1952–53 Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey season

1952–53 Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey season


MCHL Co–Champion National champion 1953 NCAA Tournament, champion

Conference	T–1st MCHL
Home ice	Michigan Coliseum
Record
Overall	17–7–0
Home	10–4
Road	5–3
Neutral	2–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Vic Heyliger
Captain(s)	John Matchefts
Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey seasons « 1951–52 1953–54 »

The 1952–53 Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team represented the University of Michigan in college ice hockey. In its ninth year under head coach Vic Heyliger, the team compiled a 17–7–0 record, outscored opponents 139 to 71, and won the 1953 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.^[1] The season was the third consecutive, and the fourth overall under Vic Heyliger, in which the Michigan hockey team won the NCAA championship. The team also finished the regular season in at tie with Minnesota as the co-champion of the Midwest Collegiate Hockey League.^[2]

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Individual accomplishments

Team captain John Matchefts, a senior from Eveleth, Minnesota, was the leading scorer with 48 points on 18 goals and 30 assists. Michigan left wing Johnny McKennell, a senior from Toronto, was suspended for the remainder of the season after he allegedly punched referee Milo Yalich in Denver, Colorado, following a 5–4 overtime loss to the Denver Pioneers on December 23, 1952. McKennell was accused of slugging Yalich three times while disputing Denver's game-winning overtime goal. Athletic director Fritz Crisler announced the suspension after receiving a notarized report from the president of the Rocky Mountain Hockey Officials Association in early January 1953.^[3]^[4]^[5] McKennell denied hitting the referee and claimed that he was the victim of a plot by Colorado College coach Cheddy Thompson to "get even" with Michigan coach Vic Heyliger. Heyliger opined that the suspension was too severe, noting that McKennell had no prior disciplinary action in three years and the evidence was conflicting as to whether McKennell even hit Yalich. Heyliger noted, "This has ruined Johnny's whole college career."^[6]

Right winger Earl Keyes, who served as captain of the 1951–52 Michigan hockey team, graduated in January 1953 and played his final game for the Wolverines on January 17, 1953. At the time, The Michigan Daily called Keyes "[o]ne of the best players in Michigan hockey history" and praised him for his versatility. Keyes played at the center position for two-and-a-half years, moved to right wing in 1952, appeared in several games as a defensemen, and even played at the goalie position for two games. In two games at goalie, he had 49 saves in back-to-back victories over Michigan Tech during the 1950-51 season.^[7]

Earl Keyes, Alex MacLellan, John Matchefts and John McKennell are the only men's ice hockey players in NCAA history to win three national titles. Additionally, they are among the only players to play in a national championship game each season in which they had eligibility (3 seasons for players prior to 1969, 4 seasons for players after 1969).

1953 NCAA Tournament

In the 1953 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Michigan and Minnesota were invited to represent the west, and Boston University and Rensselaer Polytechnic were invited to represent the east. In the first round, the Wolverines defeated the Boston University Terriers by a 14–2 score.^[8]

In the championship game, Michigan faced Minnesota before a capacity crowd of 2,700 at Broadmoor Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado.^[9] Michigan and Minnesota had played four games in the regular season, with Minnesota winning three of the four contests. In mid-February, the Golden Gophers had swept a two-game series in Minneapolis by scores of 5-2 and 4–0.^[8]

Minnesota led 2–1 at the end of the first period of the championship game. Jim Haas gave Michigan a 1–0 lead with a goal at the 5:48 mark of the opening period (assist by Alex MacLellan), but Minnesota took the lead on goals by Dick Meredith and Dick Dougherty. In the second period, Michigan scored two goals to take a 3–2 lead. Doug Philpott scored at the 6:15 mark (with an assist by Reg Shave) to tie the score at 2-2, and Doug Mullen put Michigan in the lead with a goal at the 11:08 mark (with assists by George Chin and Pat Cooney). Michigan added three goals in the first ten minutes of the third period to extend the lead to 6–2. John Matchefts scored an unassisted power play goal at 3:38 of the third period; Jim Haas added an unassisted goal at the 7:17 mark; and Doug Philpott scored on a power play at 9:14 with an assist from Haas. Minnesota scored on a goal by Yackel at 10:42, and Matchefts closed out the scoring with an empty net goal with 11 second left in the game (assist by Philpott). With four goals in the third period, Michigan won its third consecutive NCAA championship, defeating the Golden Gophers by a 7–3 score.^[10]

Alex McLellan and John Matchefts were chosen for the first-team All-Tournament Team. Matchefts was named the Most Outstanding Player in the tournament.^[11]

Standings

1952–53 Midwest Collegiate Hockey League v t e
	Conference							Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Minnesota†	20	16	4	0	19	92	46	29	23	6	0	149	74
Michigan†	16	12	4	0	19	91	49	24	17	7	0	139	71
North Dakota	16	11	5	0	17	82	59	20	15	5	0	109	68
Denver	16	10	6	0	15	70	54	24	17	6	1	142	79
Colorado College	14	4	10	0	8	52	86	20	9	11	0	98	106
Michigan Tech	16	3	13	0	4	53	94	19	6	13	0	75	100
Michigan State	18	2	16	0	2	45	94	22	5	16	1	74	104
† indicates conference regular season champion

Schedule

Date	Opponent^#	Site	Result	Record
Regular Season
December 6	vs. St. Lawrence*	Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan	W 6–1	1–0–0
December 13	vs. Toronto*	Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan	W 6–3	2–0–0
December 19	at Colorado College	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 3–2	3–0–0 (1–0–0)
December 20	at Colorado College	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	W 10–6	4–0–0 (2–0–0)
December 22	at Denver	DU Arena • Denver, Colorado	W 5–2	5–0–0 (3–0–0)
December 23	at Denver	DU Arena • Denver, Colorado	L 4–5 ^OT	5–1–0 (3–1–0)
January 7	at Michigan State^[12]	Demonstration Hall • East Lansing, Michigan	W 6–0	6–1–0 (4–1–0)
January 9	vs. Montreal^[13]*	Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan	W 13–2	7–1–0 (4–1–0)
January 10	vs. Montreal^[14]*	Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan	L 1–2	7–2–0 (4–1–0)
January 14	vs. Michigan State^[15]	Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan	W 10–2	8–2–0 (5–1–0)
January 16	vs. Minnesota	Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan	L 3–4	8–3–0 (5–2–0)
January 17	vs. Minnesota	Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan	W 5–4	9–3–0 (6–2–0)
February 11	vs. Michigan State^[16]	Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan	W 4–0	10–3–0 (7–2–0)
February 13	at Minnesota	Williams Arena • Minneapolis, Minnesota	L 2–5	10–4–0 (7–3–0)
February 14	at Minnesota	Williams Arena • Minneapolis, Minnesota	L 0–4	10–5–0 (7–4–0)
February 20	vs. North Dakota	Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan	W 5–3	11–5–0 (8–4–0)
February 21	vs. North Dakota	Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan	W 8–3	12–5–0 (9–4–0)
February 27	vs. McGill*	Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan	L 0–7	12–6–0 (9–4–0)
February 28	vs. McGill*	Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan	L 1–2	12–7–0 (9–4–0)
March 4	at Michigan State	Demonstration Hall • East Lansing, Michigan	W 8–4	13–7–0 (10–4–0)
March 6	vs. Michigan Tech	Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan	W 8–3	14–7–0 (11–4–0)
March 7	vs. Michigan Tech	Weinberg Coliseum • Ann Arbor, Michigan	W 10–2	15–7–0 (12–4–0)
NCAA Tournament
March 13	vs. Boston University*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (National Semifinal)	W 14–2	16–7–0 (12–4–0)
March 14	vs. Minnesota*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (National championship)	W 7–3	17–7–0 (12–4–0)
*Non-conference game. Source:^[17]

Roster and scoring statistics

No.	Name	Year	Position	Hometown	Games	Goals	Assists	Pts	PIM
4	John Matchefts	Senior	C	Eveleth, MN	24	18	30	48	24
6	George Chin	Junior	RW	Lucknow, ON	24	20	27	47	0
19	Doug Mullen	Junior	C	Grass Lake, MI	24	20	19	39	10
8	Pat Cooney	Junior	LW	Riverside, ON	24	15	19	34	40
12	Doug Philpott	Junior	RW	Sarnia, ON	24	16	13	29	24
2	Jim Haas	Junior	D	Nipawin, SK	24	7	16	23	16
7	Earl Keyes	Senior	C	Tiverton, ON	12	12	8	20	8
18	Alex MacLellan	Senior	D	Montreal, PQ	24	1	15	16	67
10	John McKennell	Senior	RW	Toronto, ON	6	7	5	12	6
17	Reg Shave	Junior	D	Yorkton, SK	24	7	5	12	32
5	Burt Dunn	Sophomore	D	Montreal, PQ	24	4	7	11	42
15	Ron Martinson	Senior	LW	Eveleth, MN	17	7	2	9	16
14	Telly Mascarin	Sophomore	C	Windsor, ON	24	4	4	8	7
16	Louis Paolatto	Junior	D	Windsor, ON	24	1	3	4	46
1	Bill Lucier	Sophomore	G	Windsor, ON	8	0	0	0	0
1	Willard Ikola	Junior	G	Eveleth, MN	20	0	0	0	0
Total

Albert P. Pickus, a senior from Sioux City, Iowa, was awarded the Manager's "M" for his service as the team's manager.^[18]

^[19]

1953 national championship

Minnesota vs. Michigan

March 14

Minnesota

3 – 7

Michigan

Broadmoor Ice Palace

Scoring summary
Period	Team	Goal	Assist(s)	Time	Score
1st	UM	Jim Haas	MacLellan	05:48	1–0 UM
	MIN	Dick Meredith	Yackel	8:39	1–1
	MIN	Dick Dougherty	Campbell	11:34	2–1 MIN
2nd	UM	Doug Philpott	Shave	26:15	2–2
2nd	UM	Doug Mullen	Chin and Cooney	31:08	3–2 UM
3rd	UM	John Matchefts – GW PP	unassisted	43:38	4–2 UM
	UM	Jim Haas	unassisted	47:17	5–2 UM
	UM	Doug Philpott – PP	Haas	49:14	6–2 UM
	MIN	Ken Yackel	Johnson and Dougherty	50:42	6–3 UM
	UM	John Matchefts – EN	Philpott	59:49	7–3 UM

Shots by period
Team	1	2	3	T
Michigan	14	11	9	34
Minnesota	12	10	6	28

Goaltenders
Team	Name	Saves	Goals against	Time on ice
UM	Willard Ikola	25	3
MIN	Jim Mattson	28	6

References

^ "Michigan Hockey Record Book" (PDF). University of Michigan. pp. 2, 6, 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 16, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
^ "Wrestlers Win Big Ten Title: Track, Swimming Teams Place Second in Conference Meets While Michigan Hockey Sextet Shares League Crown". The Michigan Alumnus. March 14, 1953. pp. 294–295.
^ "Michigan Icemen Meet Spartan Sextet Tonight". The Michigan Daily. January 7, 1953. p. 3.
^ "McKennell Draws Year Suspension". The Windsor Star. January 10, 1953. p. 19.
^ "Charge Wolve Hockey Ace Struck Referee". The Milwaukee Sentinel. December 26, 1952. p. Part 2, page 2.
^ Ed Whipple (January 10, 1953). "Hockey Wing Draws Ban For Season". The Michigan Daily. p. 1.
^ Dave Baad (January 16, 1953). "Right Wing Keyes Plays Final Game Tomorrow". The Michigan Daily.
^ ^a ^b Michigan Hockey Record Book (Part I: Through the Year), p. 6.
^ Michigan Hockey Record Book (Part II: Team History), p. 8.
^ "Michigan Six Keeps N.C.A.A. Crown, 7-3". The New York Times. March 15, 1953.
^ "Michigan Hockey Record Book" (PDF). University of Michigan. pp. 16–17. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 16, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
^ Paul Greenberg (January 8, 1953). "Michigan Pucksters Blank MSC, 6-0". The Michigan Daily. p. 1.
^ Hanley Gurwin (January 10, 1953). "Icers Trounce Montreal, 13-2". The Michigan Daily. p. 1.(eight Michigan goals in the first period; hat tricks by both George Chin and Doug Mullen)
^ Bob Margolin (January 11, 1953). "Montreal Stuns Michigan Icemen". The Michigan Daily. p. 1.
^ Paul Greenberg (January 15, 1953). "Wolverine Puckmen Rip State, 10-2". The Michigan Daily. p. 1.
^ "Michigan Pucksters Blank MSC, 4-0". The Michigan Daily. February 12, 1953. p. 1.
^ "Through the Years: Season-By-Season Results" (PDF). Michigan Wolverines. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
^ "Athletic Awards For 1952-53 Winter Sports". The Michigan Alumnus. April 11, 1953. p. 327.
^ "Univ. of Michigan 1950-51 roster and statistics". EliteProspects. Retrieved October 24, 2018.

NCAA Division I men's ice hockey champions

1948: Michigan
1949: Boston College
1950: Colorado College
1951: Michigan
1952: Michigan
1953: Michigan
1954: Rensselaer
1955: Michigan
1956: Michigan
1957: Colorado College
1958: Denver
1959: North Dakota
1960: Denver
1961: Denver
1962: Michigan Tech
1963: North Dakota
1964: Michigan
1965: Michigan Tech
1966: Michigan State
1967: Cornell
1968: Denver
1969: Denver
1970: Cornell
1971: Boston University
1972: Boston University
1973: Wisconsin
1974: Minnesota
1975: Michigan Tech
1976: Minnesota
1977: Wisconsin
1978: Boston University
1979: Minnesota
1980: North Dakota
1981: Wisconsin
1982: North Dakota
1983: Wisconsin
1984: Bowling Green
1985: Rensselaer
1986: Michigan State
1987: North Dakota
1988: Lake Superior State
1989: Harvard
1990: Wisconsin
1991: Northern Michigan
1992: Lake Superior State
1993: Maine
1994: Lake Superior State
1995: Boston University
1996: Michigan
1997: North Dakota
1998: Michigan
1999: Maine
2000: North Dakota
2001: Boston College
2002: Minnesota
2003: Minnesota
2004: Denver
2005: Denver
2006: Wisconsin
2007: Michigan State
2008: Boston College
2009: Boston University
2010: Boston College
2011: Minnesota–Duluth
2012: Boston College
2013: Yale
2014: Union
2015: Providence
2016: North Dakota
2017: Denver
2018: Minnesota–Duluth
2019: Minnesota–Duluth
2020: No tournament
2021: Massachusetts
2022: Denver
2023: Quinnipiac

v t e Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey
Venues	Weinberg Coliseum (1914–1973) Yost Ice Arena (1973–present)
Coaches	Joseph Barss (1922–27) Eddie Lowrey (1927–44) Vic Heyliger (1944–57) Al Renfrew (1957–73) Dan Farrell (1973–80) Wilf Martin (1980) John Giordano (1980–84) Red Berenson (1984–2017) Mel Pearson (2017–2022) Brandon Naurato (2022–present)
Seasons	1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Conference affiliations	MCHA/WIHL/WCHA (1951–1958, 1959–1981) CCHA (1981–2013) Big Ten (1958–1981, 2013–present)
Rivalries	Michigan State Minnesota Notre Dame
Culture & lore	Great Lakes Invitational The Big Chill at the Big House Cold War Faceoff on the Lake
All-time leaders	Statistical leaders Brendan Morrison (284 Points) Denny Felsner (139 Goals) Marty Turco (127 Wins)
National championships	1948 1951 1952 1953 1955 1956 1964 1996 1998
Frozen Four appearances	1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1962 1964 1977 1992 1993 1995 1996 1997 1998 2001 2002 2003 2008 2011 2018 2022 2023
NCAA Tournament appearances	1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1962 1964 1977 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2016 2018 2021 2022 2023
Conference Tournament titles	CCHA: 1994 1996 1997 1999 2002 2003 2005 2008 2010 Big Ten: 2016 2022 2023
Hobey Baker winners	Brendan Morrison (1997) Kevin Porter (2008) Adam Fantilli (2023)
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI

This page was last edited on 17 August 2023, at 02:34