COLCHESTER, Vt. - Saint Michael's College will honor the 1998-99 men's ice hockey team with induction into the Saint Michael's Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, Nov. 16, highlighting a day of events commemorating the 25th anniversary of the first national champion team in the history of Saint Michael's Athletics.
 
Following a morning alumni game at Cairns Arena in South Burlington, the 1998-99 Purple Knights are set to be recognized with an on-ice ceremony prior to the 2024-25 squad's 3 p.m. contest against Southern New Hampshire University at Cairns Arena. Back on campus, a 6 p.m. reception and 7 p.m. induction ceremony will take place in the Dion Family Student Center.
 
SMC Athletic Hall of Fame head coach Lou DiMasi and his Ice Knights (16-10-2, 12-4-1 ECAC NE) found the landscape of NCAA Division II ice hockey changing in 1998-99, when eight teams declared their intention to move to NCAA Division I. With the pool of teams seeking a national crown dwindling, the NCAA voted to discontinue the Division II championship following 1998-99. The makeup of the program was also noticeably altered since the previous season, as 76% of the Purple Knights' goal scoring was lost, mostly when eventual SMC Athletic Hall of Famers Michel Dupont '98, John Gurskis '98, Kyle Lanfear '98 and Jay Rourke '98 graduated. Meanwhile, well-decorated goaltender Chris Yurco '01 didn't return to school, leaving senior Nick Dion, who appeared for all of 31 minutes in 1997-98, as the top netminder.
 
Regardless of the upheaval, Saint Michael's and Southern New Hampshire - then known as New Hampshire College - were on a collision course to meet for the title from the season's outset. When New Hampshire College started 12-0 and the Purple Knights began 7-1, it became inevitable. Saint Michael's lost six of its next seven before righting the ship, reeling off six straight wins to vault into first place in the massive 18-team Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Northeast. That run included a 3-2 victory at first-place Wentworth Institute of Technology, previously unbeaten and untied in league action, when junior Josh Ralph and first-year Jeremy Coccaro scored 11 seconds apart early in the third period, and a 4-1 triumph over New Hampshire College. Ralph scored twice, including the second-period game-winner. Entering that game, the Penmen stood No. 1 in the Division II national poll with a 15-2 record and the Purple Knights No. 2; the result flipped the teams in the national rankings and put Saint Michael's in the driver's seat to host the championship series.
 
The first opportunity at playoff glory came with the ECAC Northeast Tournament. Senior Jeff Roukes potted the first postseason overtime goal in program history during a 3-2 win against Tufts University in a quarterfinal on March 3, but the Purple Knights fell to eventual tournament champion Fitchburg State University, 6-4, during a March 6 semifinal despite Dion's 32 saves. The very next day, the NCAA announced its final NCAA Division II Tournament field: Saint Michael's would host New Hampshire College on March 12-13 for a two-game championship series at the Essex Junction Skating Facility, with a mini-game slated as a tiebreaker should the need arise.
 
In the opener, sophomore Jason Harrington staked the Purple Knights to a 3-1 lead in the second period, but the Penmen forced a pair of ties in an eventual 4-4 deadlock. Dion's 35-save performance offset his team being outshot 39-27. The stage was now set for a winner-take-all second contest. Roukes and first-year Andy Welgos scored 38 seconds apart late in the first period before sophomore Chris Kuthy's shorthanded goal 3:07 into the second made it 3-0. New Hampshire College twice trimmed its deficit to a single goal, but Harrington and sophomore James Burr struck for back-to-back power-play goals in the third period before Saint Michael's salted away an 8-5 victory to clinch the national championship.
 
At year's end, Harrington (23 goals, 26 assists), Ralph (24 goals, 26 assists) and senior defenseman Darren Beers (13 assists), another eventual SMC Athletic Hall of Famer, all earned All-America first team honors, with Dion (15-9-2, .882 SV%) landing on the second team. Beers also claimed an ECAC Northeast All-Conference first team accolade, and Dion was an honorable mention. Coccaro added 14 goals, and Roukes scored 13 goals with 21 assists. The victors' spoils included a visit with Gov. Howard Dean at the Vermont State House and being celebrated on-field before a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park, where senior captain Chris Davidson delivered a ceremonial first pitch. Beers and senior Mike MacDonald rounded out the trio of captains that season.
 
 
1998-99 Saint Michael's College Men's Ice Hockey Roster
 

No.	Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/Previous Team
2	Jim Murphy	Jr.	D	6-2	190	Milton, Mass./Tilton School
3	Andy Quandt	Fr.	F	6-1	190	Redlands, Calif./Trinity-Pawling School
4	James Burr	So.	F	5-8	175	Springfield, Mass./Bridgton Academy
5	Jason Harrington	So.	F	5-7	165	Gloucester, Mass./Northwood School
6	Kieran Altieri	Fr.	F	5-7	158	Stamford, Conn./Fairfield Prep
7	Jim Walsh	Fr.	D	5-11	180	Billerica, Mass./Pingree School
8	Peter Ennis	Fr.	F	5-10	165	Marshfield, Mass./Xaverian Brothers
9	Jeremy Coccaro	Fr.	F	5-6	160	Newington, Conn./Springfield Pics
10	Mike Griffin	So.	D	5-8	165	Wethersfield, Conn./Avon Old Farms School
11	Chris Davidson	Sr.	F	5-11	200	Clinton, N.Y./Berkshire School
12	Gerd Stodiek	So.	F	6-2	205	Frankfurt, Germany/Mannheim Jr.
13	Jason Breyette	Fr.	D	5-9	167	Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh
14	Todd Pirog	Fr.	F	6-0	180	Vail, Colo./Vail AAA
15	Jeff Roukes	Sr.	F	5-9	160	Methuen, Mass./Methuen
16	Kevin Lane	So.	F	5-5	140	Nashua, N.H./Brewster Academy
17	Keith Hampe	Fr.	D	5-9	175	Dedham, Mass./Dedham
18	Daykin Marini	Fr.	D	5-11	175	Broomfield, Colo./Shattuck-St. Mary's School
19	Darren Beers	Sr.	D	5-11	205	Brewer, Maine/Shattuck-St. Mary's School
20	Nick Dion	Sr.	G	5-8	175	Franklin, Mass./Franklin
21	Pat Kern	Fr.	F	5-11	160	Edina, Minn./Canterbury School
22	Mick Philbin	Fr.	F	5-8	175	North Andover, Mass./Cushing Academy
23	Chris Kuthy	So.	F	6-0	200	Loudonville, N.Y./Salisbury School
24	Mike MacDonald	Sr.	F	5-11	220	Murray, Utah/Utah Stars
25	John Coyle	Sr.	D	5-11	180	Medway, Mass./Holderness School
26	Joe Huff	So.	D	5-10	180	Dedham, Mass./Butte Irish
27	Andy Welgos	Fr.	F	6-1	180	Aspen, Colo./Vail AAA
28	Scott Maxwell	Fr.	F	6-1	190	Saugus, Mass./New Hampton School
29	Bob Pooler	Fr.	G	5-8	150	Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh
30	Simon Theberge	Fr.	G	6-2	185	Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec/Tyngsboro Huskies
47	Josh Ralph	Jr.	F	6-0	180	Carp, Ontario/SUNY Canton

Head Coach: Lou DiMasi (17th Year, Norwich '76)
Assistant Coach: Steve Mattson (6th Year, Norwich '77)
Captains: Darren Beers, Chris Davidson, Mike MacDonald
Athletic Trainer: Zaf Bludevich (24th Year, Norwich '74)
Team Chaplain: Rev. Marcel Rainville, S.S.E. '67