Jerry York goes after hockey history on Friday night.
York leads his Boston College Eagles into Providence for a Hockey East matchup with the chance to become the winningest coach in NCAA history. A victory by the first-place Eagles would be No. 925 in York's career, breaking a tie with longtime Michigan State coach Ron Mason atop the all-time list. Ironically, York got the coaching job at Bowling Green when Mason left for MSU, and the two competed against each other for 15 years.
Win No. 924 for York came Saturday at home when the Eagles knocked off archrival Boston University 5-2 -- one night after BU beat the Eagles 4-2, preventing York from getting the record-setting win at home.
York, who played at BC and graduated in 1967, began his coaching career at Clarkson, earning his first victory on Nov. 10, 1972 -- at age 26, he was the youngest coach in Division I. He moved on to Bowling Green, where he won an NCAA title in 1984, before returning to his alma mater 10 years later.
"I learned a lot at Clarkson," York told NHL.com in a 2011 interview. "It was good for me to get out of the city for a while, to go to upstate New York and then to the Midwest. It broadened my perspective of hockey. When I got back to BC I was much more prepared."
Since taking over at BC in 1994, he's posted a record of 457-224-60 in 19 seasons, leading the Eagles to 15 NCAA tournament appearances, 13 trips to the Frozen Four, eight national title games and four NCAA championships -- including one in April in Tampa.
His overall record is 924-559-94.
"Sometimes it seems like yesterday and sometimes it seems like a long time ago," he said this week. "When I was at Clarkson I wasn't sure how long I would be coaching. My father-in-law kept saying, 'When are you going to get a real job, Jerry? My daughter's accustomed to living a good life here.'
"But that's what I was thinking back then. Wins were secondary. It was just years. Would I still be coaching 40 years from that point, I probably would have said no way."
BC's biggest rival -- by far -- is Boston University. The two schools are about five miles apart on Commonwealth Avenue, and Terriers coach Jack Parker played against York in high school and college. Parker and York are longtime rivals but go even further back as friends.
"We've known each other a long time, we've been friends for a long time. We've got a lot of mutual friends, and we're very competitive against each other," he told NHL.com in 2011. "But it's been mutual respect, and it's amazing that we've had such a rivalry with BC and we recruit against them, we recruit the same kids all the time, and I don't think I've ever had a cross word with Jerry York in my life."
Parker's 885 wins are third on the all-time NCAA list, though he holds the record for most victories at one school. He might well have more had York not turned BC into a premier program.
"He deserves all the accolades," Parker said after the Eagles beat BU last Saturday. "It?s hard for people to believe this because he?s been around so long and he?s been so successful, but I still don?t think he gets the credit he deserves. He?s done an unbelievable job making this program the best it?s ever been."
Source: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=647237
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