Club Sport Chris Cuzzola, who was a student at Mercyhurst playing club hockey at
Gannon University, happened to talk to former president of Mercyhurst University, William Garvey, about hockey. As a result of this, hockey would be instated as a club sport competing in the Erie Senior Hockey League for the 1986–1987 season. The coach for the first club season was Bob Cisek who was a Mercyhurst professor at the time. At the club level in the Erie Senior Hockey League, the Lakers went 15-0-3, finishing first in the league.
Division II & Division III After just 1 year at the club level, the Mercyhurst Lakers began an independent trial run at the varsity level, Division III in the
Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) South hockey league. Mercyhurst Athletic Director John Leisering stated, “The administration was immediately enthusiastic about a possible move to varsity status and with the support of the hockey people, the move was approved after just a few months.” Named head coach for the Lakers in their first season at the Division III level was Fred Lane. Lane was one of the founding members for the Gannon University Golden Knights club hockey and was affiliated with the Gannon hockey program since 1967. As a player, he was Most Valuable Player his sophomore, junior, and senior years and coached the team in 1973 returning in 1978. In 10 seasons as the head coach for the Golden Knights, Lane had a record of 153–14–14, winning 2 Western Pennsylvania College Hockey Association league championships, 6 division championships, and was named WPCHA coach of the year 3 times. In addition to coaching, he was a member of the
Amateur Hockey Association of the United States (AHAUS) and the Ontario Coaches Association. The highlight of the season being the game against Division I
Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey on November 25 Following the 1987–1988 season, on April 29 of 1988, Mercyhurst College Athletic Director John Leisering named Rick Gotkin as head coach of the team saying, “Rick’s playing, coaching, and recruiting credentials were just the mix Mercyhurst was looking for.” At 28 years of age, Rick Gotkin comes from the
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, which played at the Division I level in the
Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference where Gotkin served as Assistant Varsity Hockey Coach for the past 2 years (1986–1988). Before Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Gotkin was a coach at
SUNY-Brockport (Division III), coached the Enschede Lions in the Netherlands, was head coach at
SUNY-Canton (NCAA-Junior College), and was head coach of the
Fife Flyers of the
British Hockey League. After coaching Rensselaer, was hired as head coach for the Mercyhurst Lakers. During the 1991–1992, the Mercyhurst Lakers opened up their new rink on campus, the Mercyhurst Ice Center. According to the first Division II poll released, the Mercyhurst Lakers ranked 2nd in the 1992–1993 season only behind
Bemidji State University. In that season, the Lakers finished with 2 wins and 3 losses against Division I teams. The wins coming against
Kent State University and the
University of Alabama-Huntsville and the losses coming from Kent State and two from the
University of Alaska-Anchorage. In the 1994–1995 season, the Lakers went 23-3-2 coming out with their first ever ECAC-West division championship and placing second in the NCAA Division II play-offs. In September 1997, while the Meryhurst Lakers were playing in the ECAC-West division, the
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) rounded up 8 teams to form a Division I hockey conference. Joining the conferences of
Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference,
Hockey East,
Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and
Western Collegiate Hockey Association in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey with 48 schools playing in 5 Division I conferences. The MAAC included Canisius College,
Fairfield University, and
Iona College (New York) (now a "University") as full members with
American International College (AIC),
University of Connecticut (UConn), the
College of the Holy Cross,
Quinnipiac College (also now a "University"), and
Sacred Heart University as associate members with visions of
Bentley University and Mercyhurst joining for the 1999–2000 season making the conference 10 teams.
Division I in 2018 In May 1998, the Mercyhurst board of trustees approved the transition from Division II non-scholarship to play Division I ice hockey in the NCAA. The Lakers ended their long association with the Eastern College Athletic Conference West division to play Division I hockey in the
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. In the Lakers first full season at the Division I level in the 1999–2000 season, Mercyhurst went 20-14-2 with Rick Gotkin still as head coach of the team. ==Season-by-season results==