May 23, 2011 -- The 2011-2012 season sees the Fordham University ice hockey program now entering its 42nd campaign, one of the longest of any the clubs at school. The team was actually created in the 1967-68 season playing and winning one game versus cross-town rival Manhattan College. The "Maroon Six" as they were known then, began playing a full slate of games during the 1970-71 seasons. The team joined the MIHL (Metropolitan Intercollegiate Hockey League), in the fall of 1970 and began playing such teams as Columbia, Fairfield and St. Johns. The team was originally created and funded by Fordham University athletics to become a varsity program. However the team was relegated to its current club status in 1975 when the school chose to elevate its club football team back to varsity instead. After a league name change to the BSMIHL (Bi-State Metropolitan Intercollegiate Hockey League) for the 1975-76 season, the team held the longest tenure as a member of the MCHC (Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Conference) after the league changed its name at the start the of the 1976-77 season.
The team is coached by Rich Guberti, in his fourth year with the team. Rich has a wealth of coaching experience. A USA Hockey Certified Level 4 Coach, he runs successful year round Power Hockey clinics and Pro Player Summer Camps. His Westchester Select tournament teams play in AAA tournaments during the summer on the East Coast. He has served as Hockey Director of Westchester Mariners since 2004 and has also worked with the Manhattanville Valiants, Sound Shore Warriors as well as other local area organizations. Over the last 10 years he has won major championships at every youth hockey level. From Squirts to Midget Majors, his teams have won league titles, attended NYS championships and gone on to Silver Sticks Internationals in both Port Huron Michigan and Toronto Canada. Coach Guberti has placed a number of his players on NCAA college hockey teams and has also seen some continue into the Pro ranks.
Behind the scenes is Director of Hockey Operations, Andrew Mola CBA '86 (28th year) who handles the day-to-day team operations which can range from organizing transportation, alumni relations, statistical analysis, scheduling, recruiting, and running game day operations. Mola also is in his third year serving as the President of the MCHC and has held prior MCHC Executive Board positions such as Director of Eligibility and Director of Structures.
After capturing only their 2nd league championship last year, the 2010-11 team had their work cut out for themselves. Graduating their 1st line of offense, which included three of the teams' top scorers, the expectations for the returning squad was not so promising. But after completing their 41st season as members of the Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Conference, this year's team exceeded all expectations. Fordham finished in first place for the second consecutive year and just fell short of repeating as league championship with a 6-3 loss to Wagner College.
The team's success started in early September when they went 3 and 1 in a pre-season tournament in Aston Pennsylvania reaching the championship game, while not only playing with a short bench but playing 4 games in a 3 day span. The games marked the earliest start of the season for team, and their early season success carried into their league play. After suffering an early season league loss to SUNY Maritime on October 16th, the Rams would not lose another game in regulation play until mid-February, a streak which spanned 16 games over the course of 4 months.
Though they fell short in the league championship, the team qualified for the post season for a team record 11 years in row. Overall, the squad posted a winning record of 19-4-0-2, marking the teams 8th consecutive winning season, the longest in team history. The team 19 wins were the third most in a single season, while their 83 % winning percentage was the second best in team history.
The team also is a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) which ranks club teams on a national basis. The team finished the season ranked 16th overall in the Atlantic Region.
The team begins its practices early September skating twice a week until the 16 game league schedule kicks off mid-October. Once the league games start, the practices are scaled back to once a week. No games are played during Thanksgiving break, finals week in December or Christmas break. The season culminates with first round of playoffs in the second weekend of February and the semi finals and finals the third weekend in February. The season is concluded with the annual alumni game, which was reinstated seven years ago after a 5-year absence.
For more information on the team please contact general manager Andrew Mola at 212-538-8074 (work).
