The Iona Gaels Men's Ice Hockey was an NCAA Division I ice hockey team that played in the MAAC for five seasons.
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. 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. 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.
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.
Season-by-season records Season Division Conference Record Pct. Position ConferenceTournament Coach 1967-68 College Division Independent 16–0–0 1.000 — — Harry Nixon 1968-69 College Division Independent 8–9–0 .471 — — Bill Edwards 1969-70 College Division Independent 13–3–0 .812 — — Bill Edwards 1970-71 College Division Independent 13–8–0 .619 — — Bill Edwards 1971-72 College Division Independent 13–2–1 .844 — — Bill Edwards 1972-73 College Division 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 3 12–5–2 .684 — — Bill Edwards 1978-79 Division III ECAC 3 15–6–0 .714 — — Bill Edwards 1979-80 Division III ECAC 3 14–5–0 .737 — — Frank Effinger 1980-81 Division III ECAC 3 15–4–1 .775 — Semifinals Frank Effinger 1981-82 Division III ECAC 3 13–5–1 .711 — — Frank Effinger 1982-83 Division III ECAC 3 18–4–0 .818 — Runner-Up Frank Effinger 1983-84 Division III ECAC 3 18–4–2 .792 — — Frank Effinger 1984-85 Division III ECAC 3 21–7–0 .750 — Semifinals Frank Effinger 1985-86 Division III ECAC North/South 17–9–0 .654 — Quarterfinals Frank Effinger 1986-87 Division III ECAC North/South 15–8–0 .652 — First Round Frank Effinger 1987-88 Division III ECAC North/South 16–9–1 .635 — Quarterfinals Frank Effinger 1988-89 Division III ECAC North/South 20–7–0 .741 — Runner-Up Frank Effinger 1989-90 Division III ECAC North/South 17–4–0 .810 — Quarterfinals Frank Effinger 1990-91 Division III ECAC North/South 16–6–2 .708 — Quarterfinals Bill Conforte 1991-92 Division III ECAC North/South 10–16–1 .389 — First Round Bill Conforte 1992-93 Division III ECAC South 12–11–1 .521 — Semifinals Bill Conforte 1993-94 Division III ECAC South 9–13–2 .417 3rd None Bill Conforte 1994-95 Division III ECAC South 10–13–2 .440 6th None Bill Conforte 1995-96 Division III ECAC South 9–15–1 .380 5th None Bill Conforte 1996-97 Division III ECAC South 2–20–3 .140 7th None Bill Conforte 1997-98 Division III ECAC South 4–20–1 .180 3rd None Frank Bretti 1998-99 Division I MAAC 13–18–2 .424 6th Quarterfinals Frank Bretti 1999-00 Division I MAAC 17–17–3 .500 6th Runner-Up Frank Bretti 2000-01 Division I MAAC 18–13–4 .571 3rd Semifinals Frank Bretti 2001-02 Division I MAAC 13–18–2 .424 7th Quarterfinals Frank Bretti 2002-03 Division I MAAC 11–22–2 .343 8th Quarterfinals 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
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