1978 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament

The 1978 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament was the culmination of the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, the 31st such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 18 and 25, 1978, and concluded with Boston University defeating Boston College 5–3. The first-round games were held at the home team venue while all succeeding games were played at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

Qualifying teams

The NCAA gave four teams automatic bids into the tournament. The two ECAC teams that reached the ECAC tournament final received bids as did the two WCHA co-champions. The NCAA also had the ability to add up to 4 additional teams as it saw fit and chose to include the CCHA tournament champion as well as Boston University who had lost only two games prior to the tournament (the second being in the ECAC semifinal). This was the only time in the four years this format was used that an additional team was added to the tournament. Because Colorado College entered the tournament with a losing record Bowling Green was given the honor of hosting the western first-round game.

East							West
Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Appearance	Last bid	Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Appearance	Last bid
1	Boston College	ECAC Hockey	23–9–0	Tournament champion	11th	1973	1	Wisconsin	WCHA	28–10–3	Tournament co-champion	5th	1977
2	Providence	ECAC Hockey	17–14–2	Tournament finalist	2nd	1964	2	Colorado College	WCHA	18–21–1	Tournament co-champion	8th	1957
East At-Large							West At-Large
Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Appearance	Last bid	Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Appearance	Last bid
A2	Boston University	ECAC Hockey	27–2–0	At-Large	13th	1977	A1	Bowling Green	CCHA	29–7–0	Tournament champion	2nd	1977

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Format

The four automatic qualifiers were seeded according to pre-tournament finish. The ECAC champion was seeded as the top eastern team while the WCHA co-champion that finished highest in the regular season was given the top western seed. The second eastern seed was slotted to play the top western seed and vice versa. Because an at-large bid was offered to a western school they were placed in a first-round game with the second western seed to determine the final semifinalist. The first-round game was played at the home venue of the second seed while all succeeding games were played at the Providence Civic Center. All matches were Single-game eliminations with the semifinal winners advancing to the national championship game and the losers playing in a consolation game.

Tournament Bracket

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First Round March 18–19

Semifinals March 23–24

National Championship March 25

E1

Boston College

6

W2

Colorado College

3

A1

Bowling Green

2

A1

Bowling Green

5

E1

Boston College

3

A2

Boston University

5

W1

Wisconsin

2

E2

Providence

3

A2

Boston University

5

A2

Boston University

5

Third Place Game

W1

Wisconsin

3

A1

Bowling Green

4

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

First round

(A1) Bowling Green vs. (W2) Colorado College

March 18

Bowling Green

5 – 3

Colorado College

BGSU Ice Arena

(E2) Providence vs. (A2) Boston University

March 19

Providence

3 – 5

Boston University

Schneider Arena

Semifinal

(W1) Wisconsin vs. (A2) Boston University

March 23

Wisconsin

2 – 5

Boston University

Providence Civic Center

(E1) Boston College vs. (A1) Bowling Green

March 24

Boston College

6 – 2

Bowling Green

Providence Civic Center

Third Place Game

(W1) Wisconsin vs. (A1) Bowling Green

March 25

Wisconsin

3 – 4

Bowling Green

Providence Civic Center

National Championship

(E1) Boston College vs. (A2) Boston University

March 25[3]

Boston College

3 – 5

Boston University

Providence Civic Center

Scoring summary
Period	Team	Goal	Assist(s)	Time	Score
1st	BU	Mark Fidler – PP	Lamby and O'Callahan	0:38	1–0 BU
	BC	Joe Mullen	Augustine	11:00	1–1
	BC	Bobby Hehir	unassisted	13:26	2–1 BC
	BU	Dave Silk – PP	O'Callahan	14:44	2–2
	BU	Tony Meagher – SH	Lamby	17:24	3–2 BU
2nd	BU	Tony Meagher – GW	Boileau and Hetnik	27:05	4–2 BU
3rd	BU	Mark Fidler	Silk and Lamby	41:01	5–2 BU
	BC	Steve Barger	Switaj and Kennedy	43:30	5–3 BU
Penalty summary
Period	Team	Player	Penalty	Time	PIM
1st	BC	Joe Augustine	Holding	0:09	2:00
	BU	Dick Lamby	Hooking	2:39	2:00
	BU	Jack O'Callahan	High Sticking	5:51	2:00
	BU	Bill LeBlond	High Sticking	9:23	2:00
	BC	Mike Ewanouski	Tripping	14:26	2:00
	BU	Bill O'Neil	Slashing	15:47	2:00
	BU	Bill O'Neil	High Sticking	18:07	2:00
	BC	Charlie Antetomaso	Tripping	18:43	2:00
2nd	BC	George Amidon	Tripping	24:28	2:00
	BC	Charlie Antetomaso	Tripping	28:06	2:00
	BU	Dick Lamby	High Sticking	28:29	2:00
	BU	Bill LeBlond	Holding	32:56	2:00
	BC	Joe Augustine	Interference	33:53	2:00
	BU	Mark Fidler	Slashing	36:47	2:00
	BC	Paul Hammer	Cross–Checking	37:33	2:00
	BC	Charlie Antetomaso	Tripping	38:20	2:00
3rd	BU	John Bethel	High Sticking	48:53	2:00
	BU	John Bethel	Roughing	48:53	2:00
	BC	Joe Casey	High Sticking	48:53	2:00
	BC	Joe Casey	Roughing	48:53	2:00
	BU	Dick Lamby	Holding	50:03	2:00
	BC	Paul Barrett	High-Sticking	55:18	2:00

All-Tournament Team

• G: Paul Skidmore (Boston College)
• D: Dick Lamby (Boston University)
• D: Jack O'Callahan* (Boston University)
• F: Mark Fidler (Boston University)
• F: Joe Mullen (Boston College)
• F: Dave Silk (Boston University)

* Most Outstanding Player(s)^[4]

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References