| Gender: | men |
| Division: | university |
| Year: | 1970 |
| Duration: | November 1970– March 20, 1971 |
| Champ Stad: | Onondaga War Memorial |
| Champ City: | Syracuse, New York |
| Champ: | Boston University |
The 1970–71 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season began in November 1970 and concluded with the 1971 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 20, 1971 at the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse, New York. This was the 24th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 77th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.
Saint Louis begins to sponsor their ice hockey program as an independent.
The top teams in the nation as voted on by coaches.
Gary Bender, sports director of WKOW television and radio stations in Madison, Wisconsin, started compiling a national poll in 1970. The poll lasted one season.
| WKOW Poll | |
|---|---|
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Boston University |
| 2 | Minnesota Duluth |
| 3 | Michigan Tech |
| 4 | Colorado College |
| 5 (tie) | Harvard |
| 5 (tie) | Wisconsin |
| 7 | North Dakota |
| 8 | Denver |
| 9 | Cornell |
| 10 | Clarkson |
| Tournament | Dates | Teams | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Country Thanksgiving Festival | November 26–28 | 4 | Clarkson |
| ECAC Christmas Hockey Tournament | December 18–19 | 4 | Cornell |
| ECAC Holiday Hockey Festival | December 21–22 | 4 | Harvard |
| St. Louis Invitational | December 27–28 | 4 | Wisconsin |
| Boston Arena Christmas Tournament | December 28–29 | 4 | Boston University |
| Great Lakes Invitational | December 29–30 | 4 | Michigan Tech |
| Nichols School Invitational | January 1–2 | 4 | Dartmouth |
| Rensselaer Holiday Tournament | January 2–4 | 4 | Wisconsin |
| Beanpot | February 8, 22 | 4 | Boston University |
The final top 10 teams were compiled before the conference tournaments.
| WKOW Coaches Poll | |
|---|---|
| Ranking | Team |
| 1 | Boston University (11) |
| 2 | Michigan Tech (2) |
| 3 | Denver |
| 4 | Cornell |
| 5 | Clarkson |
| 6 | Wisconsin |
| 7 | Michigan State |
| 8 | Harvard |
| 9 | Brown |
| 10 | Minnesota Duluth |
See main article: article and 1971 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | 29 | 38 | 48 | 86 | 58 | |||
| Senior | 27 | 22 | 50 | 72 | - | |||
| Senior | 31 | 27 | 43 | 70 | 20 | |||
| Freshman | - | 27 | 39 | 66 | - | |||
| Junior | 31 | 28 | 36 | 64 | 10 | |||
| Junior | - | 22 | 41 | 63 | 46 | |||
| Senior | 29 | 21 | 39 | 60 | 18 | |||
| Junior | 31 | 17 | 43 | 60 | 38 | |||
| Senior | 29 | 15 | 43 | 58 | 90 | |||
| Junior | 32 | 26 | 31 | 57 | 16 | |||
| Senior | 30 | 20 | 37 | 57 | 6 | |||
| Sophomore | 31 | 19 | 38 | 57 | 35 |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshman | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.60 | |||
| Junior | 14 | 780 | - | - | - | 23 | - | .929 | 1.77 | |||
| Junior | 18 | 1060 | - | - | - | 36 | - | .917 | 2.04 | |||
| Senior | 10 | 498 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 1 | .930 | 2.29 | |||
| Senior | 30 | 1800 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 71 | 1 | .920 | 2.37 | |||
| Senior | 25 | 1410 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 57 | - | .923 | 2.43 | |||
| Senior | 14 | 750 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 32 | 0 | .825 | 2.56 | |||
| Senior | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | - | 2.60 | |||
| Junior | 24 | 1420 | - | - | - | 65 | 2 | - | 2.74 | |||
| Freshman | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.78 |
| Award[5] | Recipient | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooney Weiland, Harvard | ||||
| Dan Brady, Boston University | ||||
| AHCA All-American Teams[6] | ||||
| East Team | Position | West Team | ||
| Bruce Bullock, Clarkson | align=center | G | Morris Trewin, Michigan Tech | |
| Bob Brown, Boston University | align=center | D | Mike Christie, Denver | |
| Steve Warr, Clarkson | align=center | D | Bob Murray, Michigan Tech | |
| Joe Cavanagh, Harvard | align=center | F | Walt Ledingham, Minnesota-Duluth | |
| Kevin Pettit, Cornell | align=center | F | Don Thompson, Michigan State | |
| Steve Stirling, Boston University | align=center | F | Vic Venasky, Denver | |
| Award[7] | Recipient | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce Bullock, Clarkson | |||
| Bob Brown, Boston University | |||
| Dave Hynes, Harvard | |||
| All-ECAC Hockey Teams[8] | |||
| Position | Second Team | ||
| Bruce Bullock, Clarkson | align=center | G | Brian Cropper, Cornell |
| Bob Brown, Boston University | align=center | D | Tom Mellor, Boston College |
| Steve Warr, Clarkson | align=center | D | Ric Jordan, Boston University |
| Joe Cavanagh, Harvard | align=center | F | Jerry Kemp, Clarkson |
| John Danby, Boston University | align=center | F | Brian McCutcheon, Cornell |
| Steve Stirling, Boston University | align=center | F | Kevin Pettit, Cornell |
| Award[9] | Recipient | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Murray, Michigan Tech | |||
| Mike Usitalo, Michigan Tech | |||
| John MacInnes, Michigan Tech | |||
| All-WCHA Teams[10] | |||
| Position | Second Team | ||
| Morris Trewin, Michigan Tech | align=center | G | Chico Resch, Minnesota-Duluth |
| Mike Christie, Denver | align=center | D | John Jagger, Wisconsin |
| Bob Murray, Michigan Tech | align=center | D | Wally Olds, Minnesota |
| Walt Ledingham, Minnesota-Duluth | align=center | F | Murray Heatley, Wisconsin |
| Don Thompson, Michigan State | align=center | F | Vic Venasky, Denver |
| Bob Collyard, Colorado College | align=center | F | Mike Usitalo, Michigan Tech |
See main article: 1971 NHL Amateur Draft.
| Round | Pick | Player | College | Conference | NHL team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | ‡ | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | Philadelphia Flyers | |
| 3 | 31 | North Dakota | WCHA | Montreal Canadiens | ||
| 3 | 34 | Denver | WCHA | Los Angeles Kings | ||
| 4 | 53 | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | Montreal Canadiens | ||
| 4 | 56 | Harvard | ECAC Hockey | Boston Bruins | ||
| 5 | 58 | North Dakota | WCHA | Detroit Red Wings | ||
| 5 | 60 | North Dakota | WCHA | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
| 5 | 61 | Clarkson | ECAC Hockey | Buffalo Sabres | ||
| 5 | 62 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | Los Angeles Kings | ||
| 5 | 67 | Denver | WCHA | Montreal Canadiens | ||
| 5 | 68 | Minnesota | WCHA | Chicago Black Hawks | ||
| 6 | 74 | Notre Dame | Independent | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
| 7 | 86 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | Detroit Red Wings | ||
| 7 | 87 | Notre Dame | Independent | Vancouver Canucks | ||
| 7 | 88 | Harvard | ECAC Hockey | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
| 7 | 89 | Clarkson | ECAC Hockey | Los Angeles Kings | ||
| 7 | 91 | † | Michigan Tech | WCHA | Minnesota North Stars | |
| 8 | 100 | Michigan State | WCHA | Detroit Red Wings | ||
| 8 | 101 | Wisconsin | WCHA | Vancouver Canucks | ||
| 8 | 103 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | Los Angeles Kings | ||
| 8 | 106 | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| 9 | 113 | Minnesota | WCHA | Minnesota North Stars |