Bob Marquis (ice hockey)

Marquis came to Boston University in 1956, making the varsity team in his sophomore season. Straight away Harry Cleverly knew he had a star in the making and the team jumped from 13 wins to 17 wins, posting the best record among independents. Marquis led the team in scoring finishing 10th in the nation and was named an AHCA East All-American[2] the same year. Despite the program's tremendous season, BU was passed over in favor of Harvard.

As a junior Marquis led a depleted offense with 41 goals; nearly two out of every five goals for the Terriers was scored by Marquis. He was again the team's leading scorer, rising up to 6th in the nation and second in goals (behind only the record-setting production from Phil Latreille). He was again named an East All-American and in recognition of his leadership, he was named team co-captain for his senior season. The Terriers' offense didn't improve much in Marquis' senior season and while he finished with fewer goals he still recorded the same number of points (59). BU finished with a 17–8 record and were the second-ranked team in the east but, instead of just offering the team a bid, the NCAA decided to hold two play-in games for four eastern teams. This was the only time in history that play-in games were used to determine NCAA tournament participants (for the top level of play) but the Terriers were able to surpass Dartmouth in their match and earn the second eastern seed.

In the semifinal, played in their home building, the Terriers played heavy favorite Denver and, though they kept the score close, BU was no match for the offensive firepower possessed by the Pioneers. BU was sent to the consolation match with St. Lawrence and the two teams produced a wild affair that saw the game sea-saw between the two for the first two periods before BU pulled ahead for good in the third. Marquis was named to not only All-Tournament First Team,[3] but he was one of three players awarded the NCAA Tournament MOP. This was the only time in the history of the championship the that Most Outstanding Player was given to more than one person (as of 2020) and oddly, none of the three players were on the championship team.

After graduating Marquis received interest from NHL teams but he passed on a professional career to begin working for General Electric. Marquis did, however, continue to play organized hockey. He was on at least two different independent amateur teams during the 1960s, with records of him dating to as late as 1968.

Marquis was inducted into the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1967,[1] the Beanpot Hall of Fame in 1997 and was the program's all-time leading goal scorer until 1998 when he was passed by Chris Drury (in more than twice as many games).[4]

• Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database