The Crab Pot Tournament (also stylized as CrabPot Tournament or Navy Crab Pot) is a men's college ice hockey tournament hosted annually by the United States Naval Academy. The Midshipmen have competed in every edition of the tournament, with local schools such as the University of Maryland and Towson University being regular participants.
It is the oldest college hockey tournament operating at the non-varsity level and one of the oldest extant tournaments for any level of play.
History
Navy Hockey began as an informal student group in the early 1960s and was officially formed as a club (non-varsity) sports team in 1971.[1] In 1975, Steven Gordon became the head coach of the hockey program. Gordon, a former goalie at Northeastern University in the 1970s, had played in the Beanpot tournament in Boston. He and the team created their own version of the competition for the 1977–78 season.[2] The original tournament was slatted to include Ramapo College, the University of Delaware, and Penn State University.[3] Penn State was eventually replaced with Rutgers University.
Crowds of hundreds to thousands regularly attend the two-day tournament at the Naval Academy.[4] In its early years the Crab Pot regularly overlapped with Super Bowl weekend, with the championship game coinciding with the NFL game. This tradition was abandoned in the 1980s and now the tournament regularly takes place in mid-February. Initially the Crab Pot sometimes included varsity NCAA teams. However the majority of the tournament field, and in later years the entirety, has been made up of other non-varsity programs.
The winning team receives the Crab Pot Trophy and has its name hung on a large banner above the ice rink.[5]
Format
The tournament is two rounds over two days, with the first day having all four participants play in semifinal games. The second day features the consolation game and the championship game.
Year-by-year results
Note: If a final standing is not listed in the third column that either means the consolation game did not take place that year or that the information is unavailable.
This is a list of all occasions where a Crab Pot team has won at least two consecutive championships between years. The current winning streak, if any, is highlighted in chartreuse . Winning streaks with equal numbers of wins are sorted chronologically, with earlier streaks appearing first.
The longest current championship win streak belongs to the U.S. Naval Academy, who has an ongoing streak between 2019 and 2024.
^Final score not known at this time. It is known Community College of Rhode Island won tournament due to the banner in Navy's rink.
^Limited information about the 1989 edition is available at this time. It is known Community College of Rhode Island won tournament due to the banner in Navy's rink. The current best source, the University of Delaware historical schedule, has the most concreate information regarding scores and participants. However, it is unclear how Delaware lost the first game then played CCRI in the final as it is currently listed. More information and sources are required.
^2021 edition cancelled, does not interrupt Navy's streak
^"Sports shorts". The Baltimore Sun. 2 February 1990. p. 81. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
^Bielomyza, Kathy (February 9, 1990). "Ice Cats sink Navy for win". The Villanovan. Vol. 65, no. 13. p. 37. Archived from the original on 25 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^O'Malley, Pat (1 February 1993). "Navy edged in Crab Pot". The Baltimore Sun. p. 36. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
^Institute, Worcester Polytechnic (9 February 1993). "Newspeak Volume 21, Issue 4, February 9, 1993". digital.wpi.edu. Vol. 21, no. 4. p. 3. Retrieved 1 December 2023. WPI hockey maintains record over .500
^"Renaissance 1996". Digital Commons. University of Rhode Island. 1 January 1996. p. 150. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023. Photo on hockey's page shows Navy's Dahlgren Hall. Confirms URI was a 1996 participant.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"2018 Schedule". University of Rhode Island Ice Hockey. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
^"Tweet". X (Formerly known as Twitter). West Virginia University D2 Men's Ice Hockey Team. 16 February 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2024. Great win for the Hockey team against Towson D1 Team in overtime !!! Crab Pot Tourney in Annapolis Wvu 4 Towson 3
^"Tweet". X (Formerly known as Twitter). American Collegiate Hockey Association. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2024. 2/22 FINAL • M2 Scoreboard STEVENSON 5 - Maryland 3