"When I took that job [at Illinois-Chicago], we were Division II, and the following year we were going Division I," Mazzoleni said. "So we had to make a jump in talent in a transition."

"My first year, we got beat 16-1, 15-0--it was hard," he added. "But I knew you had to stay positive with those kids. By my fourth year, we went in to Bowling Green and swept them. It took time because you had to reload the gun each year and bring in Division I players."

His first head coaching position in his career met with success, as he led the Pointers to three consecutive NCAA Championships in 1988-89, 1989-90, and 1990-91, an unprecedented feat in Division III hockey.

"Winning three in a row was just an unbelievable high," Mazzoleni said. "You would go out there and watch this team just dismantle people, and believe so much in themselves and what they wanted to accomplish that they acted as one on the ice. I think for anyone that's coached, that's the chief success."

The significance of this accomplishment is even greater, considering that Wisconsin-Stevens Point held a four-year record of 14-83-2 before Mazzoleni's appointment. Under his coaching, the Pointers recorded a winning percentage of .715, and a six-year record of 140-52-10.

"Wisconsin-Stevens Point never had a winning season in hockey. I was there for six years, and we just started from scratch," Mazzoleni said. "Everything changed. And we became such a superior team at our level."

The Pointers never had a losing season during Mazzoleni's tenure. He was selected as Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year during the 1987-88 season.