Only a few short months ago, Mark Mazzoleni, then the coach of Miami University (Ohio), became the fourth person in the past fifty years to take the helm of the Harvard men's hockey team.

But had the former four-year letterman at Michigan State enrolled in law school upon graduation, Mazzoleni might never have set foot on the bench again, never mind assume the leading role for the Crimson.

A native of Green Bay, Wis., Mazzoleni played junior hockey for St. Paul of the USHL as a goalie. Then he earned the right to start between the pipes for the Spartans during his college career. He was awarded the team's Outstanding Rookie Award in 1977.

Mazzoleni graduated from Michigan State with a degree in criminal justice and psychology in 1980. He was working for the state of Wisconsin in probation and parole and was prepared to enter law school that fall when a single hockey game changed his career plans forever.

"I went and watched Michigan State play the Wisconsin Badgers at Madison, which was only two hours away from my home," Mazzoleni said. "And, God, I couldn't believe how much I missed it. I missed the hockey component of it, not the playing component of it."

Putting the idea of a law degree on the back burner, Mazzoleni decided to change direction. After speaking to Ron Mason, his coach at Michigan State, he learned of an open coaching position at Illinois-Chicago.

"Ron told me about an opportunity for a graduate assistant that was opening up at Illinois-Chicago, who was just coming in to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association," Mazzoleni said. "I applied for it and got it. It totally changed my direction because I went in a whole different route. I guess your career is not always what you do in undergrad."

Mazzoleni earned his MA in athletic administration from Illinois-Chicago while working as a graduate assistant under former Harvard assistant coach Val Belmonte. He remained at Illinois-Chicago for five seasons in one of his toughest challenges to date before accepting a position at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1985.