The 1961 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament was the 14th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 16 and 18, 1961, and concluded with Denver defeating St. Lawrence 12 to 2. All games were played at the University of Denver Arena in Denver, Colorado. Four teams qualified for the tournament, two each from the eastern and western regions. The WCHA tournament co-champions received automatic bids into the tournament. Two at-large bids were offered to eastern teams based upon both their regular season record and strength of competition. Because Minnesota refused to schedule Denver beginning the season due to a disagreement over recruiting practices, the two western participants had not yet played each other during the season. As a result the NCAA broke with tradition and pitted the two against one another in the semifinals, leaving the two eastern teams to face one another in the other semifinal game. This was the first and only time in the history of the tournament that teams from the same conference would play each other in the opening round.