Not many coaches have done more for a single program than Rick Gotkin has done for Mercyhurst.

This marks Gotkin's 38th and final season behind the bench at Mercyhurst, a program he took over in 1988 when it was in D-III. Gotkin helped move Mercyhurst to D-II in 1992, then D-I in 1999, joining the MAAC.

In three of Mercyhurst's first six seasons at the D-I level, the program appeared in the NCAA Tournament. In total, Gotkin helped lead Mercyhurst to six NCAA Tournaments, appearing in the D-II national championship on two separate occasions.

Gotkin also led the charge behind the construction of the Mercyhurst Ice Center, an on-campus arena that opened in 1991. The arena is home to the Mercyhurst Men's and Women's hockey teams as well as three club hockey programs and a club figure skating program.

"Honestly, I thought I'd be here for a year or two, and then I would use my experience at Mercyhurst as a head coach in a new program to be able to take a step back as an assistant at another Division-I program," Gotkin said.

"I was excited we built the rink on campus; it doesn't have all the bells and whistles as some other places, the modern rinks, but it's ours. Building the rink was big. Having our team, when we were in the MAAC, get into the NCAA tournament, we were the first program when the tournament expanded from 12 teams to 16 teams — we were the first team that was able to get in from the MAAC."

Now, however, Gotkin is facing one final challenge — trying to handle a winless program, while handling the emotions of this being his final season.

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