Despite their mediocre finish, Minnesota managed to hold onto home ice for the first round of the WCHA tournament and played host to Colorado College.

The Gopher defense stepped up in the first game and gave Minnesota a 4-goal margin of victory that allowed the team to cruise to a 10–5 series win after taking the second contest.

Minnesota was forced to hit the road for the second round, heading to Michigan State and facing off against the nation's leading scorer in Tom Ross.

The top offense in the nation was led by future NHL-er Mike Zuke who had posted 103 points on the season and was only two behind Tom Ross for the scoring title.

Tscherne remained in net for the rest of the period and was able to stem the tide but it was a power play goal from Tom Vannelli at the end of the first that gave Minnesota some breathing room.

Tscherne was replaced by Tom Mohr from the second on and the junior netminder was given time to settle in when Minnesota opened an offensive salvo on the Michigan Tech net.

Michigan Tech halted the Gopher charge with their fourth goal that came with 36 seconds to play to send the teams into the final frame in a tied game.

Minnesota's second championship in three years was even more improbable that their first and the 1976 Golden Gophers became the first team since the 1948–49 Boston College Eagles to have a national champion composed entirely of American players.