From Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Dave Mackall
His euphoric acclamation was a clear sign that Mike Ziemianski couldn’t have been prouder.
The former longtime Saint Vincent coach was overcome with emotion in the moments after the school’s recent club hockey victory over IUP, securing the program’s first College Hockey East playoff championship and third trip to the American Collegiate Hockey Association national tournament.
To think, Ziemianski watched it all unfold Feb. 25 at Palmer Imagining Arena in Delmont under the leadership of one of his favorite sons, coach Brett Martz, a former team captain of Ziemianski’s at Saint Vincent, where Martz led the CHE in scoring in 2003.
“It’s a big accomplishment,” said Martz, a graduate of Penn-Trafford. “It was a thrill not only to have Coach Z on hand — he’s still involved with the program in a number of ways — but my dad (Bob) has been helping me as an assistant coach, as well.
“That was a cool little moment there.”
Saint Vincent (15-3) won for the 12th consecutive time heading into the ACHA national tournament, where it will be joined by two other district club teams Thursday through March 17 in St. Louis.
The Robert Morris men’s team and the Mercyhurst women’s team also won CHE titles, the Colonials defeating Carnegie Mellon, 3-2, in the Division 4 men’s championship game and the Lakers turning back Ohio State, 3-1, in the Division 2 women’s championship game.
Saint Vincent is scheduled to open pool play Thursday against Michigan-based Lawrence Tech, followed by games Friday against Arkansas and Saturday against Colby (Maine).
Winners of all four pools will advance to the semifinals March 11.
“Looking back, eventually, it seemed to be the right decision to come to Saint Vincent,” said senior Norwin product Logan Connelly, who scored a goal in the Polar Bearcats’ victory over IUP. “He (Brett Martz) would come to my high school games, and we’d talk. He’d always say, ‘If you come to Saint Vincent, we’ll win. We’ll get to the national championship.’ I never really thought about it, but it all came back to me now.”
Martz, though, who is in his 10th season as coach at Saint Vincent, has thought about it a lot.
“I used to think I was telling lies to get guys to come to Saint Vincent,” he said. “One of the things that makes me smile a lot is remembering I told Logan that. I guess it wasn’t a lie after all.”
As the days have gone by with Saint Vincent continuing to prepare for its trip to the Midwest, Ziemianski couldn’t help but think back to that magical moment when his alma mater and former club team made a resounding statement.
“When we won the championship against IUP, it was as if I was still coaching,” said Ziemianski, who is also a former Saint Vincent player. “It was as emotional for me as it was for Brett and the team. I know my eyes filled up with tears.”
For 15 years, Ziemianski called the shots from the Bearcats bench, but never did the Polar Bearcats win a CHE playoff championship under his watch.
Go ahead, Coach, you can count this one.
(Originally published at https://triblive.com/sports/saint-vincent-club-hockey-team-qualifies-for-national-tournament-to-delight-of-former-coach/)
