Completed Event: Men's Ice Hockey versus Princeton on February 28, 2026 , Tie , 2, to, 2 , (SO, L)
Final
Men's Ice Hockey
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NCAA Tournament: Sooo Close in '48, '49
1/22/2006 7:00:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 23, 2006
Today it's called The Frozen Four -- the national collegiate hockey championship --but when the NCAA Tournament was launched in 1948 (and again in 1949) at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., the nation's four best collegiate teams -- Dartmouth and Boston College from the East, Michigan and Colorado College from the West -- faced off in showdowns that arguably have been equaled but remain unsurpassed in the annual quest for the honor of being Number One.
In 1942, before there was an NCAA tournament, Dartmouth laid claim to the national championship with a 21-2 record. In 1948 and 1949, Coach Eddie Jeremiah's teams came to the brink. That the Green didn't claim the ultimate prize is a story of controversy (in 1948) and a near-miss (in 1949). Here's what happened.
The 1947-48 Season
The 1947-48 team included a "who's who" in Dartmouth hockey: Bill and Joe Riley (their older brother, Jack, had graduated), the scoring leaders; veteran defensemen Whitey Campbell, Mike Thayer and George Pulliam plus versatile senior forward Bob Merriam; sophomores Jim Malone, Walt Crowley, Arnie Oss and Spif Kerivan up front; and junior Dick Desmond in goal.
Dartmouth arrived in Colorado with a 20-2 record. The Green had split decisions with Boston College. The other loss was to the University of Toronto in the Thompson Trophy game for the North American collegiate title.
In the NCAA semifinals, Michigan beat BC in overtime, 6-4, and Dartmouth erupted with five unanswered goals in the third period to blister Colorado College, 8-4. Joe Riley scored four times and had an assist in the game, a performance that earned him the tourney's MVP award.
In the title game against Michigan, goals by Crowley and Oss gave Dartmouth a 4-2 lead in the second period. Then came the controversy.
Late in the second period, a Michigan goal that tied the game, 4-4, initially was disallowed. The Wolverines had scored just as the confused timekeeper blew a whistle to stop play and inform the officials that Michigan had five skaters on the ice plus two in the penalty box.
Between periods, the officials conferred, came to Dartmouth's locker room, and informed Jeremiah that the goal would be allowed. As Kerivan would recall, "Jerry argued but to no avail. He recognized the importance of an unmarred championship, even at the expense of his own team."
The underdog Big Green, their lead and their momentum gone, gave up four goals in the third period. Michigan won, 8-4, to complete a 20-2-1 season. Dartmouth's third loss of the season (against 21 wins) was a bitter pill to swallow.
The 1948-49 Season
There's never been anything quite like the last week of the 1948-49 season when Dartmouth's hockey team earned a lifetime's worth of frequent flyer miles -- 6,000 miles in six days -- and played a rubber match with Boston College in the second NCAA tournament championship game.
Dartmouth wrapped up its regular season with an 11-8 exhibition win over the alumni at Davis Rink on Saturday, March 12. On March 14, in Boston, the Big Green whipped Harvard, 7-2, in a playoff for the Pentagonal League (forerunner of the Ivy League) title.
From Boston, Dartmouth flew to Montreal on March 13 and bowed, 4-3, to Montreal University in the Thompson Trophy game, a contest that saw goalie Dick Desmond make a record 63 saves (Montreal's Guy Rainville made 13 stops).
Then, they returned to Boston. BC's skaters joined them on a flight through Detroit (to pick up the Michigan team), then on to Colorado.
In the NCAA semifinal game, Dartmouth avenged its loss to Michigan in the 1948 title game, taking a 4-2 victory over the Wolverines on two goals by Joe Riley, an unassisted scored by Bill Riley, and the go-ahead tally by Spif Kerivan.
This set up the showdown on March 19 with BC that had downed Colorado College, 7-3, in the other semifinal. BC's only loss of the season came at Davis Rink, 4-2, and the Eagles got revenge three weeks later in Boston, 7-4.
Desmond would be named the tourney's most valuable player though, after Kerivan tied the game, 3-3, early in the third period. Jim Fitzgerald's shot over Desmond's shoulder four minutes later closed the door on the Big Green, 4-3, the last chapter in the six-day, 6,000-mile saga.
With David Shribman '76, Jack DeGange is co-author of Dartmouth College Hockey: Northern Ice.
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