Don't overreact to the York extension

BC announced an extension for Jerry York Tuesday. Of course reactions varied. Some loved the idea. Some hated, but most -- like me -- didn't understand the urgency. In the end, I am not going to take Jarmond to task for extended a BC legend. The Men's program is in a slump, but York has more than earned the right to fix things and leave when he wants. Perhaps the extension will help give elite recruits a little more comfort that they will actually play for York vs his eventual replacement.

Why BC is out of the NCAA Hockey Tourney

For a minute, I thought BC was going to do it. I thought the Hockey team was going to earn an auto-bid into the NCAA Tournament by winning the Hockey East Tournament. UMass-Lowell won, so BC is now home. To those who don't pay much attention to college hockey, this might not make sense. BC playing well in the HE Tourney should make them more attractive. But unfortunately it was too, little too late. BC's struggles in February proved too costly and so the Eagles are the first team out. 

BCI has a great explainer on the NCAA's selection process via Pairwise. The Heights also put things in perspective. This team was very young. Not much was officially expected in the preseason. It is just at BC, we expect York to pull out a miracle every year. It is news when we don't make the postseason. I know this makes me sound a bit optimistic, a bit ungrateful and a bit entitled, but I expect BC to bounce back next year.

1,000

After last week's build up, it was clear his players were going to leave nothing to chance. They crushed UMass for Jerry York's 1,000 career victory. This win doesn't make him a better coach than he was when he only won 999 games or 257 games or whatever milestone you want to celebrate. But what is great about the big numbers is that they remind us how lucky we as a BC community are to have him leading our hockey program.

999 for York

BC added to Jerry York's ever growing list of milestones by beating BU 5-3 Friday night. The win was York's 999th.

The star of the game was Ian McCoshen. He gave BC their go-ahead goal at 4-3 and added an empty netter a minute later. Thatcher Demko was healthy and back in Goal for the Eagles.

The teams return to the ice down the street Saturday. BU seems like a good place to get win 1000.

Hockey season over as Denver sends BC packing

The silver lining is that BC was still a tournament team during a transition year. As much as casual fans assume that the team can often just turn it on, not winning the Beanpot or Hockey East Tournament served as a warning sign. BC didn't have enough to hang with Denver as the Pioneers won 5-2.

BC finished the season 21-14-3. Even with the loss, the guys and Jerry York still deserve our thanks for another very good season.

Hockey opens Tourney against Denver

The NCAA rolled out the selections and seeding for the NCAA Tournament Sunday. BC will face Denver in the first round. The game is Saturday at 3 pm ET on ESPN 2. If they advance, they will face the winner of Miami of Ohio and Providence on Sunday. Congrats and let's go win this.

Non-BC fans tell BC fans to relax about Hockey

BC fans know that the Hockey season kicks into high gear after around the Beanpot. Win there and it leads into the Hockey East tourney and then the NCAAs. The early part of the season should be about finding out what works. However, this year is off to a really rough start. I don't know enough about college hockey to say what's wrong. These guys from SB Nation's Hockey blog think it is a depth issue. They also think that BC can and should still compete for championships. Now it is just about being patient. In Jerry we trust.

Frozen Four primer

Thursday night BC takes on Union in the first semi-final of the Frozen Four. To get up to speed on the matchup, I suggest the following:

-- BC's official Media Preview
-- How Union plans to stop our top line
-- USCHO on Jerry York

Hockey gets a No. 1 seed and other links

The Hockey team earned the No. 1 seed in the Northeast region. They will play Denver Saturday.

Baseball lost another ACC series, this time to Wake Forest. The lone bright spot is that BC didn't get swept and won their first ACC game of the season. The Globe featured Freshman third baseman Johnny Adams.

Florida State swept Softball.

Lacrosse lost a close game to UNC.

In case you missed it last week, here is the latest Andre Williams diary for MMQB.

Notre Dame knocks BC out of Hockey East Tourney

Jerry York likes to call this time of year "trophy season." This year we will be missing out on one of the pieces of hardware as Notre Dame eliminated BC from the Hockey East Tournament on Sunday. This is the first time since 2004 that BC failed to reach the Hockey East semis.

The good news is that BC remains a lock for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. However, losing means that BC is unlikely to be the No. 1 overall seed. No big deal. To win the trophy that is most important, you have to beat good teams along the way.

After the game, York said the team was devastated. I trust that he will have them in the right frame of mind when the puck drops in the NCAAs.

Weekend Roundup: Hockey good, basketball bad Part 184

The Hockey team swept Vermont this weekend. Of course that wrapped up the Hockey East regular season title, but what else do you expect come "Trophy Time"?

Not to be outdone, the BC Women won their Hockey East title too.

Basketball lost to Notre Dame. I will write more about the loss on Monday, but the big issue was BC's inability to slow them and we couldn't cover our issues with 3-point shooting.

The Women's Basketball team lost to Syracuse.

Here is another article about Dick Kelley by a writer who knew him for 30 years.

Don't look now, but Baseball has won three in a row.

Addazio knows that with the departure of his seniors, there is a drop off in talent among the returning players.

That's five in a row (but who's counting?)

The Beanpot was BU's tournament for most of its existence. Not anymore though. Monday night BC won its fifth straight Beanpot, defeated Northeastern 4-1. BC scored first, but it was a pretty even game overall. Northeastern evened it in the second period and wasn't going to let us waltz to another title. BC took the lead again late in the third and then piled up some late goals in the final minutes when the Huskies started taking chances.

Jerry York refers to this time as the start of the championship run. But I don't even know if we need to ramp up anything. The team hasn't lost since November. We could keep riding this momentum through Hockey East an onto another Frozen Four. But let's not look too far ahead.

This is a bragging rights tournament, so let's brag! We won again. Congrats to everyone on the team. For they don't even know what it is like to lose a Beanpot!

Of course another York milestone comes against BU

BU took an early lead in the first only to allow BC to break it open in the Second Period. There was some back and forth in the 3rd, but BC held on to win 6-4. It was Jerry York's 950th win. It also concluded a regular season sweep of the Terriers (obviously the Beanpot is still ahead).

BC takes on Maine Saturday.

That's how you have a Jerry York Night

The Hockey team crushed Wisconsin 9-2. It was impressive in every way with plenty of scoring to go around. It was a fitting win on the night BC honored our Hall of Fame Hockey coach. As many remember "York Night" was scheduled for last season, but the Coach missed time due to multiple eye surgeries.

BC travels to Minnesota next week for a two-game series with the Gophers.

Cavanaugh to UConn

Long-time BC Hockey assistant Mike Cavanaugh is set to become UConn's new head coach. This is great personal news for Cavanaugh as he finally gets his chance to run his own program. For BC, it is a different issue.

Jerry York is the man and mind behind BC's sustained excellence the past 20 years. But his assistants were a critical component. Cavanaugh came to BC after spending a year with York at Bowling Green. He has been here for the rise and sustaining BC's dominance. Because he and Greg Brown have been so integrated into BC's decisions, recruiting and scouting, the program was able to continue relatively smoothly when York missed time with his eye issues.

Now York will have to find a new assistant to replace Cavanaugh. I am sure some of his areas of responsibility will shift to Brown and fellow assistant Jim Logue. Others will go to the new guy. Coaching under York is a dream job for any young hockey staffer, so Jerry will have his pick.

Long-term this is probably a good issue for BC. It makes Brown the clear in-house heir apparent when York retires. It also gives Cavanaugh some valuable experience running a team away from BC. Both Brown and Cavanaugh would have been favorites to be the next BC head coach. What might have been a coin-flip decision given their similarities now has real differentiation.

I don't think UConn is an easy college hockey job, so if Cavanaugh does succeed, that will speak to his abilities running a program. I wish him luck except for when he plays BC.

They're back

Our Hockey team should be pretty good next year considering that we are not losing any guys early to the NHL. Gaudreau is the big piece, but Michael Matheson, Bill Arnold, and Kevin Hayes would all have been big returnees just by themselves.

At times we as fans are spoiled with regards to Hockey's success, but I think the players share those expectations too. They didn't like losing this year either. That mentality of unfinished business will hopefully carry them to a Championship next year.

Union ends Hockey's run

Like many I now take Frozen Four appearances as a given. After Union's 5-1 over the Hockey team, we won't be going anywhere. Union's dominance was the culmination of a few weeks where everything just seemed a bit off. First York dealt with another eye surgery. Then we lost in the Hockey East. Now were are out of the NCAAs after one round. 

The game really turned on penalties. BC kept getting whistled and Union kept converting their chances. We scored a late goal to break up their shutout, but after their first goal we really lost momentum.

Now BC is left to regroup and get ready for next season. The biggest questions isn't roster or defense, but York's health. For those who watched the game, you probably saw York's eye-patch. Let's hope the tie off leads to a full recovery.

Best news of the Day

Jerry York met with his eye surgeon this afternoon and received a great report; he'll return to lead the Eagles tomorrow #BCHockey

— BC Hockey (@BCHockeyNews) March 25, 2013

This is very good news. I don't know how much the eye surgery will slow York down or if he'll be able to travel the following week (assuming we win), but I am happy for him that he'll be part of this tournament.

Hockey advances despite York's absence

The good news: the Hockey team handled Vermont 4-2 to win the series and advance to the Hockey East Semis. Of course we will face BU in what could be Jack Parker's final game.

The disconcerting news is that Jerry York missed the game with another detached retina. I know nothing about eye issues beyond what you can read on WebMd. BC announced that he will have another surgery on Monday. Can he recover in time for Friday's game against BU? I have no idea. I know we are in good hands with the assistants, but I am not really concerned about the team. I want a speedy and full recovery for York. Keep him in your prayers.

Recruiting news and other links

At his Signing Day press conference, Steve Addazio said 2014 recruiting was already in full swing. You can start to see some of the activity based on the recruits talking to the media. BC has an offer into Florida QB Sean White. Illinois OL prospect Chase Gianacakos just visited campus. Despite an ACL injury, BC has interest in Florida WR prospect Charles Nelson. 

Because of the Rangers's schedule Chris Kreider was able to see his old teammates win another Beanpot. 

After playing 2012 in the Arena League, the Seattle Seahawks are giving Will Blackmon another shot at the NFL.

The NFL invited Montell Harris to the Combine. Based on how he ended his season, you would have to think he's back to full strength. Let's hope he gets a shot at the next level.

Finally, BC produced a 'Tribute to Jerry York" If you haven't already watched, click on the Youtube video below. It is well worth your time.