After 17 seasons, 312 victories, eight NCAA berths and one glorious national championship, with just a discreet fax to local media, the Ronn Tomassoni era in Harvard men's hockey is over.

Tomassoni, who joined the program's staff as an assistant to Harvard legend and current athletic director William J. Cleary, Jr. '56 in 1982, resigned as coach on Friday.

In his nine years at the post, Tomassoni amassed a 140-115-26 record (106-70-22 ECAC, 51-27-12 Ivy) and earned a pair of NCAA berths, in 1993 and 1994. Under his tutelage, Harvard was a national powerhouse in the early 1990s. The romp included three ECAC regular season titles (1992, 1993, 1994), one playoff crown (1994) and the 1993 Beanpot championship.

"My time at Harvard has been more rewarding than anything I could have imagined when I first arrived back in 1982," Tomassoni said.

His best season came in 1993-94 when the Crimson posted a 24-5-4 record, fourth-best in school history, and marched all the way to the NCAA semifinals losing a 3-2 heartbreaker to Lake Superior State in overtime.

"We are incredibly grateful for all Ronn has done with the Harvard hockey program," Cleary said. "As an assistant, he was a big reason we recruited so many skilled players and won the NCAA tournament in 1989. And as head coach, Ronn brought us many more great moments, and his squads always represented Harvard in a positive manner on and off the ice."

Tomassoni earned a reputation as a master recruiter. He brought seven First Team All-Americans--including two Hobey Baker award winners, Scott Fusco '86 and Lane MacDonald '88-89. Fusco and MacDonald are the top two scorers all time for the Crimson at 240 and 225 points, respectively.

His knack for bringing in talent continued to the present, with six players on last year's roster drafted into the NHL, including two second-round picks, sophomore forwards Steve Moore and Chris Bala. One of next year's expected recruits, Brett Nowak, was rated by Central Scouting Bureau as the top player in the New England Prep Schools.

"I've had the wonderful fortune to work at a world-class institution and to coach many gifted young men," Tomassoni said. "The memories and friendships that have grown during this time will always be cherished."