Iona Gaels men's ice hockey

Iona Gales men's ice hockey
University Iona College (New York)
Conference MAAC
Head coach N/A
Arena New Roc Ice Skating Center
Location New Rochelle, New York
Colors Maroon and Gold
         

The Iona Gaels Men's Ice Hockey was a NCAA Division I ice hockey team that played in the MAAC for five seasons. Prior to the founding of the MAAC hockey conference the Gales had been a Division III ice hockey program and were a part of the D-III ECAC Hockey conference from 1977 thru 1998. When the MAAC formed their hockey conference as per NCAA regulations, the three full member schools in the conference were forced into the conference. Due to the reticence of the other MAAC schools to start hockey programs, Iona, Canisius and Fairfield were joined by five associate members for the first season in 1998–99. In the five-year existence of the MAAC hockey conference Iona was a middle of the pack team, finishing between third and eighth place and playing in every postseason tournament.[1] Iona's best finish came in the 2000 season when they defeated the top-seeded Quinnipiac Braves en route to a second-place finish in the tournament.[2] Despite showing some promise in their program, Iona's board of trustees voted to eliminate the men's ice hockey program at the end of the 2002-03 season.[3]

Iona's ice hockey program began in 1967 under Harry Nixon. As a Division III independent, the Gaels went undefeated in their inaugural year with a 16-0 record. Though Nixon stepped down after only one year, Bill Edwards was able to shepherd Iona to eight winning seasons over the next decade, finishing 1967-77 with a 26-5-1 mark. After eleven years as an independent, Iona joined the ECAC lower classification. Edwards coached the first two seasons of the Gaels as a conference member before being succeeded by Frank Effinger in 11 season as coach, Iona experienced an unprecedented level of success, never finishing below a .600 record. Bill Conforte took over after the 1989-90 season and though the Gaels ended with a 16-6-1 record his first year, that would be the end of their success for the near future. Iona has a steady decline in the 1990s, routinely finishing with losing records and eventually the firing of Conforte after a 2-20-3 season in 1996-97. Frank Bretti was hired for the 1997-98 season and after a 4-20-1 finish, Iona was set to join the Division I ranks.[4]

Season-by-season records

Season Division Conference Record Pct. Position Conference
Tournament		 Coach
1967-68 Division III Independent 16–0–0 1.000 — — Harry Nixon
1968-69 Division III Independent 8–9–0 .471 — — Bill Edwards
1969-70 Division III Independent 13–3–0 .812 — — Bill Edwards
1970-71 Division III Independent 13–8–0 .619 — — Bill Edwards
1971-72 Division III Independent 13–2–1 .844 — — Bill Edwards
1972-73 Division III Independent 10–5–1 .656 — — Bill Edwards
1973-74 Division III Independent 16–6–0 .727 — — Bill Edwards
1974-75 Division III Independent 11–12–2 .480 — — Bill Edwards
1975-76 Division III Independent 19–3–7 .776 — — Bill Edwards
1976-77 Division III Independent 26–5–1 .828 — — Bill Edwards
1977-78 Division III ECAC D-III 12–5–2 .684 — — Bill Edwards
1978-79 Division III ECAC D-III 15–6–0 .714 — — Bill Edwards
1979-80 Division III ECAC D-III 14–5–0 .737 — — Frank Effinger
1980-81 Division III ECAC D-III 15–4–1 .775 — — Frank Effinger
1981-82 Division III ECAC D-III 13–5–1 .711 — — Frank Effinger
1982-83 Division III ECAC D-III 18–4–0 .818 — — Frank Effinger
1983-84 Division III ECAC D-III 18–4–2 .792 — — Frank Effinger
1984-85 Division III ECAC D-III 21–7–0 .750 — — Frank Effinger
1985-86 Division III ECAC D-III 17–9–0 .654 — — Frank Effinger
1986-87 Division III ECAC D-III 15–8–0 .652 — — Frank Effinger
1987-88 Division III ECAC D-III 16–9–1 .635 — — Frank Effinger
1988-89 Division III ECAC D-III 20–7–0 .741 — — Frank Effinger
1989-90 Division III ECAC D-III 17–4–0 .810 — — Frank Effinger
1990-91 Division III ECAC D-III 16–6–2 .708 — — Bill Conforte
1991-92 Division III ECAC D-III 10–16–1 .389 — — Bill Conforte
1992-93 Division III ECAC D-III 12–11–1 .521 — — Bill Conforte
1993-94 Division III ECAC D-III 9–13–2 .417 — — Bill Conforte
1994-95 Division III ECAC D-III 10–13–2 .440 — — Bill Conforte
1995-96 Division III ECAC D-III 9–15–1 .380 — — Bill Conforte
1996-97 Division III ECAC D-III 2–20–3 .140 — — Bill Conforte
1997-98 Division III ECAC D-III 4–40–1 .180 — — Frank Bretti
1998-99 Division I MAAC 13–18–2 .424 6th Quarterfinal loss Frank Bretti
1999-00 Division I MAAC 17–17–3 .500 6th Championship loss Frank Bretti
2000-01 Division I MAAC 18–13–4 .571 3rd Semifinal loss Frank Bretti
2001-02 Division I MAAC 13–18–2 .424 7th Quarterfinal loss Frank Bretti
2002-03 Division I MAAC 11–22–2 .343 8th Quarterfinal loss Frank Bretti
36 Seasons — — 500–332–45 .596 — — 5 coaches

All-time coaching records

Division I

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1998–2003 Frank Bretti 5 72–88–13 .454
Totals 1 coach 5 seasons 72–88–13 .454

Division III

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1967–1968 Harry Nixon 1 16–0–0 1.000
1968–1979 Bill Edwards 11 156–64–14 .697
1979–1990 Frank Effinger 11 184–66–5 .731
1990–1997 Bill Conforte 7 68–94–12 .425
1997–1998 Frank Bretti 1 4–20–1 .180
Totals 5 coaches 31 seasons 428–244–32 .631

References

  1. ↑ "MAAC Regular Season Standings". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved 2013-06-12.
  2. ↑ "MAAC Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved 2013-06-12.
  3. ↑ "Iona Next to Drop Hockey". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2013-06-12.
  4. ↑ "Iona Men's Hockey History". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2013-06-12.
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