Mercyhurst Lakers men's ice hockey

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Mercyhurst Lakers men's ice hockey
Current season
Mercyhurst Lakers athletic logo
UniversityMercyhurst University
ConferenceAHA
Head coachRick Gotkin
37th season, 607–523–107 (.534)
Assistant coaches
ArenaMercyhurst Ice Center
Erie, Pennsylvania
ColorsForest green and navy blue[1]
   
NCAA Tournament Runner-up
DII: 1993, 1995
NCAA Tournament appearances
DIII: 1991, DII: 1993, 1995, DI: 2001, 2003, 2005
Conference Tournament championships
DII: 1995, DI: 2001, 2003, 2005
Conference regular season championships
2014, 2018
Current uniform

The Mercyhurst Lakers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association hockey team that represents Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania under Head Coach Rick Gotkin. The team is currently a Division I hockey team playing out of the Mercyhurst Ice Center located on the school campus. The Mercyhurst Lakers started out as a club sport at the school, moving up to Division III, followed by Division II, and now plays in Division I in Atlantic Hockey America, formed shortly after the 2023–24 season by the merger of the Lakers' former home, the Atlantic Hockey Association, with College Hockey America.[2] After joining their step up into Division I in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 1998, the Lakers have won their conference tournament making NCAA tournament appearances in 2001, 2003, and 2005.

History

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Club Sport

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Chris Cuzzola, who was a student at Mercyhurst playing club hockey at Gannon University, happened to talk to former president of Mercyhurst University, William Garvey, about hockey.[3] As a result of this, hockey would be instated as a club sport competing in the Erie Senior Hockey League for the 1986–1987 season.[4] The coach for the first club season was Bob Cisek who was a Mercyhurst professor at the time. At the club level in the Erie Senior Hockey League, the Lakers went 15-0-3, finishing first in the league.[5]

Division II & Division III

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After just 1 year at the club level, the Mercyhurst Lakers began an independent trial run at the varsity level, Division III in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) South hockey league. Mercyhurst Athletic Director John Leisering stated, “The administration was immediately enthusiastic about a possible move to varsity status and with the support of the hockey people, the move was approved after just a few months.”[6]

Named head coach for the Lakers in their first season at the Division III level was Fred Lane. Lane was one of the founding members for the Gannon University Golden Knights club hockey and was affiliated with the Gannon hockey program since 1967. As a player, he was Most Valuable Player his sophomore, junior, and senior years and coached the team in 1973 returning in 1978. In 10 seasons as the head coach for the Golden Knights, Lane had a record of 153–14–14, winning 2 Western Pennsylvania College Hockey Association league championships, 6 division championships, and was named WPCHA coach of the year 3 times. In addition to coaching, he was a member of the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States (AHAUS) and the Ontario Coaches Association.[4]

Along with Head Coach Fred Lane, was Associate Coach Bob Cisek who ran the program a year ago at the club level. For the 1987–1988 season, the Lakers had a very competitive schedule in their first season as a Division III team playing a combination of both club and varsity teams. The Lakers opened up their first NCAA Division III season on Saturday, October 31 at West Chester University of Pennsylvania playing their home games at both the Erie Civic Center and Glenwood Ice Rink.[7] The highlight of the season being the game against Division I Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey on November 25[7] which they lost 7–3. With 18 of the 28 players being freshmen on the team, Mercyhurst Lakers ended their first varsity season going 16–7–0.[8]

Following the 1987–1988 season, on April 29 of 1988, Mercyhurst College Athletic Director John Leisering named Rick Gotkin as head coach of the team saying, “Rick’s playing, coaching, and recruiting credentials were just the mix Mercyhurst was looking for.”[9] At 28 years of age, Rick Gotkin comes from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, which played at the Division I level in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference where Gotkin served as Assistant Varsity Hockey Coach for the past 2 years (1986–1988). Before Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Gotkin was a coach at SUNY-Brockport (Division III), coached the Enschede Lions in the Netherlands, was head coach at SUNY-Canton (NCAA-Junior College), and was head coach of the Fife Flyers of the British Hockey League. After coaching Rensselaer, was hired as head coach for the Mercyhurst Lakers.[9]

For the 1988–1989 season, the Mercyhurst Lakers played in the ECAC-West Division alongside SUNY-Brockport, Canisius College, SUNY-Fredonia, SUNY-Potsdam and St. Bonaventure University.[9] In the Lakers first full season as an NCAA Division III program, the Lakers took a record of 11–1–1 under new Head Coach Rick Gotkin.[8] The first time the Lakers would be ranked was in the 1990–1991 season where they ranked 9th in the short history of the team.[10] During the 1991–1992, the Mercyhurst Lakers opened up their new rink on campus, the Mercyhurst Ice Center. According to the first Division II poll released, the Mercyhurst Lakers ranked 2nd in the 1992–1993 season only behind Bemidji State University.[11] In that season, the Lakers finished with 2 wins and 3 losses against Division I teams. The wins coming against Kent State University and the University of Alabama-Huntsville and the losses coming from Kent State and two from the University of Alaska-Anchorage.[11] The first time the team would be ranked 1st in their history was in December 1994.[12] In the 1994–1995 season, the Lakers went 23-3-2 coming out with their first ever ECAC-West division championship and placing second in the NCAA Division II play-offs.[13]

In September 1997, while the Meryhurst Lakers were playing in the ECAC-West division, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) rounded up 8 teams to form a Division I hockey conference. Joining the conferences of Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, Hockey East, Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and Western Collegiate Hockey Association in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey with 48 schools playing in 5 Division I conferences. The MAAC included Canisius College, Fairfield University, and Iona College (New York) (now a "University") as full members with American International College (AIC), University of Connecticut (UConn), the College of the Holy Cross, Quinnipiac College (also now a "University"), and Sacred Heart University as associate members with visions of Bentley University and Mercyhurst joining for the 1999–2000 season making the conference 10 teams.[14]

Division I

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The Mercyhurst men's ice hockey team plays against Air Force in 2018

In May 1998, the Mercyhurst board of trustees approved the transition from Division II non-scholarship to play Division I ice hockey in the NCAA.[15] The Lakers ended their long association with the Eastern College Athletic Conference West division to play Division I hockey in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. In the Lakers first full season at the Division I level in the 1999–2000 season, Mercyhurst went 20-14-2 with Rick Gotkin still as head coach of the team.[8] In 2003, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference reorganized to create the Atlantic Hockey Association with Quinnipiac, UConn, AIC, Canisius, Holy Cross, Sacred Heart, Bentley, Army, and Mercyhurst as the 9 members of the league.

Atlantic Hockey America includes all 11 teams that played in the Atlantic Hockey Association's final season: Mercyhurst, AIC, Air Force, Army, Bentley, Canisius, Holy Cross, Niagara, RIT (in full Rochester Institute of Technology), Robert Morris, and Sacred Heart.

Season-by-season results

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Main article: List of Mercyhurst Lakers men's ice hockey seasons

Source:[16]

All-time coaching records

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As of the completion of 2023–24 season[16]

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1987–1988 Fred Lane 1 16–7–0 .696
1988–Present Rick Gotkin 36 607–523–107 .534
Totals 2 coaches 37 seasons 623–530–107 .537

Statistical leaders

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Source:[17]

Career points leaders

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Player Years GP G A Pts PIM
Scott Burfoot 1988–1992 113 141 149 290 197
Kevin McKinnon 1992–1996 91 119 79 198 226
Troy Winch 1989–1992 93 80 106 186 128
Craig MacDonald 1991–1995 111 70 107 177 122
Mick Keen 1988–1992 119 80 82 162 95
Louis Goulet 1998–2002 137 61 96 157 88
Ben Cottreau 2004–2008 132 61 95 156 230
John Evangelista 1994–1998 103 57 97 154 111
Bryce Bohun 1992–1996 98 49 101 150 28
Bob Atkin 1995–1999 105 66 81 147 52

Statistics current through the start of the 2022–23 season.

Awards and honors

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NCAA

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All-Americans

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NCAA Division III / II

  • 1990-91: Scott Burfoot F
  • 1992-93: Andrew Moir D
  • 1994-95: Justin Proud D
  • 1995-96: Kevin McKinnon F
  • 1996-97: John Evangelista F
  • 1997-98: John Evangelista F

AHCA Second Team All-Americans

ECAC West

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Individual awards

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All-Conference teams

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First Team All-ECAC

Second Team All-ECAC


MAAC

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Individual awards

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All-Conference teams

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First Team All-MAAC

Second Team All-MAAC

MAAC All-Rookie Team

Atlantic Hockey Association

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Individual awards

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All-Conference teams

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First Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team

Mercyhurst Ice Center

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Before the opening of the Mercyhurst Ice Center, the Mercyhurst Lakers played their games at the Erie Civic Center and Glenwood Ice Rink. Due to constantly being on the road, the Lakers team referred to themselves as “The Boys On The Bus”. Needing a rink on campus, Mercyhurst President, William Garvey, found a deal to fund the building for a rink on campus.[18] On December 8, 1991, the Lakers began to play in the Mercyhurst Ice Center located on the Mercyhurst University campus.[19] They opened the new rink against the Rochester Institute of Technology that they lost 5–4.[8]

Notable alumni

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Jamie Hunt, Mercyhurst 2003–2006.[20] Nick Jones, Mercyhurst 2010–2014.[20] T.J. Kemp, Mercyhurst 2001–2005.[20] Ryan Zapolski, Mercyhurst 2007–2011.[20]

Current roster

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As of August 21, 2024.[21]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Florida Michael Chambre Freshman G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2005-01-07 Fort Myers, Florida Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) —
2 New Jersey Mateo Picozzi Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2003-04-29 Morristown, New Jersey Omaha Lancers (USHL) —
3 Michigan Jake Beaune Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-06-13 Livonia, Michigan Lincoln Stars (USHL) —
4 Alberta Jaryd Sych Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2003-02-10 Airdrie, Alberta Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL) —
5 New Hampshire Caleb Price Senior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2000-03-31 Hooksett, New Hampshire Lindenwood (NCAA) —
6 New York (state) Trent Sambrook Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2002-01-03 Winnipeg, Manitoba Winkler Flyers (MJHL) —
7 New Jersey Tyler DesRochers Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2003-04-02 Howell, New Jersey Johnstown Tomahawks (NAHL) —
8 Michigan Brendan Lamb Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 2004-05-14 Battle Creek, Michigan Madison Capitols (USHL) —
9 Ontario Sean James Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 161 lb (73 kg) 2002-09-10 Almonte, Ontario Smiths Falls (CCHL) —
10 New Jersey Steven Agriogianis Graduate F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-01-07 East Hanover, New Jersey Northeastern (HEA) —
11 Wisconsin Barrett Brooks Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-12-19 Stevens Point, Wisconsin Western Michigan (NCHC) —
12 Pennsylvania Dustin Geregach Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2001-11-14 McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania Johnstown Tomahawks (NAHL) —
14 New Jersey Boris Skalos Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 2003-01-06 Clifton, New Jersey Fargo Force (USHL) —
15 New York (state) Tommy Bannister Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-09-05 Clayton, New York New Jersey Titans (NAHL) —
16 North Carolina Ryan Coughlin Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-02-09 Charlotte, North Carolina New Jersey Titans (NAHL) —
18 Saskatchewan Davis Fry Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2003-08-04 Regina, Saskatchewan Steinbach Pistons (MJHL) —
19 Massachusetts Riley Fitzgerald Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 161 lb (73 kg) 2003-06-02 Wilmington, Massachusetts New Jersey Titans (NAHL) —
20 New Hampshire Kaden Muir Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2004-05-09 Manchester, New Hampshire Austin Bruins (NAHL) —
21 New Jersey Mickey Burns Graduate F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-04-03 Wayne, New Jersey Vermont (HEA) —
22 New York (state) Kyler Head Graduate F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1999-07-13 Malone, New York Robert Morris (AHA) —
23 New York (state) Cameron Ricotta Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-05-17 Cheektowaga, New York Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL) —
24 Ontario Matteo Disipio Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 161 lb (73 kg) 2003-07-26 Nepean, Ontario Rochester Jr. Americans (NAHL) —
26 Ontario Spencer Smith Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2002-05-20 St. Catharines, Ontario Penticton Vees (BCHL) —
27 Czech Republic Dominik Bartecko Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2003-12-09 Prague, Czech Republic New Jersey Titans (NAHL) —
28 New York (state) Tyler Nasca Junior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2001-01-09 Buffalo, New York Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL) —
29 New Jersey Christian Kocsis Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2004-06-09 Middletown, New Jersey Omaha Lancers (USHL) —
33 Michigan Carter McPhail Graduate G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 1998-12-04 Fenton, Michigan Miami (NCHC) —
37 New York (state) Connor Pelc Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2003-04-28 Buffalo, New York Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) —
39 Maryland Will Margel Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-03-16 Potomac, Maryland New Hampshire (HEA) —
44 Quebec Simon Bucheler Sophomore G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 2002-03-29 Saint-Laurent, Quebec Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL) —

Olympians

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This is a list of Mercyhurst alumni were a part of an Olympic team.

Name Position Mercyhurst Tenure Team Year Finish
Ryan Zapolski Goaltender 2007–2011 United States USA 2018 7th

Lakers in the NHL

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As of July 1, 2024.

Player Position Team(s) Years Games Stanley Cups
Jamie Hunt Defenseman WSH 2006–2007 1 0

Source:[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "PSCAC Logos and Brand Guide" (PDF). Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  2. ^ "Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America Join to Form Atlantic Hockey America" (Press release). Atlantic Hockey America. April 30, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  3. ^ Strausbaugh, Roy (January 2013). The Foundations of a University: Mercyhurst In The Twentieth Century. Erie, PA: Mercyhursty University. pp. 320–321.
  4. ^ a b "Lane Named Hurst Hockey Coach". Mercyhurst University. Mercyhurst Lakers. January 20, 1987.
  5. ^ "Hockey Team Set For Varsity Campaign". Mercyhurst University. Mercyhurst Lakers. October 28, 1987.
  6. ^ Madden, Mark (September 17, 1987). "Central's Sciarrino Going To Mercyhurst For Hockey". PG EAST.
  7. ^ a b "Laker Hockey Team Begins First Season On Varsity Level". Mercyhurst University. Mercyhurst Lakers. October 15, 1987.
  8. ^ a b c d "Mercyhurst Team History". College Hockey News. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  9. ^ a b c "Mercyhurst Names New Hockey Coach". Mercyhurst University. Mercyhurst Lakers. April 29, 1988.
  10. ^ "Lakers Ranked For First Time In History". Mercyhurst University. Mercyhurst Lakers. February 11, 1991.
  11. ^ a b "NCAA Ranks Lakers #2 In Division II". Mercyhurst University. Mercyhurst Lakers. January 4, 1993.
  12. ^ "Laker Hockey Team Ranked #1 in NCAA Division II". Mercyhurst University. Mercyhurst Lakers.
  13. ^ "Lakers Open Camp For 1995-96 Season". Mercyhurst University. Mercyhurst Lakers. October 13, 1995.
  14. ^ "The MAAC Hockey League Story". Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
  15. ^ "1999-2000 Season Outlook". Mercyhurst University. 1999.
  16. ^ a b "Mercyhurst 2004-05 men's ice hockey Guide" (PDF). Mercyhurst Lakers. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  17. ^ "Mercyhurst Univ. - All Time Regular Season Player Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  18. ^ Strausbaugh, Roy (January 2013). The Foundations of a University: Mercyhurst In The Twentieth Century. Erie, PA: Mercyhurst University. pp. 398–399.
  19. ^ "Mercyhurst Opens Ice Center; Hosts Rochester Institute of Technology". Mercyhurst University. Mercyhurst Lakers. December 8, 1991.
  20. ^ a b c d "Mercyhurst College Hockey Alumni Report". Hockeydb.com. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  21. ^ "2024-25 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Mercyhurst Lakers. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  22. ^ "Alumni report for Mercyhurst College". Hockey DB. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
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