Al McLean (ice hockey)

Alan McLean is a Canadian retired ice hockey Center who was an All-American for North Dakota[1] and was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1963 NCAA Tournament.[2]

Al McLean
Born (1939-08-03) August 3, 1939
New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 172 lb (78 kg; 12 st 4 lb)
Position Center
Played for North Dakota
Vancouver Canucks
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 1961–1968

Career

McLean made a name for himself as a junior player for the Melville Millionaires. He was recruited to North Dakota in 1960 and began playing with the varsity club the following season. McLean led a fairly weak Fighting Sioux squad in goals (19), assists (19) and points (38) but the team finished 5th in the WCHA and was left out of the conference tournament. The following year the team coalesced around a core of upperclassmen with McLean again leading the team in scoring. This time UND tied Denver for the regular season WCHA title and McLean was on both All-WCHA First Team and an All-American. The fighting Sioux swept aside defending national champion Michigan Tech in the semifinal and, though they fell to the Pioneers in the final, UND had already earned a bid to the 1963 NCAA Tournament.

North Dakota dominated Boston College in the semifinal, winning 8–2 and found themselves facing Denver once more for the national championship. UND got off to a blistering start, scoring 5 goals in the first period and led 5-2 after 20 minutes. McLean scored his second goal of the game 5 minutes into the second and then the team held on for dear life as Denver attempted to erase the Sighting Sioux's advantage. The Pioneers scored three timed before the end of the match but they couldn't get the equalizer and McLean's tally held up as the game-winner. McLean was named as the Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

McLean left UND after the season to play for the Canadian National Team but was not selected for the Olympic roster. He finished out his college career playing closer to home with the UBC Thunderbirds and later briefly appeared for the Vancouver Canucks before retiring. He was inducted into the North Dakota Letterwinners Hall of Fame in 1997.[3]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1958–59 Melville Millionaires SJHL 3821264720—————
1959–60 Melville Millionaires SJHL 3722173923—————
1961–62 North Dakota WCHA 2619193819—————
1962–63 North Dakota WCHA 3219345353—————
1963–64 Canadian National Team International ——————————
1964–65 British Columbia CIAU ——————————
1967–68 Vancouver Canucks WHL 30112—————
SJHL Totals 7543438643—————
NCAA Totals 5838539172—————

Awards and honors
Award Year
All-WCHA First Team 1962–63 [4]
AHCA West All-American 1962–63 [1]
NCAA All-Tournament First Team 1963 [5]

References
  1. "1962-1963 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  2. "Awards - NCAA (Championship) Tournament MVP". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
  3. "University of North Dakota men's hockey members in the Letterwinners Association Hall of Fame". North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  4. "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  5. "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Lou Angotti		 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player
1963		 Succeeded by
Bob Gray
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