The Worst Seasons in the Past 25 Years Part 29: Mercyhurst
Welcome to the Worst Season in the Past 25 Years, a series in which r/CollegeHockey reviews the worst season for all 60 Division I teams over the summer to alleviate the crushing boredom known as the off-season and take a horrific tour down memory lane.
If you are interested in writing an entry for your team, please let me know via PM. I’ll be posting entries on weekdays at approximately at 6 pm Eastern time and will be going in alphabetical order. If an entry is not posted at that time, assume that “real life” has gotten in the way and that I am not able to post. If I am aware in advance that I will not post at 6 pm on a particular day, I will announce it in prior posts as a heads up.
And now.../r/CollegeHockey presents the Mercyhurst Lakers! Mercyhurst are a relatively young team, starting their men’s team in 1987 as a part of DIII. In 1992, the Lakers moved to DII and eventually upgraded to DI in 1999. They were successful during their time in the Metro Atlantic, garnering regular season titles, conference trophies, and NCAA appearances; Mercyhurst had two of each during their time in the MAAC. They became part of Atlantic Hockey in 2003, where they are now. Interesting note: Rick Gotkin had been head coach of the Lakers since 1988, back in their DIII days.
The worst season for the Lakers in their time in DI is…
2006-2007 Record: 9-6-20 (W-D-L); Atlantic Hockey: 9-4-15 (W-D-L; T7th/10th)
Wins: @Holy Cross, UConn, Holy Cross, American International, Bentley (x2), @Air Force (x2), @RIT
Ties: Canisius, Yale, Holy Cross, @Maine*, @Canisius, Canisius
Losses: @Ferris State (x2), @Holy Cross, UConn, @Sacred Heart (x2), @Canisius, @AIC, RIT (x2), Brown^, Denver^, Air Force (x2), @Army West Point (x2), Sacred Heart (x2), @RIT, @UConn-
*Game in Portland, ME
^Denver Cup
-Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal
Biggest Beatdown: Ferris State 7 - Mercyhurst 1
Head Coach: Rick Gotkin
In their fourth year in the Atlantic Hockey Association, Mercyhurst had their only single-digit win season in their time in DI. Ben Cottreau had the most goals, with 14; Kyle Gourgon had the most assists with 22. In goal, Jordan Wakefield had a save percentage of .913 and a GAA of 3.44.
Mercyhurst started their season in an exhibition with St. Claire Clair, winning by a scoreline of 8-1. An away series to Ferris State was a sweep for the Bulldogs. The following weekend saw a split series away to Holy Cross. October ended with a split home series with UConn. A road series with Canisius was fruitless. A home-and-home series with Canisius saw only one tie for the Lakers. A Tuesday game with Yale ended in a draw. The following weekend, Mercyhurst got a win and a tie with Holy Cross to end November.
December began on the road to American International; a split series would ensue. A home series with RIT was a sweep for the Tigers. A game in Portland against Maine served as preparation for the Denver Cup...losing to Denver and Brown. The new year began with four straight losses, two at home with Air Force and two on the road against Army. A Tuesday game with Canisius ended in a draw. The month ended with a series sweep of Bentley.
Mercyhurst continued their winning ways in the first weekend of February by sweeping Air Force away from home. However, that was stopped by Sacred Heart who swept the Lakers. This was followed by a split series away to RIT. The regular season ended in a draw with Canisius. In the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals, UConn won the game, 5-4, and thus ending Mercyhurst’s season.
For Week 7 of this series, we will look at the worst seasons in recent memory for the following school: Merrimack, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, and Michigan Tech. Once again, if you are interested in doing the entry for your favorite school, shoot me a PM. Your school, name, and date will be added at the end of each post to serve as a reminder. So far, the following people have inquired about a spot:
| School | Username | Tentative Date |
|---|---|---|
| Northeastern | u/therevengeance | 8/2 |
| Penn State | u/saucysalesman | 8/8 |
| RPI | u/Nicholas1227 | 8/16 |
| Union | u/azurearmor | 8/22 |
| Vermont | u/LocksTheFox | 8/23 |
Finally, a shoutout to u/saucysalesman who inspired the idea of this series for doing one for football over at r/cfb. Additionally, thanks to r/CollegeBasketball for the idea of the sub-par MS Paint logos for each school.
Previous Entries in the Worst Seasons Series:
Posted Jul 14, 2017, 10:01 PM UTC