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Brian Mason (ice hockey)

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Brian Mason
Biographical details
Born (1950-09-05) September 5, 1950 (age 73)
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Alma materClarkson
Playing career
1967–1968Ottawa 67's
1968–1969Hull Beavers
1970-73Clarkson
1973-76Dayton Gems
Position(s)Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1978–1980Rensselaer (assistant)
1980–1984RIT
1984–1990Dartmouth
Head coaching record
Overall122-143-9 (.462)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1982-83 National Championship
1983-84 ECAC West Tournament

Brian Mason (born September 5, 1950) is a Canadian retired ice hockey coach who led RIT to their first national championship in 1983.[1]

Career

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Brian Mason debuted in college hockey in 1970 with the powerhouse Clarkson Golden Knights led by legendary coach Len Ceglarski. Clarkson had finished up as the tournament runner-up the year before and despite a second-place finish in the 1971 tournament the Golden Knights were passed over in favor of regular season champion Boston University. While Mason would lead the team in scoring for the next two seasons[2][3] Clarkson was unable to get close to another tournament berth during his time there. Mason went on to a brief professional career with the IHL's Dayton Gems before hanging up his skates in 1975–76 season.[4]

By 1978 Mason was back in college, this time behind the bench at Rensselaer as an assistant. After only two years he was given the opportunity to be a head coach at Division II RIT. In his four years there Mason's squads never had a losing season and won more games every season, growing from 14 in his first year to 29 in his last.[5] He also brought RIT their first national title in 1982-83 and their first ECAC West tournament title the year after.[6] On April 6, 1984 Dartmouth announced that Mason would be replacing George Crowe as head coach.[7]

Mason was taking over a declining program in Hanover that had seen some success in previous years but the recent returns hadn't been good. His first two seasons with the Big Green saw modest improvements to 5- and 7-win seasons but a 2-22-1 mark in his third year was the worst the program had ever recorded. A significant jump to 10 wins the next year began to erode immediately thereafter and ended with only four victories in 1989-90, leading to Mason's dismissal from the team. In his six-year tenure the Big Green never had a winning season and missed the ECAC tournament every time. The only saving grace for Mason is that the year after he left his replacement Ben Smith beat Mason's record for the worst season in Dartmouth history with a 1-24-3 finish.[8]

Career statistics

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1967–68 Ottawa 67's OHA 3 0 0 0 0
1968–69 Hull Beavers CJHL 59 21 33 54 104
1970–71 Clarkson ECAC 32 16 22 38 66
1971–72 Clarkson ECAC 30 16 34 50 50
1972–73 Clarkson ECAC 32 14 36 50 81
1973–74 Dayton Gems IHL 72 22 34 56 68 4 3 3 6 5
1974–75 Dayton Gems IHL 71 13 32 45 114 8 0 2 2 25
1975–76 Dayton Gems IHL 5 0 1 1 2
NCAA totals 94 46 92 138 197
IHL totals 148 35 67 102 184 12 3 5 8 30

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
RIT Tigers (ECAC 2) (1980–1984)
1980-81 RIT 14-10-0 6-8-0 T–17th
1981-82 RIT 20-10-1 16-7-1 6th ECAC 2 West Semifinals
1982-83 RIT 23-9-0 20-4-0 2nd NCAA National Champion
1983-84 RIT 29-6-0 22-2-0 1st NCAA Frozen Four
RIT: 86-35-1
Dartmouth Big Green (ECAC Hockey) (1984–1990)
1984-85 Dartmouth 5-18-1 3-17-1 11th
1985-86 Dartmouth 7-18-0 4-17-0 10th
1986-87 Dartmouth 2-22-1 2-19-1 12th
1987-88 Dartmouth 10-15-1 8-13-1 9th
1988-89 Dartmouth 8-17-1 7-14-1 9th
1989-90 Dartmouth 4-18-4 4-14-4 11th
Dartmouth: 36-108-8 28-94-8
Total: 122-143-9

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Heroes!" (PDF). RIT. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-14. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  2. ^ "Clarkson University 1971-72". Eliteprospects. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  3. ^ "Clarkson University 1972-73". Eliteprospects. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  4. ^ "Brian Mason". Hockey DB. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  5. ^ "RIT Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  6. ^ "Brian Mason Coaching Record". Schenectady Gazette. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  7. ^ "Mason Hockey Coach". Schenectady Gazette. 1984-04-06. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  8. ^ "Dartmouth Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  9. ^ "2009-10 Media Guide Year-By-Year Results" (PDF). Dartmouth Big Green. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-07-05.
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