Brian Mason (ice hockey)

Last updated

Brian Mason
Biographical details
Born (1950-09-05) September 5, 1950 (age 74)
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Alma mater Clarkson
Playing career
1967–1968 Ottawa 67's
1968–1969 Hull Beavers
1970-73 Clarkson
1973-76 Dayton Gems
Position(s) Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1978–1980 Rensselaer (assistant)
1980–1984 RIT
1984–1990 Dartmouth
Head coaching record
Overall122-143-9 (.462)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1982-83 National Championship
1983-84 ECAC West Tournament

Brian Mason (born September 5, 1950) is a Canadian retired ice hockey coach who led RIT to their first national championship in 1983. [1]

Contents

Career

Brian Mason debuted in college hockey in 1970 with the powerhouse Clarkson Golden Knights led by legendary coach Len Ceglarski. Clarkson had finished up as the tournament runner-up the year before and despite a second-place finish in the 1971 tournament the Golden Knights were passed over in favor of regular season champion Boston University. While Mason would lead the team in scoring for the next two seasons [2] [3] Clarkson was unable to get close to another tournament berth during his time there. Mason went on to a brief professional career with the IHL's Dayton Gems before hanging up his skates in 1975–76 season. [4]

By 1978 Mason was back in college, this time behind the bench at Rensselaer as an assistant. After only two years he was given the opportunity to be a head coach at Division II RIT. In his four years there Mason's squads never had a losing season and won more games every season, growing from 14 in his first year to 29 in his last. [5] He also brought RIT their first national title in 1982-83 and their first ECAC West tournament title the year after. [6] On April 6, 1984 Dartmouth announced that Mason would be replacing George Crowe as head coach. [7]

Mason was taking over a declining program in Hanover that had seen some success in previous years but the recent returns hadn't been good. His first two seasons with the Big Green saw modest improvements to 5- and 7-win seasons but a 2-22-1 mark in his third year was the worst the program had ever recorded. A significant jump to 10 wins the next year began to erode immediately thereafter and ended with only four victories in 1989-90, leading to Mason's dismissal from the team. In his six-year tenure the Big Green never had a winning season and missed the ECAC tournament every time. The only saving grace for Mason is that the year after he left his replacement Ben Smith beat Mason's record for the worst season in Dartmouth history with a 1-24-3 finish. [8]

Career statistics

   Regular season   Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1967–68 Ottawa 67's OHA 30000
1968–69 Hull Beavers CJHL 59213354104
1970–71 Clarkson ECAC 3216223866
1971–72 ClarksonECAC3016345050
1972–73 ClarksonECAC3214365081
1973–74 Dayton Gems IHL 722234566843365
1974–75 Dayton GemsIHL71133245114802225
1975–76 Dayton GemsIHL50112
NCAA totals944692138197
IHL totals14835671021841235830

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
RIT Tigers (ECAC 2)(1980–1984)
1980-81 RIT 14-10-06-8-0T–17th
1981-82 RIT 20-10-116-7-16th ECAC 2 West Semifinals
1982-83 RIT 23-9-020-4-02nd NCAA National Champion
1983-84 RIT 29-6-022-2-01st NCAA Frozen Four
RIT:86-35-1
Dartmouth Big Green (ECAC Hockey)(1984–1990)
1984-85 Dartmouth 5-18-13-17-111th
1985-86 Dartmouth 7-18-04-17-010th
1986-87 Dartmouth 2-22-12-19-112th
1987-88 Dartmouth 10-15-18-13-19th
1988-89 Dartmouth 8-17-17-14-19th
1989-90 Dartmouth 4-18-44-14-411th
Dartmouth:36-108-828-94-8
Total:122-143-9

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

[9]

References

  1. "Heroes!" (PDF). RIT. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 14, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  2. "Clarkson University 1971-72". Eliteprospects. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  3. "Clarkson University 1972-73". Eliteprospects. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  4. "Brian Mason". Hockey DB. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  5. "RIT Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  6. "Brian Mason Coaching Record". Schenectady Gazette. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  7. "Mason Hockey Coach". Schenectady Gazette. April 6, 1984. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  8. "Dartmouth Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  9. "2009-10 Media Guide Year-By-Year Results" (PDF). Dartmouth Big Green. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.