UMass Boston’s men’s hockey team was led by Coach Peter Belisle. Paul Brandon photo

The UMass Boston men’s hockey team skated into the university history books this season— capping it off a fantastic 24-4-3 record and their first appearance in the Division III Frozen Four tournament since 1982. The Beacons lost their first-round match-up last Friday in a 8-7 double overtime barnburner against to St. Norbert College. The Beacons had rallied from a 7-3 third period deficit to send the game into overtime.

On the upside, their head coach Peter Belisle was named co-winner of the 2016 Edward Jeremiah Award, given to the STX/AHCA Division III Men’s Coach of the Year.

“When Belisle took over as coach, the team was the laughing stock of Division III hockey and nobody was worried about the Beacons winning the conference or the NCAA tournament,” said Seth Orensky, UMass Boston’s Assistant Sports Information Director. “He had a vision and is loyal to his players. Throughout this entire run, we have heard from our players how much work and determination he has put into it. He just believes that this place has a chance.

“Looking forward, we hope to be back again, but this was the point that people will start recognizing that we have a pretty good athletic department and hockey team,” said Orensky.

The Beacons are the first team in school history to reach a Final Four in any sport and just the third program to have won an NCAA Tournament contest.