Iona Gaels men's ice hockey

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

Iona Gaels men's ice hockey
UniversityIona College (New York)
ConferenceMAAC
Head coachN/A
ArenaNew Roc Ice Skating Center
LocationNew Rochelle, New York
ColorsMaroon and Gold
   

History

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 ECAC 3 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 1976-77 with a 26-5-1 mark. After eleven years as an independent, Iona joined the ECAC 3. 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
1967-68College DivisionIndependent16–0–01.000——Harry Nixon
1968-69College DivisionIndependent8–9–0.471——Bill Edwards
1969-70College DivisionIndependent13–3–0.812——Bill Edwards
1970-71College DivisionIndependent13–8–0.619——Bill Edwards
1971-72College DivisionIndependent13–2–1.844——Bill Edwards
1972-73College DivisionIndependent10–5–1.656——Bill Edwards
1973-74Division IIIIndependent16–6–0.727——Bill Edwards
1974-75Division IIIIndependent11–12–2.480——Bill Edwards
1975-76Division IIIIndependent19–3–7.776——Bill Edwards
1976-77Division IIIIndependent26–5–1.828——Bill Edwards
1977-78Division IIIECAC 312–5–2.684——Bill Edwards
1978-79Division IIIECAC 315–6–0.714——Bill Edwards
1979-80Division IIIECAC 314–5–0.737——Frank Effinger
1980-81Division IIIECAC 315–4–1.775—SemifinalsFrank Effinger
1981-82Division IIIECAC 313–5–1.711——Frank Effinger
1982-83Division IIIECAC 318–4–0.818—Runner-UpFrank Effinger
1983-84Division IIIECAC 318–4–2.792——Frank Effinger
1984-85Division IIIECAC 321–7–0.750—SemifinalsFrank Effinger
1985-86Division IIIECAC North/South17–9–0.654—QuarterfinalsFrank Effinger
1986-87Division IIIECAC North/South15–8–0.652—First RoundFrank Effinger
1987-88Division IIIECAC North/South16–9–1.635—QuarterfinalsFrank Effinger
1988-89Division IIIECAC North/South20–7–0.741—Runner-UpFrank Effinger
1989-90Division IIIECAC North/South17–4–0.810—QuarterfinalsFrank Effinger
1990-91Division IIIECAC North/South16–6–2.708—QuarterfinalsBill Conforte
1991-92Division IIIECAC North/South10–16–1.389—First RoundBill Conforte
1992-93Division IIIECAC South12–11–1.521—SemifinalsBill Conforte
1993-94Division IIIECAC South9–13–2.4173rdNoneBill Conforte
1994-95Division IIIECAC South10–13–2.4406thNoneBill Conforte
1995-96Division IIIECAC South9–15–1.3805thNoneBill Conforte
1996-97Division IIIECAC South2–20–3.1407thNoneBill Conforte
1997-98Division IIIECAC South4–20–1.1803rdNoneFrank Bretti
1998-99Division IMAAC13–18–2.4246thQuarterfinalsFrank Bretti
1999-00Division IMAAC17–17–3.5006thRunner-UpFrank Bretti
2000-01Division IMAAC18–13–4.5713rdSemifinalsFrank Bretti
2001-02Division IMAAC13–18–2.4247thQuarterfinalsFrank Bretti
2002-03Division IMAAC11–22–2.3438thQuarterfinalsFrank Bretti
36 Seasons — — 500–332–45 .596 — — 5 coaches

All-time coaching records

Division I
Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1998–2003Frank Bretti572–88–13.454
Totals 1 coach 5 seasons 72–88–13 .454

Division III
Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1967–1968Harry Nixon116–0–01.000
1968–1979Bill Edwards11156–64–14.697
1979–1990Frank Effinger11184–66–5.731
1990–1997Bill Conforte768–94–12.425
1997–1998Frank Bretti14–20–1.180
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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