Saint Michael's Ice Hockey Championship Comeback Leads to NE10 Three-Peat - Northeast 10 Athletics

Posted: Nov 30, 2020

Just as the landscape of college hockey started changing in the late 1990s, the Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team began a run of success never seen before or since at the school, winning the final NCAA Division II Tournament before claiming three straight Northeast-10 Conference Tournaments. That first league title, secured in 2002, a championship three-peat, the only one of its kind in College annals.

"I was very proud of the team," said Lou DiMasi, who won 264 games between 1982 and 2007 as Purple Knight head coach. "I was very proud of our goaltender, Simon Theberge '02, the senior leadership was certainly outstanding, and this was a team that never quit, never gave up. The captains, Jeremy Coccaro '02, Jim Walsh '02 and Andy Welgos '02, were tremendous leaders. As a coach, I was just so proud of this group. I'll never forget the bus ride home afterwards with grins from ear to ear."

After appearing in its first postseason championship game in 1997-98, in the old Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) North-Central-South Tournament, the Purple and Gold reached the semifinals the next year in the newly formed ECAC Northeast. Saint Michael's capped that winter by capturing the two-team, two-game 1999 NCAA Division II Tournament series - the sport's last Division II tournament sponsored by the NCAA - against Southern New Hampshire University, 1-0-1, winning game two after tying the first contest. At that point, only five Division II teams remained, with eight having reclassified as Division I prior to the season. Starting with the 1999-2000 season, the remaining Division II teams - all NE10 members, and no longer eligible to compete in the ECAC Northeast Tournament - squared off for what later became the NE10 Tournament, and was then under the jurisdiction of the ECAC, and billed as the ECAC Division II Tournament. The Purple Knights were semifinalists in the first two championships, losing by a goal each time to Saint Anselm College, but a move to the ECAC East in 2001-02 set them up for a more challenging regular-season schedule.

A 9-14-1 regular-season mark and 5-13-1 league record in their debut ECAC East season belied the fact that the Purple Knights were 7-6-1 in games decided by two goals or less heading into the postseason. As the No. 2 seed in the four-team NE10/ECAC Division II Tournament, Saint Michael's hosted No. 3 Southern New Hampshire and came away with the 2-1 victory to set up a meeting with top seed and reigning champion Saint Anselm.

The title tilt, at the Tri-Town Ice Arena in Hooksett, N.H., on March 2, did not begin as planned for a Purple Knight team seeking its first conference championship. Down 3-0 just 10:45 into the game, Saint Michael's remained down three, at 5-2, following a Hawk power-play goal at 16:00 of the second period.

"Even when we were down 4-1 and 5-2, there was still that sense that we had a chance," said Coccaro. "I wish there was a video of the game in the hockey office because for me, this was the greatest game I remember being [in] at Saint Mike's. I remember saying 'we are not losing this game' about 100 times on the bench to the guys." And then, in a 47-second flurry, three Purple Knights scored. Gavin Faretra '04 on a power play at 17:42. Nick Berno '03 from Welgos at 18:06. Defenseman Daykin Marini '03 from Faretra and Coccaro at 18:29.

The tie proved to be short-lived, as the Hawks retook the lead with 14 ticks to go. However, just 30 seconds into the third period, and 44 seconds following Saint Anselm's go-ahead tally, Mike Duffy '04 found the equalizer, tipping home Marini's slapshot and capping a mad stretch that featured eight goals in a matter of 12:27. Neither team scored in regulation, sending it to overtime.

Berno, the tournament MVP, converted a Welgos assist just 53 seconds into the extra session, finishing off the wild 7-6 win and delivering the Purple Knights their first postseason conference crown. "I just remember that we just needed to put ourselves in a position to take the shot," said DiMasi. "Don't think you're looking for a pretty play, just put it on and go for it, that type of thing."

Thanks to a bevy of talented and postseason-experienced veterans, that win was only the beginning of three consecutive NE10 Tournament titles, a feat unmatched before or since by any Saint Michael's program, as the Purple and Gold downed Saint Anselm by a single goal in each title game, continuing a rivalry that has included 10 postseason meetings, including seven in championship contests.

The Purple Knights would hoist the NE10 trophy once again in both 2007-08 and 2008-09, now under the guidance of Davidson and behind two-time tournament MVP goalie Tyler Bilton '09, to finish off a run of five titles in eight years. The Purple and Gold's success has continued with five trips to the finals over the past decade, including four with Damian DiGiulian at the helm, with three regular-season crowns.

However, all of that league success began with Walsh and the 2001-02 team. "We had a great group that year, and finishing the season - and for a bunch of us, college hockey - with a win was fantastic," he said. "It's fun to trade stories with the group when we reconnect, and Berno's big game-winner always makes the list."

Saint Michael's Ice Hockey Links of Note:

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