tied) Big Ten
3rd (tied) WCHA
Home iceDane County Coliseum
Record
Overall29–9–2
Conference18–9–1 / 8–3–1
Home17–1
Road5–8–1
Neutral7–0–1
Coaches and captains
Head coachBob Johnson
Assistant coachesBill Rothwell
Captain(s)Tim Dool
Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey seasons
« 1971–72 1973–74 »

The 1972–73 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in college ice hockey. In its seventh year under head coach Bob Johnson, the team compiled a 29–9–2 record (18–9–1 against Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) opponents) and outscored all opponents 217 to 139.[1] The Badgers received one of the WCHA's automatic bids to the 1973 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament by winning the 1973 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. They defeated the Cornell Big Red in the Frozen Four semifinals and then beat WCHA-rival Denver Pioneers 4–2 to win their first national championship in Boston, Massachusetts.

Forward Dean Talafous was chosen as the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament. He had the winning goal in both of Wisconsin's victories as well as a tying score in the waning moments of the Badgers' semifinal match.[2]

Season

[edit]

Coming off of a then-season-best 27 wins, and second NCAA tournament appearance in three years,[3] Wisconsin was looking to take the final step towards winning a national championship. After losing to a dismal Colorado College team in their first game, Bob Johnson's Badgers went on an eleven-game tear and announced themselves as early-season contenders. In hindsight their 11-1 record was a bit misleading due to having faced CC and Michigan (the two worst WCHA teams) four times each as well as a series against 15th-place Colgate, going 9-1 in those games. Once Wisconsin began to face difficult opponents their record came back to earth. While their overall mark dipped as the season wore on, Wisconsin's home record remained in the stratosphere, not dropping a single match at the Dane County Coliseum until March and finishing with an astounding 17-1 record at home.

Key to the Badgers' success was a very evenly distributed offense. While none of Wisconsin's players finished anywhere near the top of the NCAA leaderboard, the team produced five 20-goal scorers and a further five 10-goal scorers, a feat some NHL teams struggle to achieve in twice as many games. The balanced Badger attack kept Wisconsin alive as they slowly dipped in the standings especially with their trouble on the road. After Minnesota ended Wisconsin's winning streak the Badgers won the St. Louis Invitational Tournament over the Christmas break but split the next two true away series. Starting with a loss to Michigan State on January 13 the Badgers dropped the final five road games and were in jeopardy of slipping to 4th in the conference when the Golden Gophers beat them at home in the penultimate game of the regular season. A win in the last match, however, kept them tied with Michigan State in the standings and with the tie-breakers in Wisconsin's favor the Badgers were able to avoid a potential matchup with league-leading Denver in the WCHA tournament.

Wisconsin began the conference tournament facing Minnesota and got a measure of revenge for earlier struggles with a pair of two-goal victories. The second round saw the Badgers pitted against Notre Dame and, because of a weekend sweep by the Fighting Irish at the end of February, Wisconsin was forced to face their foe in the opponent's building. Despite the game technically being a neutral-site meeting the hostile crowd let everyone know was favored. The two teams battled to a 4-4 tie in the first game, leaving the second match as a winner-take-all affair. Miraculously Wisconsin proved the victor with a 4-3 score and won their way into the NCAA tournament for the third time.

For their first match Wisconsin was set against the powerhouse ECAC Hockey champion Cornell Big Red. The boys from Ithaca possessed one of the strongest defenses in the nation, surrendering only 83 goals in 27 games en route to posting a 23-3-1 record. The favored Big Red didn't disappoint, scoring the opening goal 40 seconds into the game. After a second marker in the first frame and another 30 seconds into the middle period the Badgers were behind the eight-ball. Cornell score yet again four minutes later and before the game was even half over the Badger's already appeared to have been defeated. The decentralized Badger attack finally made itself known in the second half of period two with a pair of markers to cut Cornell's lead in half. With the Wisconsin faithful chanting 'SIEVE' at Dave Elenbaas Cornell didn't seem to mind and scored their third goal in the first minute of a period to take a 5-2 lead. Somehow, despite being outplayed, Wisconsin pulled to within one with goals at 12- and 3-minutes to play. With time winding down the Badgers furiously fired the puck and with five seconds left on the clock Dean Talafous notched the tying goal and sent the building into a frenzy. The overtime session saw several opportunities by both squads but as fatigue began to set in mistakes were made and just before the first extra frame ended a trio of Badgers rushed towards the goal. Elenbaas tried to meet them head-on but the puck found its way onto the stick of Talafous who shot it into the net and allowed Wisconsin to capture an improbable 6-5 overtime win.[4]

In Wisconsin's first championship game they faced the other top team in the NCAA, Denver. The Pioneers possessed an even stingier defense, led by WCHA Most Valuable Player and All-American Ron Grahame. While Denver had a good offense and four First Team All-WCHA players, the Badgers' unheralded bunch had combined to score more than Denver had and managed to earn two Second Team positions. The Badgers got out to an early lead just over three minutes into the game but the Pioneers responded with one of their own less than a minute later. While the play favored Wisconsin the score didn't and Denver was able to take a lead with a power play marker 54 seconds into the second period. just over three minutes later Bob Young took Denver's only penalty of the game and it proved a costly one as Wisconsin was able to tie the score on the ensuing man-advantage. Just over four minutes after that Dean Talafous scored his third goal of the tournament to put the Badgers into the lead for the second time. The score remained that way until the third minute of the final period when Jim Johnston gave Wisconsin a two-goal lead. Denver was unable to match the Badger's fervor and Jim Makey's stellar goaltending allowed Wisconsin to skate off with their first National Title.

Wisconsin's win brought the crown back to the WCHA for the first time in four seasons and started a five-year run of western dominance where no eastern team could even make the title match. Dean Talafous scored both game-winning goals for the Badgers as well as notching the tying marker in the semifinal so it came with no surprise that he was named as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.[5] Along with Talafous, Jim Makey, John Taft and Stan Hinkley were named to the All-Tournament Team[6] After the tournament had ended the NCAA wanted to enforce a new policy that would make students who had played for Canadian junior team ineligible as they received a nominal stipend for room and board which the NCAA considered a payment making those players professionals. To ease the transition the NCAA told the universities that they wanted their programs to declare their own players ineligible and afterwards the NCAA would restore status to the players, effectively 'grandfathering' in the prohibition on major junior players. While most teams, including Wisconsin, acquiesced to the NCAA, Denver refused to follow suit and had their players not only ruled ineligible but their participation in the 1973 tournament vacated.[7]

Standings

[edit]
1972–73 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Denver†* 28 20 8 0 52 141 85 39 29 9 1 208 116
Notre Dame 28 19 9 0 48 150 119 38 23 14 1 199 174
Wisconsin* 28 18 9 1 47 134 101 40 29 9 2 217 139
Michigan State 26 16 9 1 47 132 114 36 23 12 1 194 149
Michigan Tech 26 16 10 0 44 135 106 38 24 13 1 198 139
Minnesota 28 12 13 3 35 94 102 34 15 16 3 124 129
North Dakota 30 13 15 2 32 124 131 36 17 17 2 154 157
Minnesota-Duluth 28 13 15 0 30 123 131 36 19 17 0 166 161
Colorado College 28 5 23 0 14 103 171 34 10 24 0 150 198
Michigan 30 4 25 1 11 116 183 34 6 27 1 136 206
Championship: Wisconsin, Denver
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
1972–73 Big Ten standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Wisconsin† 12 8 3 1 17 60 40 40 29 9 2 217 139
Michigan State† 12 8 3 1 17 60 44 36 23 12 1 194 149
Minnesota 12 5 4 3 13 50 47 34 15 16 3 124 129
Michigan 12 1 11 0 2 40 75 34 6 27 1 136 206
† indicates conference regular season champion

Schedule

[edit]

During the season, Wisconsin compiled a 29–10–2 record, the best year the program had produced to that point.[3] Its schedule was as follows.[8]

Date Opponent Score Result Venue Location Record (WCHA / Big Ten)
Nov. 3, 1972 Colorado College † 6–10 Loss Broadmoor World Arena Colorado Springs, CO 0–1 (0–1 / 0–0)
Nov. 4, 1972 Colorado College † 5–0 Win Broadmoor World Arena Colorado Springs, CO 1–1 (1–1 / 0–0)
Nov. 10, 1972 Colgate 13–3 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 2–1 (1–1 / 0–0)
Nov. 11, 1972 Colgate 13–1 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 3–1 (1–1 / 0–0)
Nov. 17, 1972 Colorado College † 6–3 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 4–1 (2–1 / 0–0)
Nov. 18, 1972 Colorado College † 5–3 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 5–1 (3–1 / 0–0)
Nov. 24, 1972 Michigan ‡ 5–3 Win Yost Ice Arena Ann Arbor, MI 6–1 (4–1 / 1–0)
Nov. 25, 1972 Michigan ‡ 7–2 Win Yost Ice Arena Ann Arbor, MI 7–1 (5–1 / 2–0)
Dec. 1, 1972 Notre Dame † 5–4* Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 8–1 (6–1 / 2–0)
Dec. 2, 1972 Notre Dame † 5–3 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 9–1 (7–1 / 2–0)
Dec. 8, 1972 Michigan ‡ 6–3 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 10–1 (8–1 / 3–0)
Dec. 9, 1972 Michigan ‡ 10–4 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 11–1 (9–1 / 4–0)
Dec. 22, 1972 Minnesota 4–4* Tie Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 11–1–1 (9–1–1 / 4–0–1)
Dec. 23, 1972 Minnesota 2–4 Loss Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 11–2–1 (9–2–1 / 4–1–1)
Dec. 28, 1972 Colorado College % 6–2 Win St. Louis Arena St. Louis, MO 12–2–1 (9–2–1 / 4–1–1)
Dec. 31, 1972 Minnesota % 5–1 Win St. Louis Arena St. Louis, MO 13–2–1 (9–2–1 / 4–1–1)
Jan. 5, 1973 Denver † 3–2 Win Denver Coliseum Denver, CO 14–2–1 (10–2–1 / 4–1–1)
Jan. 6, 1973 Denver † 1–2 Loss Denver Coliseum Denver, CO 14–3–1 (10–3–1 / 4–1–1)
Jan. 12, 1973 Michigan State ‡ 4–3 Win Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, MI 15–3–1 (11–3–1 / 5–1–1)
Jan. 13, 1973 Michigan State ‡ 5–7 Loss Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, MI 15–4–1 (11–4–1 / 5–2–1)
Jan. 19, 1973 Clarkson 5–4* Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 16–4–1 (11–4–1 / 5–2–1)
Jan. 20, 1973 Clarkson 8–3 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 17–4–1 (11–4–1 / 5–2–1)
Jan. 26, 1973 North Dakota † 8–3 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 18–4–1 (12–4–1 / 5–2–1)
Jan. 27, 1973 North Dakota † 4–3 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 19–4–1 (13–4–1 / 5–2–1)
Feb. 2, 1973 Michigan Tech † 1–7 Loss Student Ice Arena Houghton, MI 19–5–1 (13–5–1 / 5–2–1)
Feb. 3, 1973 Michigan Tech † 3–5 Loss Student Ice Arena Houghton, MI 19–6–1 (13–6–1 / 5–2–1)
Feb. 9, 1973 Michigan State ‡ 5–2 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 20–6–1 (14–6–1 / 6–2–1)
Feb. 10, 1973 Michigan State ‡ 6–4 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 21–6–1 (15–6–1 / 7–2–1)
Feb. 16, 1973 Minnesota–Duluth † 6–2 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 22–6–1 (16–6–1 / 7–2–1)
Feb. 17, 1973 Minnesota–Duluth † 9–2 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 23–6–1 (17–6–1 / 7–2–1)
Feb. 23, 1973 Notre Dame † 5–8 Loss Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN 23–7–1 (17–7–1 / 7–2–1)
Feb. 24, 1973 Notre Dame † 3–4 Loss Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN 23–8–1 (17–8–1 / 7–2–1)
Mar. 2, 1973 Minnesota † 3–4 Loss Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 23–9–1 (17–9–1 / 7–3–1)
Mar. 3, 1973 Minnesota † 3–0 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 24–9–1 (18–9–1 / 8–3–1)
WCHA TOURNAMENT
Mar. 5, 1973 Minnesota 8–6 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 25–9–1 (18–9–1 / 8–3–1)
Mar. 6, 1973 Minnesota 6–4 Win Dane County Coliseum Madison, WI 26–9–1 (18–9–1 / 8–3–1)
Wisconsin Wins Series 14-10
Mar. 9, 1973 Notre Dame † 4–4* Tie Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN 26–9–2 (18–9–1 / 8–3–1)
Mar. 10, 1973 Notre Dame † 4–3 Win Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN 27–9–2 (18–9–1 / 8–3–1)
Wisconsin Wins Series 8-7
NCAA TOURNAMENT
March 25, 1973 Cornell 6–5* Win Boston Garden Boston, MA 28–9–2 (18–9–1 / 8–3–1)
March 26, 1973 Denver 4–2 Win Boston Garden Boston, MA 29–9–2 (18–9–1 / 8–3–1)
217–139 29–9–2 (18–9–1 / 8–3–1)

* Denotes overtime periods
† WCHA game
‡ Big Ten and WCHA game
% St. Louis Invitational Tournament

National championship

[edit]

(W1) Denver vs. (W2) Wisconsin

[edit]
March 17[9][10] Denver 2 – 4 Wisconsin Boston Garden


Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st WIS Dave Pay Johnston and Eaves 3:05 1–0 WIS
DEN Jim Miller McNab and Pearson 3:55 1–1
2nd DEN John Pearson – PP McNab :54 2–1 DEN
WIS Tim Dool – PP Cherrey and Bentley 4:17 2–2
WIS Dean Talafous – GW Lundeen and Deprez 8:30 3–2 WIS
3rd WIS Jim Johnston Winchester and Pay 2:34 4–2 WIS
Penalty summary
Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM
1st WIS Jim Johnston Tripping 19:32 2:00
2nd DEN Bob Young Interference 4:01 2:00
WIS Peter McNab High–Sticking 13:07 2:00
WIS Dave Pay Tripping 17:59 2:00
3rd WIS Dave Pay High–Sticking 14:18 2:00

Jim Makey, John Taft, Stan Hinkley and Dean Talafous were named to the All-Tournament Team[6]

Roster and scoring statistics

[edit]
No. Name Year Position Hometown S/P/C Games Goals Assists Pts PIM
12 Dennis Olmstead Freshman C Calgary, AB Alberta 40 23 32 55 16
17 Dean Talafous Sophomore C Duluth, MN Minnesota 40 21 32 53 34
22 Lloyd "Max" Bentley Junior C Sault Ste. Marie, ON Ontario 40 23 29 52 29
8 Gary Winchester Junior C Calgary, AB Alberta 40 24 24 48 12
21 Norm Cherrey Senior RW Souris, MB Manitoba 39 24 21 45 10
9 Dave Pay Freshman LW St. Catharines, ON Ontario 36 18 17 35 36
10 Jim Johnston Junior RW Peterborough, ON Ontario 40 14 19 33 35
23 Tim Dool Junior LW Sault Ste. Marie, ON Ontario 40 12 19 31 22
20 Stan Hinkley Junior LW Ponoka, AB Alberta 40 12 18 30 48
7 John Taft Freshman D Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 40 9 18 27 28
4 Bob Lundeen Sophomore D Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 36 7 20 27 26
11 Steve Alley Freshman LW Anoka, MN Minnesota 40 8 15 23 12
5 Dave Arundel Junior D Minneapolis, MN Minnesota 40 1 18 19 26
15 Billy Reay, Jr. Junior RW Chicago, IL Illinois 32 10 6 16 38
3 Jack Johnson Freshman D Bloomfield Hills, MI Michigan 38 4 11 15 16
2 Tom Machowski Sophomore D Chicago, IL Illinois 40 1 13 14 48
19 Don Deprez Sophomore LW Stony Mountain, MB Manitoba 28 4 4 8 12
16 Bob Shaughnessy Junior C Blind River, ON Ontario 17 1 2 3 4
24 Doug Kelso Senior C Madison, WI Wisconsin 8 1 0 1 2
30 Doug McFadden Sophomore G Peterborough, ON Ontario 1 0 0 0 0
23 Steve Short Freshman D Roseville, MN Minnesota 2 0 0 0 4
1 Dick Perkins Senior G St. Paul Park, MN Minnesota 17 0 0 0 0
30 Jim Makey Senior G Dunnville, ON Ontario 22 0 0 0 0
13 Tom Kuklinski Junior LW Mosinee, WI Wisconsin – – – – –
14 Ernie Blackburn Senior D Bemidji, MN Minnesota – – – – –
18 Mark Lomenda Freshman RW Esterhazy, SK Saskatchewan – – – – –
25 Chris Wright Senior C Milwaukee, WI Wisconsin – – – – –
1 Doug Spitzig Junior G Saskatoon, SK Saskatchewan – – – – –
Total 716 217 318 535 458

[11]

Goaltending Statistics

[edit]
No. Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
30 Doug McFadden 1 60 1 0 0 1 19 0 0.950 1.00
1 Dick Perkins 17 1021 58 478 2 0.892 3.41
30 Jim Makey 22 1322 79 680 0 0.896 3.59
Total 40 2403 138 1177 2 0.895 3.45

Players drafted into the NHL/WHA

[edit]

1973 NHL Amateur Draft

[edit]
= Did not play in the NHL
Round Pick Player NHL team
4 53 Dean Talafous Atlanta Flames
7 101 Tom Machowski Atlanta Flames
9 132 Dave Pay Toronto Maple Leafs
9 140 Jack Johnson Chicago Black Hawks
9 141 Steve Alley Chicago Black Hawks

[12]

1973 WHA Amateur Draft

[edit]
= Did not play in the WHA
Round Pick Player WHA Team
1 13 Dean Talafous Cincinnati Stingers
6 65 Dave Pay Alberta Oilers
7 85 Tom Machowski Minnesota Fighting Saints
7 90 Steve Alley New England Whalers
10 113 Jack Johnson Cincinnati Stingers

[13]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 113-128" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  2. ^ "Wisconsin Men's Hockey 2017-18 Fact Book" (PDF). Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Wisconsin Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  4. ^ "On, Wisconsin, or hullabaloo goes East". Sports Illustrated. March 26, 1973. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  5. ^ "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  7. ^ "Denver Pioneers: 55 Years of Overcoming Obstacles". USCHO.com. April 20, 2004. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  8. ^ "Badger Hockey 2005-06 Media Guide" (PDF). Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  9. ^ "1973 Championship Boxscore" (PDF). Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  10. ^ "1994-95 Wisconsin Hockey Media Guide" (PDF). Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  11. ^ "1972-73 U. of Wisconsin roster and statistics". Hockey DB. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  12. ^ "1973 NHL Amateur Draft". Hockey DB. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  13. ^ "1973 WHA Amateur Draft". Hockey DB. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
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