Frank DiCristofaro is entering his eleventh season as the head men's ice hockey coach at Indiana Tech heading into the 2024-25 campaign. Through his first ten seasons, he has compiled a 227-118-1 (Win-Loss-Tie) record while playing one of the toughest schedules in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). DiCristofaro oversees all hockey operations at Tech (ACHA D1 and D2). In his collegiate coaching career he sports a 241-138-2 record.
During his tenure at Tech, he has coached 52 WHAC All-Academic Team selections, 24 All-WHAC honorees, four ACHA Academic All-Americans, 32 WHAC Player of the Week winners, five ACHA All-Athletic Team selections, two ACHA All-Tournament Team picks, four NAIA Ice Hockey Coaches Association Players of the Week, two GLCHL All-Rookie members, two GLCHL All-Defensive Team selections, two All-GLCHL Team picks, two NAIA All-Americans, one NAIA Rookie of the Year, one NAIA Player of the Year. and one ACHA All-Rookie Team member.
Last season, DiCristofaro would lead the Warriors to a 25-13 overall record, finishing with a 20-4 record in WHAC play and a fourth straight regular season championship. Tech would also go on to win the WHAC Tournament trophy, making it their third in the last four years. At the ACHA National Championships, the Warriors would earn the No. 18 seed, falling in the first round to No. 15 seed Calvin University. Five Warriors would earn WHAC All-Conference team honors, while six would be named to the WHAC All-Academic Team.
In 2022-2023, the Warriors would finish with a 32-5 overall record, the most wins for the program since the 2018-19 season when they won the NAIHA National Championship. The 32 wins last season put DiCristofaro over the 200 mark at Tech (202-105-1) and improved his winning percentage to an impressive .656. Tech would go 22-2 in WHAC play on their way to a third straight conference regular season championship. The 22 conference wins also marked a new program record for most in a season! In the postseason, the Warriors would fall in the conference tournament semifinal. At the ACHA National Championships, the Warriors would earn the No. 8 overall seed, winning one game before falling in the quarterfinals to No. 1 seed and eventual national champion Minot State University. Four Warriors would earn WHAC All-Conference team honors in 2022-23, while 16 would be named to the WHAC All-Academic Team. Coach DiCristofaro was also named WHAC Coach of the Year.
In 2021-2022, Tech was able to once again break the 20-win mark with an overall record of 26-7-0, and a 15-5 record in conference games, claiming back to back WHAC regular season titles. The Warriors also hosted the WHAC tournament for the third time and capped their conference campaign off with a convincing 6-1 win over UM-Dearborn to hoist back to back WHAC Tournament Championships. Receiving an auto-bid to the ACHA National Tournament, they were seeded #11 and opened up the tournament against #6, University of Central Oklahoma, falling 2-1 in overtime to the eventual tournament runners-up. Cam Chabot was named ACHA All-Tournament Honorable Mention. Zach Bennett and Chabot were named All-Conference 2nd team.
The Warriors navigated through the 2020-21 season to a 17-7-0 record and a 8-2-0 mark in conference games to claim their first-ever regular season conference title. Tech hosted the WHAC Tournament for the second time and finished off the sweep of the conference trophies with a 2-1 win in overtime over Aquinas. The team advanced to the semifinals of the ACHA National Tournament before falling to eventual national champion and top-seeded Adrian. Zach Bennett, Alex Potter, Bryson Linenburg and Joel Holmberg were named to the ACHA All-Athletic Team while Linenburg and Potter earned spots on the ACHA All-Tournament Team.
Tech went 25-9-0 with a 16-4-0 mark in conference play during the 2019-20 season and qualified for the ACHA Division I National Tournament for the first time in program history before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the tournament. Francesco Corona, Joel Holmberg, Nick Papandrea and Alex Potter all garnered All-Conference honors while Holmberg was tabbed to the ACHA All-Athletic Third Team.
In 2018-19 the Warriors went 34-3-0 and won their last 29 games en route to winning the WHAC Tournament and NAIA National Championship titles, the first conference tournament and national titles in program history. Tech finished conference play with an 8-2 mark and upset top-seeded University of Michigan-Dearborn on their home ice, 5-2, to win the WHAC Tournament. The Orange and Black won the Tech Challenge Cup for the second straight season with a 3-1 mark against Lawrence Tech, while they scored with 24.4 seconds to go in regulation against Midland University to claim the national championship. Four players, Jarrett Pfeiffer, Alex Gregorich, Brian Skillicorn, and Adam Jonak, took their skills to the professional ranks following the season, becoming the first pro players in program history.
In 2017-18, Indiana Tech's ice hockey program went 22-10-2 overall and 5-2 in its first season of WHAC play to finish second in the conference standings. The Warriors were awarded the second seed in the inaugural WHAC Tournament, which they hosted at the SportONE/Parkview Ice House in Fort Wayne, while falling in the semifinal matchup to third-seeded Aquinas College. The team would also enter the ACHA NAIA Division National Championship with a second seed, knocking off Lindenwood University-Belleville, 6-3, in the semifinal before ending its season with a loss to Aquinas, 5-1, in the championship game.
During the 2016-2017 campaign, the Warriors went 17-21-0 under DiCristofaro, finishing fourth in the GLCHL with a 8-8-0 mark in league play. The team defeated fifth-seeded Rochester, 6-3, in the quarterfinals of the GLCHL Tournament before falling to eventual tournament champion and third-seeded Michigan-Dearborn, 7-1. Tech rose as high as 18th in the ACHA Division I National Rankings, the program's best ranking in history.
In his second year (2015-16), DiCristofaro led the Orange and Black to a 21-13-2 overall record and a 7-8-1 mark in their first season as a member of the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL), finishing sixth in the standings and rising as high as 19th in the ACHA National Rankings. Tech won its first tournament, the Michigan-Dearborn Great Lakes Showcase over Thanksgiving Weekend with wins over Division 3 Michigan State and Central Michigan before defeating the 14th-ranked Wolverines, 3-2, in overtime, the program's first win over UM-Dearborn.
In his first season (2014-15) at the helm, he guided the Warriors to an 8-25-1 record while playing one of the toughest schedules in the ACHA. The program's first win came against No. 14-ranked Oakland on Sept. 27, 2014.
Prior to his arrival at Indiana Tech, DiCristofaro guided Wayne State University to a 14-12-3 record and a No. 10 regional ranking.
As a player, he was a member of the Downriver Bombers Jr. A hockey club, helping to bring the Bombers their first playoff appearance in franchise history. From there, he was a member of the Wayne State University NCAA college hockey program. After his collegiate days, he played with the Detroit Dragons and Chi-Town Shooters of the AAHL, putting together 20 points in 20 professional games.
DiCristofaro received a Bachelor’s Degree in Education in 2008 and a Master’s Degree in Sports Administration in 2012 from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
DiCristofaro resides in the Fort Wayne area with his wife, Amanda, their two daughters, Alexis and Aubrey, and son Mason.
