Fairfield Stags men's ice hockey

The Fairfield Stags Men's Ice Hockey was an NCAA Division I ice hockey team that played in the MAAC for five seasons.

Fairfield Stags Men's Ice Hockey
UniversityFairfield University
ConferenceMAAC
Head coachN/A
ArenaArena at Harbor Yard
Capacity: 8,525
LocationFairfield, Connecticut
ColorsRed[1]
    

History

Fairfield's hockey program was elevated to Division III status in 1974 and found immediate success with a 19-7-1 mark under head coach John McCarthy. Despite being a D-I school, the Stags competed in ECAC's lower classification. McCarthy retired after the 1995-96 season and was replaced by Peter LaVigne who then stepped down after only one season. Mike Doneghey succeeded Lavigne[2] and in Doneghey's first year Fairfield was ruled ineligible to play in ECAC's North/Central/South postseason after offering athletic scholarships, a violation of D-III rules.[3] Fairfield had offered the scholarships because they were joining the newly formed Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) ice hockey conference which was to begin play in 1998-99. In their first year as a full D-I program Fairfield finished with one of the all-time worst records, going 1-31 over the course of the season and allowed an average of more than 7 goals per game. After the worst record in team history Doneghey was promptly replaced with Mark Dennehy and, though there was improvement, Dennehy himself left after a 3-28-3 season to become an assistant at Massachusetts. Jim Hunt assumed the reigns for the 2000-01 season[4] and saw to a resurgence in Fairfield's fortunes with an 11-win season, but the next two years saw diminishing returns with 6 and 8 wins.

Hunt was not able to push the Stags any further due to the University dropping the ice hockey program to club status after the 2002-03 season.[5] The move came as a cost-cutting measure that also claimed Fairfield's football program. In five season as a D-I school, Fairfield finished last in their conference three times,[6] made two conference tournaments and lost both of its playoffs games by a combined score of 23-7.[7]

Today the Stags Men's Ice Hockey Team is a member of the ACHA and competes in the D3 division. Under new head coach Mike Silva, the team has seen an Empire Conference Championship in 2015 and three consecutive Regional Championships that vaulted the team into contention for the national title. In 2015 the team achieved a record of 0-3-0 on the national stage, yet still finished ranked 14th in the country. In 2016 the team achieved a record of 1-1-1 at nationals nearly qualifying for the semi-finals, ultimately the team finished 7th in the country that year. In 2017 the team earned a record of 1-2-0 and finished 12th in the country.

Season-by-season records
Season Division Conference Record Pct. Position Conference
Tournament		 Coach
1974-75Division IIIECAC 319–7–1.722——John McCarthy
1975-76Division IIIECAC 313–11–1.540——John McCarthy
1976-77Division IIIECAC 311–11–0.500——John McCarthy
1977-78Division IIIECAC 38–12–1.405——John McCarthy
1978-79Division IIIECAC 37–16–0.304——John McCarthy
1979-80Division IIIECAC 313–13–0.500——John McCarthy
1980-81Division IIIECAC 314–9–1.604——John McCarthy
1981-82Division IIIECAC 39–14–1.396——John McCarthy
1982-83Division IIIECAC 310–13–0.435——John McCarthy
1983-84Division IIIECAC 38–13–3.396——John McCarthy
1984-85Division IIIECAC 35–19–0.208——John McCarthy
1985-86Division IIIECAC North/South5–19–1.220——John McCarthy
1986-87Division IIIECAC North/South7–17–0.292——John McCarthy
1987-88Division IIIECAC North/South6–19–1.250——John McCarthy
1988-89Division IIIECAC North/South5–21–0.192——John McCarthy
1989-90Division IIIECAC North/South9–12–2.435——John McCarthy
1990-91Division IIIECAC North/South12–11–2.520——John McCarthy
1991-92Division IIIECAC North/South16–12–0.571—QuarterfinalsJohn McCarthy
1992-93Division IIIECAC South10–10–0.500——John McCarthy
1993-94Division IIIECAC South14–6–1.6902ndQuarterfinalsJohn McCarthy
1994-95Division IIIECAC South18–9–0.6672ndQuarterfinalsJohn McCarthy
1995-96Division IIIECAC South11–13–4.4642ndNoneJohn McCarthy
1996-97Division IIIECAC South13–12–1.5193rdNonePeter LaVigne
1997-98Division IIIECAC South12–12–0.500N/AN/AMike Doneghey
1998-99Division IMAAC1–31–0.0318thQuarterfinal lossMike Doneghey
1999-00Division IMAAC3–28–3.13210thNoneMark Dennehy
2000-01Division IMAAC11–19–2.3758thQuarterfinal lossJim Hunt
2001-02Division IMAAC6–23–2.23410thNoneJim Hunt
2002-03Division IMAAC8–23–2.27311thNoneJim Hunt
29 seasons – – 284–435–30 .399 – – 5 coaches

All-time coaching records
Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1974–1996John McCarthy22230–287–19.447
1996–1997Peter LaVigne113–12–1.519
1997–1999Mike Doneghey213–43–0.232
1999–2000Mark Dennehy13–28–3.132
2000–2003Jim Hunt325–65–7.293
Totals 5 coaches 29 seasons 284–435–30 .399

References
  1. Fairfield University Visual Standard Manual (PDF). July 1, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  2. "Doneghey Names Head Coach at Fairfield". USCHO.com. 1997-09-24. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  3. "Fairfield Ruled Ineligible for Postseason Play in ECAC". USCHO.com. 1998-02-13. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  4. "Fairfield Makes it Official, Names Hunt New Coach". USCHO.com. 2000-06-12. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  5. "Fairfield Drops Hockey Program". USCHO.com. 2003-02-06. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  6. "MAAC Regular Season Standings". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  7. "MAAC Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
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