1976–77 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey season
| 1976–77 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey season | |
|---|---|
| National champion Big Ten, champion WCHA, champion WCHA Tournament, champion NCAA Tournament, champion | |
| Conference | 1st Big Ten 1st WCHA |
| Home ice | Dane County Coliseum |
| Record | |
| Overall | 37–7–1 (26–5–1 / 9–3) |
| Home | 16–5 |
| Road | 13–2–1 |
| Neutral | 8–0 |
| Coaches and captains | |
| Head coach | Bob Johnson |
| Assistant coaches | Grant Standbrook |
| Captain(s) | Mike Eaves Steve Alley John Taft |
| Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey seasons « 1975–76 1977–78 » | |
The 1976–77 Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in college ice hockey. In its tenth year under head coach Bob Johnson, the team compiled a 37–7–1 record (26–5–1 against Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) opponents) and outscored all opponents 264 to 161. The Badgers received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 1977 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament by winning the 1977 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, the only singular WCHA tournament champion over a 16-year period (1965 to 1981). They defeated the New Hampshire Wildcats in the Frozen Four semifinals and then beat WCHA- and Big Ten-rival Michigan Wolverines by a 6–5 score in overtime to win the national championship in Detroit, Michigan.
Goalie Julian Baretta was chosen as the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament. He had two shutouts and a .905 save percentage for the season. The team's leading scorer was junior defenseman Craig Norwich with 18 goals, 65 assists, and 83 points. Norwich was the third defenseman (Bob Heathcott, 1952; Dan Lodboa, 1970) in NCAA history to lead his team in scoring while winning a National Title in the same season (the next occurrence was 2018).