# 1985–86 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season

The 1985–86 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season began in November 1985 and concluded on March 22 of the following year. This was the 13th season of Division III college ice hockey.
Though ECAC 2 formally split into two separate conferences in 1985, all games played between ECAC East and ECAC West teams would count for their conference standings. This arrangement remained until 1992.
ECAC 3, in order to prevent confusion with the other two Division III ECAC conferences, was renamed ECAC North/South and divided into two divisions (North and South).
In 1990 the NCAA ruled that Plattsburgh State had violated regulations by allowing some of their players to reside in houses owned by people invested in the ice hockey program and were provided with some benefits including free housing, free meals and cash loans. Because these violations occurred between 1985 and 1988 Plattsburgh State's participation in all NCAA games during that time was vacated.

## Regular season
### Season tournaments

| Tournament | Dates | Teams | Champion |
| Potsdam Invitational | November 1–2 | 4 | Merrimack |
| Westfield State Tournament | November 2–3 | 4 | Saint Michael's |
| RIT Tournament | November 8–9 | 4 | Wilfrid Laurier |
| Elmira Classic | November 22–23 | 4 | Elmira |
| Merrimack Thanksgiving Tournament | November 23–24 | 4 | Merrimack |
| Cardinal Classic | November 29–30 | 4 | Plattsburgh State |
| Michigan–Dearborn Tournament | November 29–30 | 4 | |
| Rensselaer Holiday Tournament | November 29–30 | 4 | Rensselaer |
| McCabe Tournament | December 6–7 | 4 | Connecticut College |
| Hamilton Tournament | December 20–21 | 4 | Hamilton |
| Syracuse Invitational | December 27–28 | 4 | RIT |
| Codfish Bowl | December 27–28 | 4 | Salem State |
| Blue–Gold Tournament | January 3–4 | 4 | RIT |
| Salem State Tournament | January 3–4 | 4 | Salem State |
| Spurrier Invitational | January 18–19 | 4 | Connecticut College |
| SUNYAC Tournament | February 22–23 | 4 | Geneseo State |

### Standings

1985–86 ECAC East standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | Pct. | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Bowdoin †* | 19 | 17 | 2 | 0 | .895 | | | 27 | 22 | 5 | 0 | | |
| Merrimack | 22 | 16 | 4 | 2 | .773 | 131 | 68 | 33 | 19 | 12 | 2 | 180 | 126 |
| Babson | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | .675 | 98 | 56 | 29 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 141 | 85 |
| Salem State | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | .636 | | | 27 | 18 | 9 | 0 | | |
| Norwich | 22 | 13 | 8 | 1 | .614 | 122 | 82 | 28 | 16 | 11 | 1 | 150 | 108 |
| Connecticut | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | .545 | 106 | 102 | 33 | 16 | 17 | 0 | 163 | 180 |
| Colby | 22 | 11 | 9 | 2 | .545 | | | 24 | 13 | 9 | 2 | | |
| North Adams State | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | .545 | | | 26 | 15 | 11 | 0 | | |
| Holy Cross | 23 | 11 | 12 | 0 | .478 | 93 | 96 | 34 | 18 | 16 | 0 | 162 | 146 |
| Middlebury | 16 | 6 | 9 | 1 | .406 | 53 | 81 | 23 | 9 | 13 | 1 | 81 | 114 |
| Saint Anselm | 23 | 9 | 14 | 0 | .391 | 73 | 91 | 27 | 12 | 14 | 1 | 90 | 98 |
| American International | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0 | .318 | | | 31 | 11 | 19 | 1 | | |
| Massachusetts–Boston | 20 | 6 | 14 | 0 | .300 | | | 26 | 10 | 16 | 0 | | |
| New England College | 22 | 6 | 15 | 1 | .295 | | | 24 | 8 | 15 | 1 | | |
| Williams | 17 | 3 | 13 | 2 | .222 | | | 23 | 3 | 17 | 3 | | |
| Westfield State | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 | .000 | | | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0 | | |
| Championship: March 8, 1986 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1985–86 ECAC North/South standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | Pct. | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| North Division |||||||||||||||
| Southeastern Massachusetts † | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 185 | 42 | 24 | 23 | 1 | 0 | | |
| Plymouth State | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0 | .773 | 132 | 88 | 28 | 19 | 7 | 0 | | |
| Fitchburg State | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | .750 | 167 | 93 | 26 | 16 | 10 | 0 | | |
| Curry | 25 | 18 | 6 | 1 | .740 | 152 | 77 | 34 | 24 | 9 | 1 | | |
| Assumption | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | .667 | 143 | 75 | 23 | 13 | 9 | 1 | | |
| Saint Michael's | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | .667 | 105 | 73 | 24 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 125 | 100 |
| Hawthorne | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0 | .667 | 134 | 85 | 27 | 19 | 8 | 0 | | |
| Suffolk | 19 | 10 | 8 | 1 | .553 | | | 22 | 12 | 9 | 1 | | |
| Framingham State | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0 | .550 | | | 28 | 13 | 14 | 1 | | |
| New Hampshire College | 25 | 13 | 12 | 0 | .520 | | | 27 | 14 | 13 | 0 | | |
| Bentley | 17 | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 | 83 | 77 | 21 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 92 | 102 |
| Worcester State | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0 | .400 | 121 | 156 | 25 | 9 | 16 | 0 | | |
| Stonehill | 21 | 7 | 14 | 0 | .333 | 95 | 127 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 0 | | |
| Southern Maine | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 42 | 55 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 69 | 62 |
| Keene State | 16 | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 67 | 106 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 0 | | |
| Nichols | 21 | 3 | 17 | 1 | .167 | 74 | 153 | 25 | 5 | 18 | 2 | 91 | 169 |
| South Division |||||||||||||||
| Trinity †~* | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 108 | 36 | 27 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 174 | 79 |
| Connecticut College | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 100 | 54 | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 111 | 79 |
| Quinnipiac | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0 | .750 | 146 | 92 | 27 | 18 | 8 | 1 | 151 | 113 |
| Iona | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | .722 | 115 | 47 | 26 | 17 | 9 | 0 | | |
| St. John's | 15 | 9 | 6 | 0 | .600 | 78 | 32 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | | |
| Amherst | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | .533 | 90 | 79 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 0 | | |
| Wesleyan | 17 | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 | 78 | 77 | 23 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 98 | 111 |
| Villanova | 19 | 7 | 12 | 0 | .368 | 108 | 152 | 25 | 9 | 16 | 0 | | |
| Lehigh | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 69 | 122 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 75 | 132 |
| Roger Williams | 21 | 4 | 17 | 0 | .190 | 75 | 148 | | | | | | |
| Fairfield | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0 | .182 | 103 | 158 | 25 | 5 | 19 | 1 | | |
| Upsala | 20 | 3 | 16 | 1 | .175 | 71 | 166 | 25 | 5 | 19 | 1 | | |
| Skidmore | 20 | 3 | 17 | 0 | .150 | 55 | 154 | 21 | 4 | 17 | 0 | | |
| Western New England | 19 | 2 | 17 | 0 | .105 | 65 | 176 | 19 | 2 | 17 | 0 | | |
| Scranton | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 22 | 83 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 1 | | |
| Championship: March 8, 1986 † indicates division regular season champions ~ indicates division tournament champions * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1985–86 ECAC West standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | Pct. | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| RIT †* | 25 | 22 | 3 | 0 | .880 | | | 37 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 275 | 115 |
| Elmira | 25 | 21 | 4 | 0 | .840 | | | 32 | 25 | 7 | 0 | 183 | 81 |
| Plattsburgh State | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | .750 | 171 | 74 | 41 | 27 | 13 | 1 | 286 | 171 |
| Oswego State | 28 | 18 | 9 | 1 | .661 | 144 | 95 | 32 | 19 | 12 | 1 | 171 | 122 |
| Union | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0 | .650 | | | 29 | 15 | 14 | 0 | | |
| Canisius | 21 | 12 | 8 | 1 | .595 | | | 29 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 160 | 114 |
| Geneseo State | 28 | 15 | 12 | 1 | .554 | | | 36 | 20 | 15 | 1 | | |
| Potsdam State | 25 | 10 | 14 | 1 | .420 | | | 26 | 11 | 14 | 1 | | |
| Hamilton | 19 | 5 | 12 | 2 | .316 | | | 24 | 7 | 15 | 2 | | |
| Buffalo | 23 | 6 | 16 | 1 | .283 | | | 27 | 7 | 19 | 1 | | |
| Hobart | 20 | 5 | 15 | 0 | .250 | 78 | 143 | 25 | 6 | 19 | 0 | 95 | 170 |
| Cortland State | 21 | 3 | 18 | 0 | .143 | | | 25 | 5 | 20 | 0 | | |
| Brockport State | 20 | 1 | 19 | 0 | .050 | | | 25 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 44 | 214 |
| Championship: March 8, 1986 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1985–86 NCAA Division III Independent ice hockey standingsvte :
| | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Lake Forest | 24 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 98 | 106 |
| St. Bonaventure | 26 | 16 | 9 | 1 | | |
| Wisconsin–Stevens Point | 24 | 12 | 12 | 0 | | |
1985–86 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ice hockey standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| St. Thomas †* | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 114 | 50 | 32 | 25 | 6 | 1 | | |
| Bethel | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 82 | 65 | 31 | 15 | 15 | 1 | | |
| Saint John's | 16 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 72 | 74 | 26 | 12 | 13 | 1 | 116 | 123 |
| Gustavus Adolphus | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 89 | 73 | 29 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 127 | 115 |
| Hamline | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 69 | 70 | 26 | 9 | 15 | 2 | 104 | 120 |
| Augsburg | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 67 | 72 | 27 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 109 | 146 |
| Saint Mary's | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 59 | 82 | 26 | 9 | 17 | 0 | 96 | 126 |
| Concordia (MN) | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 71 | 94 | 26 | 8 | 18 | 0 | 109 | 164 |
| St. Olaf | 16 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 58 | 102 | 26 | 6 | 20 | 0 | 97 | 162 |
| Championship: March 8, 1986 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1985–86 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Bemidji State †* | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 24 | 106 | 73 | 35 | 25 | 9 | 1 | 218 | 141 |
| Mankato State † | 18 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 24 | 91 | 60 | 38 | 26 | 9 | 3 | 181 | 131 |
| St. Scholastica | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 23 | 78 | 66 | 31 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 151 | 117 |
| Wisconsin–River Falls | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 85 | 67 | 30 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 143 | 126 |
| St. Cloud State | 18 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 17 | 83 | 76 | 29 | 16 | 11 | 2 | 159 | 128 |
| Wisconsin–Superior | 16 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 43 | 80 | 27 | 7 | 20 | 0 | 78 | 136 |
| Wisconsin–Eau Claire | 16 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 46 | 110 | 26 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 73 | 163 |
| Championship: March 9, 1986 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion |||||||||||||||
1985–86 NYCHA standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| RIT † | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 166 | 51 | 37 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 275 | 115 |
| Elmira † | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 111 | 43 | 31 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 183 | 78 |
| Oswego State | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 27 | 108 | 54 | 32 | 19 | 12 | 1 | 171 | 122 |
| Geneseo State | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | 85 | 72 | 36 | 20 | 15 | 1 | | |
| Canisius | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 23 | 100 | 77 | 29 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 160 | 114 |
| Potsdam State | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 86 | 85 | 26 | 11 | 14 | 1 | | |
| Buffalo | 18 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 13 | 70 | 93 | 27 | 7 | 19 | 1 | | |
| Hobart | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 74 | 132 | 25 | 6 | 19 | 0 | 95 | 170 |
| Cortland State | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 49 | 133 | 25 | 5 | 20 | 0 | | |
| Brockport State | 18 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 145 | 25 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 44 | 214 |
| † indicates conference regular season champion |||||||||||||||
Note: Mini-game are not included in final standings

## 1986 NCAA Tournament

| Quarterfinals March 14–16 | Quarterfinals March 14–16 | Quarterfinals March 14–16 | Quarterfinals March 14–16 | Quarterfinals March 14–16 | Semifinals March 21 | Semifinals March 21 | Semifinals March 21 | National championship March 22 | National championship March 22 | National championship March 22 |
| Mankato State | Mankato State | 6 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | |
| St. Thomas | St. Thomas | 5 | 6 | 0 | | | | | | |
| St. Thomas | St. Thomas | 5 | 6 | 0 | Mankato State | Mankato State | 5 | | | |
| | | | | | Plattsburgh State † | Plattsburgh State † | 7 | | | |
| Plattsburgh State † | Plattsburgh State † | 7 | 5 | 3 | Plattsburgh State † | Plattsburgh State † | 7 | | | |
| Babson | Babson | 5 | 8 | 1 | | | | | | |
| Babson | Babson | 5 | 8 | 1 | | | | Plattsburgh State † | Plattsburgh State † | 5 |
| | | | | | | | | Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 8 |
| Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 4 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 8 |
| Elmira | Elmira | 2 | 5 | 0 | | | |
| Elmira | Elmira | 2 | 5 | 0 | Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 4*** | Third-place game | Third-place game | Third-place game |
| | | | | | RIT | RIT | 3 |
| RIT | RIT | 4 | 8 | - | RIT | RIT | 3 | Mankato State | Mankato State | 0 |
| Union | Union | 1 | 7 | - | | | | RIT | RIT | 6 |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s) Note: † Plattsburgh State's participation in the tournament was later vacated by the NCAA

## 1986 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | College | Conference | NHL team |
| 3 | 61 | Jim Hrivnak | Merrimack | ECAC East | Washington Capitals |
| 6 | 122 | Tony Schmalzbauer $^†$ | St. Cloud State | NCHA | New York Islanders |
† incoming freshman

## 1986 NHL Supplemental Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | College | Conference | NHL team |
| 2 | 9 | Art Fitzgerald | Trinity | ECAC North/South | Toronto Maple Leafs |