| Gender: | men |
| Division: | university |
| Year: | 1965 |
| Duration: | November 1965– March 19, 1966 |
| Champ Stad: | Williams Arena |
| Champ City: | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Champ: | Michigan State |
The 1965–66 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season began in November 1965 and concluded with the 1966 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 19, 1966, at the Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This was the 19th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 72nd year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.
Minnesota–Duluth joined the WCHA beginning with this season. Pennsylvania promoted their club program to varsity status and began playing as an independent.
| Tournament | Dates | Teams | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Brunswick Invitational | November 26–27 | 4 | |
| Boston Christmas Holiday Festival | December 17–18 | 6 | |
| ECAC Holiday Hockey Festival | December 19–22 | 6 | Cornell |
| Great Lakes Invitational | December 21–22 | 4 | Toronto |
| Boston Arena Christmas Tournament | December 27–29 | 4 | Boston University |
| Yankee Conference Tournament | December 28–29 | 4 | New Hampshire |
| Rensselaer Holiday Tournament | December 28–30 | 4 | Western Ontario |
| Brown Holiday Tournament | December 29–30 | 4 | Brown |
| St. Paul College Hockey Tournament | December 29–30 | 4 | Minnesota |
| Nichols School Invitational | December 31–January 1 | 4 | Yale |
| Beanpot | February 7, 14 | 4 | Boston University |
See main article: article and 1966 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the season.
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Class | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | 27 | 37 | 34 | 71 | 76 | |||
| Junior | 35 | 35 | 29 | 64 | 33 | |||
| Junior | 27 | 23 | 39 | 62 | 48 | |||
| Sophomore | 29 | 26 | 28 | 54 | 57 | |||
| Senior | 30 | 26 | 28 | 54 | 2 | |||
| Senior | 32 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 21 | |||
| Junior | 27 | 23 | 29 | 52 | 41 | |||
| Junior | 28 | 19 | 33 | 52 | 2 | |||
| Sophomore | 25 | 24 | 26 | 50 | - | |||
| Junior | 22 | 27 | 22 | 49 | 9 | |||
| Sophomore | 25 | 27 | 22 | 49 | 16 | |||
| Junior | 35 | 24 | 25 | 49 | 21 |
The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average at the end of the regular season while playing at least 33% of their team's total minutes.
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Class | Team | GP | Min | W | L | OT | GA | SO | SV% | GAA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | .928 | 1.94 | |||
| Junior | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | .912 | 1.99 | |||
| Junior | 13 | 640 | - | - | - | 24 | 0 | .903 | 2.25 | |||
| Senior | - | 1366 | 24 | - | 0 | 56 | 0 | .906 | 2.46 | |||
| Junior | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | - | .901 | 2.62 | |||
| Junior | 19 | - | - | - | - | - | - | .909 | 2.69 | |||
| Senior | 25 | 1500 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 77 | 0 | .898 | 3.08 | |||
| Senior | 32 | 1918 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 99 | 0 | .898 | 3.09 | |||
| Sophomore | 18 | 1080 | - | - | - | 56 | 0 | .903 | 3.10 | |||
| Junior | 21 | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | .905 | 3.14 |
| Award[5] | Recipient | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amo Bessone, Michigan State | ||||
| Len Ceglarski, Clarkson | ||||
| Gaye Cooley, Michigan State | ||||
| AHCA All-American Teams[6] | ||||
| East Team | Position | West Team | ||
| Terry Yurkiewicz, Clarkson | align=center | G | Tony Esposito, Michigan Tech | |
| Robert Gaudreau, Brown | align=center | D | Bob Hill, Minnesota-Duluth | |
| Tom Ross, Boston University | align=center | D | Bruce Riutta, Michigan Tech | |
| align=center | D | Wayne Smith, Denver | ||
| Fred Bassi, Boston University | align=center | F | Terry Casey, North Dakota | |
| John Cunniff, Boston College | align=center | F | Bob Lindberg, Colorado College | |
| Doug Ferguson, Cornell | align=center | F | Doug Volmar, Michigan State | |
| Award[7] | Recipient | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Yurkiewicz, Clarkson | |||
| Kent Parrot, Harvard | |||
| Robert Gaudreau, Brown | |||
| Terry Yurkiewicz, Clarkson | |||
| All-ECAC Hockey Teams[8] | |||
| Position | Second Team | ||
| Jack Ferreira, Boston University | align=center | G | Terry Yurkiewicz, Clarkson |
| Robert Gaudreau, Brown | align=center | D | Gary Petterson, Clarkson |
| Peter McLachlan, Boston University | align=center | D | Tom Ross, Boston University |
| Harry Orr, Cornell | align=center | D | |
| Doug Ferguson, Cornell | align=center | F | Tom Hurley, Clarkson |
| Bruce Fennie, Boston University | align=center | F | John Cunniff, Boston College |
| Fred Bassi, Boston University | align=center | F | Mike Doran, Cornell |
| Award[9] | Recipient | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mel Wakabayashi, Michigan | |||
| Gary Gambucci, Minnesota | |||
| John MacInnes, Michigan Tech | |||
| All-WCHA Teams[10] | |||
| Position | Second Team | ||
| Tony Esposito, Michigan Tech | align=center | G | John Lothrop, Minnesota |
| Wayne Smith, Denver | align=center | D | Dennis Huculak, Michigan Tech |
| Bruce Riutta, Michigan Tech | align=center | D | Bob Hill, Minnesota-Duluth |
| Doug Volmar, Michigan State | align=center | F | Wayne Weller, Michigan Tech |
| Terry Casey, North Dakota | align=center | F | Mel Wakabayashi, Michigan |
| Dennis Hextall, North Dakota | align=center | F | Gary Gambucci, Minnesota |
See main article: 1966 NHL Amateur Draft.
† incoming freshman