In 1958-59, the UND hockey team became the first team in University history to win a national championship, and the Fighting Sioux delivered with a NCAA Division I National Championship. Bob May was the coach and the captain was Bill Steenson. Steenson's assistant captains were Julian Brunetta and Joe Poole. May would coach at UND for just two years and win a national championship and place second in the two seasons.
The Sioux posted a 20-10-1 overall record. UND had no conference affiliation with the breakup of the WIHL in March of 1958. The WCHA (Western Collegiate Hockey Association), of which UND was a founding member would form in 1959.
In 1957-58, the Sioux were runner-up at the national tournament, losing 6-2 to Denver. But the following season was going to be different. After going 5-4-1 through January 2, North Dakota began a turnaround that would take them to a championship. The Sioux went 15-6-0 in the final 21 games of the season. Included in the run were sweeps against Minnesota-Duluth, Colorado College and Minnesota. During the season, the Sioux also won three out of four games against defending national champion Denver. Of note during the season, the Sioux had their game against Michigan (in Ann Arbor), a 6-1 North Dakota win, shortened because of a brawl. Wolverine defenseman Barrie Hayton was called for a cross checking penalty with 5:20 remaining in the third period, and as he skated to the penalty box, Hayton used his stick to swing at UND manager Ted Kotyk. At that point, the benches cleared and the game was stopped.
On March 12-14, 1959, UND won its first national championship by virtue of two action-packed 4-3 overtime thrillers at RPI in Troy, N.Y. Defenseman Guy LaFrance's 30-foot blast at 4:22 of sudden death overtime eliminated St. Lawrence in the semi-final game. Reg Morelli tallied a pair of goals, and Art Miller and Ed Thomlinson had one each in the St. Lawrence game. Morelli duplicated LaFrance's OT heroics when he scored at 4:18 of the first overtime period in the championship game against Michigan State (whom the Sioux were playing for the fifth time that season, with UND holding a 3-2-0 edge), giving the Sioux a 4-3 win. The Spartans led 1-0 after one period, but the Sioux went up 3-1 in the second on goals by Ralph Lyndon, Jerry Walford and Stan Paschke. The Spartans tied the game late in the third period with a goal at 16:20 by Jack Roberts, setting the stage for Morelli's dramatic shot over the sprawling Spartan goalie Joe Selinger, who recorded 26 saves. George Gratton stopped 21 MSU shots. Morelli was the tourney MVP with Ed Thomlinson also earning all-tournament team honors. Joe Poole and Ralph Lindon were named to the second team.
Bill Steenson, a defenseman from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, earned his third All-America honor. Art Miller led the Sioux with 45 points (24 goals and 21 assists). Reg Morelli had 32 points (17 goals and 15 assists) and Ed Thomlinson had 29 points (14 goals and 15 assists). Bob Peabody and George Gratton shared the goaltending duties with Peabody posting a shutout against Michigan Tech on February 7.
The Fighting Sioux had three hat tricks during the season, Reg Morelli vs. Michigan State (12-6-58), Les Merrifield vs. Colorado College (2-9-59), and Art Miller vs. Minnesota (2-20-59).
