Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's ice hockey

Last updated
Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's ice hockey
Lehigh Athletics wordmark.png
University Lehigh University
Conference ECHA
First season 1939–40
Head coachJosh Hand
ArenaSteel Ice Center
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
ColorsBrown and white [1]
   

The Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's ice hockey team is a college ice hockey program that represents Lehigh University. The program currently operates as a club team at the Division I level but the university previously sponsored varsity ice hockey.

Contents

History

After the construction of the Albeth Ice Rink in 1939, Lehigh was able to add a varsity program, furthering the expansion of college ice hockey in the Philadelphia area. The team was one of handful of clubs at the time and, while most were classified as club organizations, they were all able to play one another after reaching an agreement with the Philadelphia Arena. The league shuttered in 1942 due to World War II and remained dormant after the war's end. Lehigh, however, restarted its program in 1946 and continued on for over a decade. On the ice, the team was able to get some success in the early-50s. However, due to Albeth being an open-air rink that was designed for figure skating, the Engineers had a hard time scheduling home games. By the mid-50s, the Engineers were down to playing just a few games per year and eventually the athletic department decided against continuing the program after 1956. In spite of the lack of support, the team continued on as a club sport for several years. [2]

Lehigh had its second revival in 1969 as the proliferation of College Division was skyrocketing. The team joined ECAC 2 upon their return and, two years later, becoming an inaugural member of ECAC 3. [3] Lehigh produced a few good seasons in the mid-70s but the team's success did not last. For most of their time in ECAC 3, Lehigh was in the bottom half of the standings and never made an appearance in the conference tournament. After a short break in the early 80s, the school gave the program one more chance at varsity status but four more years with little to show for its efforts consigned the team to demotion.

After returning to club status in 1986, the team had continued as unofficial representatives of the school. As of 2024, the team is a member of the ECHA and coached by Josh Hand. [4]

Season-by-season results

Varsity

NCAA D-I Champions NCAA Frozen Four Conference Regular Season ChampionsConference Playoff Champions
SeasonConferenceRegular Season [lower-alpha 1] Conference Tournament ResultsNational Tournament Results
ConferenceOverall
GPWLTPts*FinishGPWLT%
Charles W. Simmons (1939–1942)
Program suspended
1939–40 EPIHL5140.200
1940–41 EPIHL12480.333
1941–42 EPIHL13760.538Won Semifinal, 2–0 (St. Joseph's)
Won Championship, 3–2 (Pennsylvania)
Program suspended
Charles W. Simmons (1946–1953)
1946–47 Independent 5050.000
1947–48 Independent100100.000
1948–49 Independent6240.333
1949–50 Independent6420.667
1950–51 Independent5410.800
1951–52 Independent3210.667
1952–53 Independent3210.667
Program suspended
Frey(1955–1956)
1955–56 Independent8251.313
Program suspended
College Division
Marty Matijasich (1969–1970)
1969–70 ECAC 2 5221.50015th151221.833
Jim Todaro (1970–1971)
1970–71 ECAC 26150.16725th199100.474
Gary Bishop (1971–1973)
1971–72 ECAC 3 5050.000T–7th187110.389
1972–73 ECAC 36060.00012th198110.421
Division III
Don Cahoon (1973–1974)
1973–74 ECAC 31010.000T–17th171052.647
Joe Biedron (1974–1976)
1974–75 ECAC 31010.000T–18th161042.688
1975–76 ECAC 37250.28613th181071.583
Steve Penman (1976–1981)
1976–77 ECAC 36420.6678th161150.688
1977–78 ECAC 32110.500T–10th155100.333
1978–79 ECAC 311290.18220th144100.286
1979–80 ECAC 36240.33317th13571.423
1980–81 ECAC 35050.000T–25th18990.500
Program suspended
Kris Kollevol (1982–1985)
1982–83 Independent185130.278
1983–84 ECAC 39180.11126th165110.313
1984–85 ECAC 314590.35719th198110.421
Bob Beck (1985–1986)
1985–86 ECAC North/South164120.25022th174130.235
Program suspended
TotalsGPWLT %Championships
Regular Season3421481868.444
Conference Post-season22001.000
NCAA Post-season0000
Regular Season and Post-season Record3441501868.448

Source: [5]

Notes

  1. Code explanation; GP—Games Played, W—Wins, L—Losses, T—Tied games, Pts—Points

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References

  1. "Lehigh University" (PDF).
  2. "Epitome 1957". Lehigh University. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  3. "NCAA - ECAC Northeast history and statistics". Hockey DB. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  4. "Contact Page". Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  5. "Lehigh University Periodicals". The Internet Archive. Retrieved January 3, 2024.