There probably isn’t anyone on the 1972-73 University of Quebec men’s hockey team who remembers being on the wrong end of a 13-0 loss against Clarkson. Same goes for the 1996-97 St. Lawrence team that lost to Boston College 6-4.
That, though, won’t be said for the Boston University team that fell to BC 5-2 on Dec. 1. Or for the Alabama-Huntsville team that lost 5-2 to the Eagles on Saturday at the Mariucci Classic.
All of those teams are now strung together by a common bond: being victims of major milestone victories for Boston College coach Jerry York, who in early December beat rival Boston University to tie the all-time wins mark held by Ron Mason of 924 wins. It took 27 days before the Eagles earned their next win, thanks to a Providence team that scored with 10.5 seconds left in regulation on Dec. 7 to earn a 3-3 tie right before the holiday break.
But Saturday’s win over Alabama-Huntsville ended a long wait, even if it was somewhat unceremonious (and as you’ll read, that’s just how York likes it). Win No. 925 is his, making York the king of college hockey coaches.
It was Quebec that provided York’s first win as he began his coaching career at Clarkson. (Games against teams that now would be considered exhibition foes then counted toward a team’s record.) St. Lawrence was York’s 500th victim. And for the 923 other victories, there are plenty of stories, memories and laughs to fill a full novel.
York likely will be most remembered for his legacy at Boston College, including six Hockey East regular season titles, nine league postseason titles, 12 NCAA tournament appearances, 10 Frozen Fours, seven national title game appearances and, of course, four national titles.
In seven years, things didn’t exactly come easy for York and his club. The apex at Clarkson came in 1977 when York’s club captured the ECAC championship. Little did anyone know that the hardware and championship ring would be the first of many.
Deciding to take a step forward in 1979, York headed to the CCHA to coach what he hoped would become an upstart Bowling Green team. After two seasons of building the program, York won three straight CCHA titles in 1982, ’83 and ’84.
It was that ’84 team that, of course, will stand out in York’s mind. That was York’s first NCAA champion, a team he continually references as the “blueprint” for every future team.
That blueprint has manifested itself most at York’s alma mater, where he took over a program in turmoil in 1994. The rest, as they say, is history, all of which has made him a hometown legend.
York is easily recognizable on the Boston sports scene. Despite the town featuring names like Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick, Stanley Cup champion coach Claude Julien and NBA champion coach Doc Rivers, York, with four national titles since 2001, has all three trumped in the ring department. You’d never know that, though, by following him around on a daily basis.
York resides in his childhood home in Watertown, Mass., just minutes from the Boston College campus. On the average morning you can find him at the Dunkin’ Donuts in Watertown Square. If you don’t see him there, possibly you’ll find him on campus at the chapel or St. Ignatius Church, where he attends daily mass.
“It is kind of like a throwback to the ’50s, kind of an old values type of thing,” Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna says.
Truth is, York doesn’t like the limelight. While anyone who knows him uses words like “fiercely competitive” to describe the 19-year veteran behind the BC bench, York shies away from anything that places him at the center of attention.
Bertagna should know. He recalls having to introduce him a few years back when York received the Ace Bailey “Good Guy” award. While Bertagna waxed poetic about the great career that York had enjoyed, the coaching veteran wanted nothing of it.
“I wasn’t halfway through what I was going to say and he was already making his way up to the podium and standing there like he wanted to get that part over with,” Bertagna says.
That’s Jerry York. He always wants everyone else to get the credit. As his Eagles have won a number of national titles — including three of the last five — the procedure for presenting the NCAA championship trophy has gradually morphed. Gone are the days of handing it to the captains. Now ESPN makes a production of handing it to the head coach.
While York obliges, the trophy sometimes looks like a hot potato once the cameras go off. The first second possible, York hands it off to his captain and then sits back near the bench with his coaches to watch the team celebrate.
“He’s constantly thinking about other people,” recalls Bertagna, who says there is one consistency for the morning after each year’s Hockey East tournament: a text message from York thanking Bertagna and his staff for running a first-class event.
“I don’t hear from him very much throughout the year in terms of [complaints about] officials, so in turn when I do hear from him, I’ll be the first to admit it gets my attention even more,” Bertagna says. “It has to be something fairly extreme for him to pick up the phone and make a call.”
The gentlemanly image of the coach certainly rubs off on his players. Countless stories are told of York’s players acting much like the head coach. One though has to wonder, is that a product of what the players learn from the mentor, or the type of player York and his staff bring to Chestnut Hill?
“All coaches have to go after a certain type of kid that fits the [hockey] formula, whether it be speed or things like that, but I’m not the first to wonder that BC always has very nice kids,” Bertagna says. “Do they feed off the coach or are those the type of kids they recruit?”
Associate head coach Mike Cavanaugh, who has been with York for all 19 seasons while at BC and a previous season at Bowling Green, says he’s never felt the need to recruit a Jerry York-type player.
For him, it’s always been about recruiting a player who fits what he calls part of the “BC fabric.”
“That’s how Jerry wants us to think about it: He doesn’t need to be a Jerry York type of guy, he needs to be a Boston College type of guy,” Cavanaugh says. “We have our mission here that we’re going to challenge you to go to school, to be terrific in the community and as a hockey player. But that has to evolve over time. We have to continue getting better.”
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