Do You Know Which Hockey Programs are Part of the Shamrock Awards? Puck Drop
- Mercyhurst University
- Puck Drop: Thursday, October 30, 2025
- Thursday's Schedule
- This Date in Hockey History
- Hockey Quote of the Day
- We'll Leave You With This ...
Can you name the college hockey programs that are part of the annual Shamrock Awards? We'll give you a couple of hints, it's the men's and women's program at the same school, and the answer is not Notre Dame.
The school colors are in the logo, although the green is kind of a given.
Give up? It's Mercyhurst University. The Lakers started out as a club sport for a season before moving up to Division III, Division II and then went Division I for the 1999–2000 season. Under the direction of Rick Gotkin, Mercyhurst went 20-14-2 that first season. Gotkin is still the head coach with Tom Peffall the head coach in waiting,
Mercyhurst is small private Catholic school in Erie, Penn., with about 4,500 students. It's named after the Sisters of Mercy, a religious congregation founded by Catherine McAuley, who started the school in 1926.
All this week, we're profiling schools that you may not know much about, even through they may have winning college hockey programs. Although Mercyhurst is coming off a rough season, going 4-27-4 in 2024-25 and finished last in the Pairwise rankings, the Lakers have made the NCAA Tournament in 2001, 2003 and 2005.
The women's team has been around since 1999. It's tied for fourth in NCAA Tournament appearances with 13, with four Frozen Four appearances and played in the 2009 national championship game. Michael Sisti, the program's only coach, is third on the NCAA's all-time wins list with nearly 600.
Mercyhurst University
Conference: AHA
Head coach: Rick Gotkin 38th season
Assistant coaches: Greg Gardner, Tom Peffall, Ryan Zapolski
Arena: Mercyhurst Ice Center
Localtion: Erie, Pennsylvania
Colors: Forest green and navy blue
Did you know? The mascot is Luke the Laker
Scenes from our first weekend at home. #rolllakers☘️ pic.twitter.com/T1oK0ZPQ6w
— Mercyhurst Men’s Hockey (@HurstMHockey) October 13, 2025
Puck Drop: Thursday, October 30, 2025
Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times ET.
Thursday's Schedule
MEN
Atlantic Hockey
Sacred Heart at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.
Big Ten
No. 4 Penn State at No. 17 Ohio State, 6:30 p.m.
No. 19 Minnesota at No. 14 Wisconsin, 9 pm.
Hockey East
Northeastern at No. 11 Boston College, 7 p.m.
Exhibition
Maryville at Long Island, 7 p.m.
SEE ALSO: This week's college hockey rankings
This Date in Hockey History
October 30, 1954: Michigan Tech right wing Jim Mayer was born in Capreol, Ontario.
October 30, 1970: Maine center Patrice Tardif was born in Thetford Mines, Quebec.
October 30, 1971: Just 12 days after he was fired by the Oakland Seals, Fred Glover was named the new head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, making him the first person in NHL history to coach two different NHL teams in one season.
October 30, 1977: Alaska Anchorage and St. Cloud State defenseman Duvie Westcott was born in Winnipeg.
October 30, 1982: Miami defenseman Andy Greene, who went on to play 1,57 NHL games over 16 seasons, was born in Trenton, Mich.
October 30, 1983: Ohio State defenseman Sean Collins was born in Troy, Mich.
October 30, 1984: Ohio State defenseman Tyson Strachan was born in Melfort, Saskatchewan.
October 30, 1985: North Dakota right wing Drew Stafford was born in Milwaukee.
October 30, 1986: Former Minnesota center Aaron Broten scored two goals, including the game-winner in overtime, and had two assists as the New Jersey Devils outscored the Islanders 7-6. Former Wisconsin center mark Johnson also had two goals and assists.
October 30, 1988: Former Wisconsin left wing Tony Granato scored four goals as a rookie, including his first NHL hat trick to lead the New York Rangers to a 9-2 win over Pittsburgh.
October 30, 1996: Notre Dame defenseman Dennis Gilbert was born in Buffalo, N.Y.
October 30, 1997: UConn center Tage Thompson, a first-round selection in the 2016 NHL Draft, was born in Phoenix.
October 30, 1998: UMass defenseman Cale Maker was born in Calgary, Alberta. It’s obviously the source for one of his nicknames “Baby Face.”
October 30, 1998: As a rookie, former St. Cloud State right wing Mark Parrish scored four goals to set a Florida Panthers record, including his first hat trick, during a 7-3 win at Chicago.
October 30, 2015: Minnesota Duluth retired Glenn "Chico" Resch’s No. 1 jersey before facing No. 7 Lowell. Led by defenseman Andy Welinski, the No. 6 Bulldogs handed the River Hawks their first loss of the season, 2-1.
October 30, 2023, Former Northern Michigan defenseman Don Waddell took part in his 1,200th game as a general manager as Carolina played at Philadelphia, His then-coach Rod Brind’Amour notched his 500th point in game oi. 380 as a head coach. Only three coaches in NHL history reached the milestone faster: Dan Bylsma (370), Don Cherry (377), and Toe Blake (379).
Hockey Quote of the Day
“It offends me when people talk about Belfour having a meltdown or something. His single-mindedness, the way he competes, has raised the level of our team."Ken Hitchcock on Ed Belfour
We'll Leave You With This ...
Recapping the 2025 Shamrock Awards
— Mercyhurst Lakers (@HurstAthletics) April 16, 2025
📝: https://t.co/uI8YGSkQJg#HurstAthletics | #CarpeD1em ☘️ pic.twitter.com/l4AH1SP9tN
Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of Alabama Crimson Tide On SI, which first published as BamaCentral in 2018, and is also the publisher of the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt sites . He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004 and is the author of 27 books including “100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” and “Nick Saban vs. College Football.” He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.
Follow BamaCentral