Michael Sisti is the women's ice hockey current head coach at Mercyhurst University. Since 1999, he has coached Mercyhurst to 4 Frozen Four appearances, 15 College Hockey America (CHA) post-season titles, and 1 Great Lakes Women's Hockey Association (GLWHA) post-season title. He reached 500 wins in 2020, becoming only the second coach in Division I women's college hockey to achieve that milestone. In 2018, he was inducted into the Erie Hall of Fame.

Michael Sisti
Current position
TitleHead Coach
TeamMercyhurst
ConferenceCHA
Record2–0–0
Biographical details
BornBuffalo, New York, U.S.
Alma materCanisius College
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1992Canisius
1993–1998Mercyhurst
1999–PresentMercyhurst
Head coaching record
Overall500–185–58
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
  • GLWHA Champion (2002)
  • 13× CHA Champion (2003–2013, 2016, 2018, 2020)
Awards

Personal life edit

Sisti is a native of Buffalo, New York.[1] He graduated from Canisius College in 1991. He holds numerous scoring records at Canisius, and is a 2002 inductee in the Canisius Athletic Hall of Fame.[2]


Coaching edit

After graduation, he was an assistant coach for Canisius men's program, and came to Mercyhurst in 1993 as an assistant coach on the men's team. In 1999, Sisti became the head coach of the newly formed women's varsity team.[3][1] To date, he has been the only head coach of the program. [4]

Sisti's team reached the NCAA Tournament each year from 2005 through 2014. The 10 consecutive appearances are an NCAA Division I record. In 2009, Mercyhurst reached the NCAA Championship game, losing to Wisconsin 5–0, in their first of four Frozen Four seasons.[5]

Mercyhurst teams have won fifteen conference championships, with Sisti as head coach.[4]

On December 11, 2020, Sisti reached the 500-win milestone as head coach, when Mercyhurst defeated RIT by a score of 5–1. Only one other head coach, Wisconsin's Mark Johnson, has achieved this milestone in Division I women's college ice hockey. Sisti is the 30th coach in the history of college hockey to earn 500 wins.[6]

Awards and recognition edit

AHCA Coach of the Year award, 2005.[7] [8]

USCHO Coach of the Year, 2007[9]

Erie Sports Hall of Fame, inducted 2018[9][10]

Head coaching record edit

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Mercyhurst (College Hockey America) (1999–present)
1999–2000 Mercyhurst 23–6–0
2000–2001 Mercyhurst 14–16–3 5–1–2 2nd lost GLWHA Conference Championship
2001–2002 Mercyhurst 24–8–1 8–0–0 1st GLWHA Champions
2002–2003 Mercyhurst 25–8–1 6–0–0 1st CHA Tournament Champions
2003–2004 Mercyhurst 26–6–4 11–1–0 1st CHA Tournament Champions
2004–2005 Mercyhurst 28–7–2 11–0–1 1st CHA Tournament Champions, NCAA Tournament Appearance
2005–2006 Mercyhurst 23–8–6 10–0–2 1st CHA Tournament Champions, NCAA Tournament Appearance
2006–2007 Mercyhurst 32–2–3 11–0–1 1st CHA Tournament Champions, NCAA Tournament Appearance
2007–2008 Mercyhurst 26–8–3 11–2–1 1st CHA Tournament Champions, NCAA Tournament Appearance
2008–2009 Mercyhurst 31–6–0 16–0–0 1st CHA Tournament Champions, NCAA Championship Game
2009–2010 Mercyhurst 30–3–3 14–1–1 1st CHA Tournament Champions, NCAA Frozen Four
2010–2011 Mercyhurst 29–6–0 16–0–0 1st CHA Tournament Champions, NCAA Tournament Appearance
2011–2012 Mercyhurst 23–8–3 8–1–3 1st CHA Tournament Champions, NCAA Tournament Appearance
2012–2013 Mercyhurst 29–7–1 17–3–0 1st CHA Tournament Champions, Frozen Four
2013–2014 Mercyhurst 24–9–4 15–3–2 1st CHA Finals Frozen Four
2014–2015 Mercyhurst 23–9–3 14–5–1 1st CHA Semi-Finals
2015–2016 Mercyhurst 19–11–5 14–3–3 1st CHA Tournament Champions, NCAA Tournament Appearance
2016–2017 Mercyhurst 15–18–2 11–8–1 3rd
2017–2018 Mercyhurst 18–15–4 13–4–3 2nd CHA Tournament Champions, NCAA Tournament Appearance
2018–2019 Mercyhurst 15–14–5 12–6–2 2nd
2019–2020 Mercyhurst 21–10–5 13–4–3 1st CHA Tournament Champions, NCAA Tournament cancelled


2020–2021 Mercyhurst 2–0–0


Mercyhurst: 500–185–58
Total: 500–185–58

      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

References edit

  1. ^ a b Moritz, Amy. "Sisti keeps Mercyhurst women's hockey among elite". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  2. ^ "Mike Sisti (2002) - Hall of Fame". Canisius College Athletics. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  3. ^ "2016-2017 Women's Ice Hockey Coaching Staff". Mercyhurst University. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Sisti Becomes Second Division I Coach to Reach 500 Wins". Mercyhurst University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  5. ^ "Women's Ice Hockey Championship History". NCAA, Turner Sports Interactive Inc. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  6. ^ Staff, USCHO (2020-12-12). "With sweep of RIT, Mercyhurst women's hockey coach Sisti hits 500-win milestone". College Hockey | USCHO.com. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  7. ^ "Boston College's Katie Crowley Repeats As STX/AHCA Division I Women's Coach of the Year". American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA). 17 March 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  8. ^ "Awards". USCHO.com | FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  9. ^ a b "Michael Sisti". Erie Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  10. ^ staff, Times-News. "Erie Hall of Fame class announced". GoErie.com. Retrieved 2020-12-19.