Mercyhurst: Gotkin's Contract Extended Four Years

July 1, 2003

Mercyhurst head men’s hockey coach Rick Gotkin was awarded a four-year contract extensions by the college today.

Gotkin directed the Lakers to a third successive regular season championship in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Hockey League in the 2002-03 season. The Lakers trailed eventual second-place finisher Quinnipiac by a substantial margin in early January, but went a combined 15-3-1 in January and February to overtake the Bobcats. Mercyhurst then reached the NCAA Playoffs for the second time in three years after defeating Iona, Bentley, and Quinnipiac in the MAAC Playoffs. Those accomplishments are even more remarkable since the team lost three veteran players (senior defenseman Mike Muldoon and sophomore forwards Adam Tackaberry, former MAAC Rookie of the Year, and Peter Rynshoven) for a combined 31 games because of injury. The Lakers played the final half of the season with only one recruited goaltender (freshman Andy Franck) after the departure of junior Matt Cifelli.

Yesterday, the nine MAAC Hockey League members withdrew from the conference to form the Atlantic Hockey League, which will begin play immediately in 2003-04. Mercyhurst was a member of the MAAC Hockey League for four years, joining the league in the1999-2000 season.

Under Gotkin's leadership, Mercyhurst owned a four-year MAAC Hockey League record of 78-19-8, three regular season titles, one regular season runnerup, four MAAC Playoff appearances, two MAAC championships, and one MAAC runnerup. Gotkin was the conference's Coach of the Year in 2000-01 when the Lakers won both the conference regular and postseason titles and gained the MAAC’s first automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. For his efforts, he was a finalist for the 2001 Spencer Penrose Award, given to the men's ice hockey University Division Coach of the Year.

Gotkin has worked fifteen years at Mercyhurst, the longest tenure of any Mercyhurst College head coach, past or present. He has registered 278 wins over that time and is just eight wins shy of becoming the all-time winningest coach ever at Mercyhurst. He came to Division III Mercyhurst from Division I Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 1988 and quietly began to build a varsity program that would bring the college local, regional, and national recognition. Fifteen years later, there can be no doubt that Gotkin has achieved those goals. Mercyhurst has won 18-or-more games ten times and 20-or-more five times.

Mercyhurst made the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) playoffs every year it was eligible, won an ECAC title in 1995, and reached the NCAA Playoffs five times (1991, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2003). In fact, Gotkin is the first coach ever to take the same program to the NCAAs at all three levels. That notoriety got him a spot in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" segment at the conclusion of the 2000-01 season. Over the years, he and his staff have produced seven All Americans, four ECAC Players of the Year, three ECAC Rookies of the Year, and five MAAC First Team selections.

Gotkin has overseen the program’s transformation from Division III to Division II (1993) to Division I (1999) status. The Lakers were members of the ECAC West from 1988 through 1999 before joining the Division I MAAC Hockey League. It took awhile for Gotkin's program to generate momentum. In fact, without a home rink, the Lakers played nearly 70% of their games out-of-town during Gotkin's first three years. But in the spring of 1991 came word that the College Board of Trustees had approved building an on-campus facility. The Mercyhurst Ice Center opened for business December 8, 1991, and continues to serve not only as the home of the men's and women's varsity teams, but also as the home of the college's club program and the annual Rick Gotkin Laker Hockey School held each August. Gotkin coached in the "USA Select 17 National Festival" for four successive summers from 1997 through 2000. Ten teams, comprising some of the best teenage talent in the United States, compete annually. The 1997 festival was held in Ann Arbor, Michigan; the 1998 festival took place in St. Cloud, Minnesota; the 1999 festival returned to Ann Arbor; and the 2000 festival made a return engagement at St. Cloud. He currently serves on three national committees: the Hobey Baker Award Committee, the American Hockey Coaches Association Division I Committee, and the US College Hockey online.com National Poll Committee. Gotkin is married to the former Diane Kaminski of Erie, Pa. They are the parents of two children: Lindsey Ann was born September 2, 1991, and Brandon Reed arrived April 1, 1995. The family resides in Erie, Pa.

Gotkin's Record at Mercyhurst

1988-89: 11-16-1

1989-90: 18-8-4

1990-91: 19-13-1

1991-92: 19-12-0

1992-93: 18-10-0

1993-94: 12-13-0

1994-95: 23-3-2

1995-96: 18-7-2

1996-97: 16-9-2

1997-98: 17-9-1

1998-99: 16-10-2

1999-00: 23-10-4

2000-01: 22-12-2

2001-02: 24-10-3

2003-03: 22-13-2

Total: 278-155-26

NCAA Appearances: 5 (1991, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2003)

ECAC Playoff Appearances: 10 (1990-99)

ECAC Final Four: 10 (1990-99)

ECAC Runners-Up: 3 (1991, 1992, 1999)

ECAC Regular Season Champs: 1 (1995)

ECAC Champions: 1 (1995)

MAAC Regular Season Champs: 3 (2001, 2002, 2003)

MAAC Playoff Appearances: 4 (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003)

MAAC Final Four: 4 (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003)

MAAC Runners-Up: 1 (2002)

MAAC Champions: 2 (2001, 2003)