Photo courtesy of The Heights.
We like to chant "We are BC!" at sporting events and attribute any athletic success as an inevitability considering the school's motto is "Ever to Excel." But BC's 4-1 win in the National Championship wasn't really about the team effort, or the school or even the guys on the ice. All of those were factors, but our third National Title in five years and fifth overall was really about the guy behind the bench: Jerry York. York's fifth title (fourth at BC) rewrote history. He is no longer just a great hockey coach. He is a transcendent college coach who should be mentioned alongside the likes of John Wooden, Bear Bryant, Anson Dorrance, Pat Summitt and Dan Gable. Michigan's Victor Heyliger is the only college hockey coach who won more National Title's than York, but he did it in an entirely different era and he never won championships at two schools.
Like the other coaches mentioned, York has been an innovator in the sport. His focus on offense, speed and skill has changed the face of college hockey. Like other greats, he also has a great eye for talent and has managed to find small scorers and untested goalies as the backbones of multiple national championships. But what I hope people appreciate most is that York has done this all while being a class act. You'll never find anyone who has a bad thing to say about Jerry. The warmth, humor and confidence you see in front of the cameras is real.
As for the game, hats off to Ferris State. Considering the circumstances, they gave BC a tough fight. It was a tight affair until Johnny Gaudreau's beautiful goal in the 3rd.
I'll have more on the celebration in the following days. For now be proud to be an Eagle fan and be thankful for Jerry York!
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11 comments:
Atl. should impose a rule that no one can post here over the next 60 days without 1st thanking Gladchuk and York. !. Win proves BC is best program in the country. 2 York is the best coach in the country in all mens sports. 3.Hockey East is the best Conference ( 4 of 5 titles).5. York played baseball for BC High at Savin Hill Park and was coached by Jim Cotter of Savin Hill 6. York learned to play hockey from the Westfield brothers of Savin Hill and learned sports fron 2 of the best athletes in BC HIgh history, J. Gurry and P. Galvin. 7. Like Kentucky in b-ball York had a young team, mostly undergraduates. York is from a BC family with deep BC roots.
Couldn't agree more about Jerry York, well said. I was at the game with several "Double Eagles" and we all agreed on Jerry's status as supercoach.. At the end, the stands started cheering" Jerry, Jerry", to confirm the point of Atl's article.
Ferris State played very well in their trap game. Milner again was unbelievable.
Three in five years, only thing better would have been ND or BU as the opponent.
That Johnny Gaudreau goal was sick!
I wish college hockey was a more popular sport as BC is accomplishing the equivalent of Duke-level success. Plus, they are just so much fun to watch.
I recall a BC fan I see quite a bit worried in January about the number of losses. I told him, "Don't worry, York will have them ready by March. Every champ season has this mid-season down-spell." I don't know if I really believed my own words but 19 straight victories! Wow!
Why is BC hockey so great? They have a great coach, it is a great school to recruit to and IT OPERATES IN A VACUUM AWAY FROM GENE.
This must just eat at him. The one sport in which he has no connection and cannot meddle is a National Champion. He just can't wait for york to retire for health reason so ha can put his own mark on the program.
Everyone does realize that York and Gene hardly speak.
Congrats to to the ice men
What's especially nice about the run the past 10-12 years really is that BC has some fantastic teams before Jerry, but we never seemed to catch that break. We should enjoy it while we can because one day it'll end (maybe).
I remember we had a great team in 90-91 - at least three NHLers on the roster and the Hobey Baker award winner and an unbeaten-at-home streak and we got taken out in the first round of the NCAAs (then a 3-game series) to a plodding Alaska-Anchorage team. We had a lot of great teams before that too that never won the big title.
This run is awesome!
Thank you Boston College Hockey - we are very proud of you.
Way to go BC Hockey Eagles! What a terrific mood lifter in the midst of an otherwise craptastic year for our major sports.
Yes, successful work by York, following through on Gene DeFilippo's game plan to the letter. Talk about dotting the i's and crossing the t's! It's amazing what you can do as an A.D. when the coach follows your directives and oversees day-to-day operations exactly as you mapped them out back in July and August.
Admittedly, York is really competing in a small pond, so you can't expect DeFilippo to have such rousing success each year in each sport. Unlike Coach Spaziani, Coach York has no SEC with which to deal. No PAC-10. No Big-12. And yes, no ACC to overcome. Yet even so, Coach York experienced quite a bit of losing before Gene DeFilippo's arrival at BC.
In Coach York's first three years at BC, he compiled a record of 42-58-9. Before this, Coach York was 61-82-10 in his last four years at Bowling Green. So in his seven years prior to working for Gene DeFilippo (1990-97), Coach York went 103-140-19, for a winning percentage of .429. Coach Frank Spaziani, on the other hand, has a record of 20-19 (.513) against much stiffer competition as outlined above.
Yet Gene DeFilippo arrived in 1997 and said we're going to start winning hockey games TODAY. DeFilippo brought with him the coaching principles that led to unparalleled success in shepherding the Vanderbilt running backs to the 1982 Hall of Fame Bowl. The same theories upon which he guided the Youngstown State offense to two Mid-American Conference championships. DeFilippo sat York down, told him who to recruit, how to construct a staff, and what he needs to coach. York, who was thirsting for such leadership, did as he was told.
And what was the result? A record of 28-9-5, and a berth in the 1997 National Championship game. The first of four straight Frozen Four appearances, culminating with Coach DeFilippo's first national championship in 2001. And after one .500 rebuilding season, success upon success upon success.
That's the vision Coach DeFilippo has for Boston College. That's what he built in hockey, and it's what he's rebuilding in football after the natural injury-caused hiccup of last season. With the best coach of the last 15 years on the gridiron, "Ever to Excel" is truly on the horizon in Alumni Stadium. DeFilippo's hockey program proves that.
OC, you are too much.
NED,
While Jerry is a fantastic (maybe greatest) College Hockey Coach, let's not get carried away with Savin Hill's baseball prowess. We all know if you wanted to find a real ball-player, you went to Ronan Park and St. Peter's Parish.
Jerry York is the best coach in college sports.
BTW, I wish that youtube clip of the goal didn't have the cheesy music added. Awesome indiviual effort on that play though!
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