After 28 seasons as head coach at Boston College, Jerry York has called it a career. College hockey’s all-time coaching wins leader announced his retirement on Wednesday after 50 seasons behind the Division 1 bench, including stops at Clarkson and Bowling Green before finishing his career at his alma mater.
York’s retirement sent shock waves across the college hockey landscape as it had been rumored he wanted to coach a few more seasons and go out on a high note. York’s last game will go down as a 3-2 loss to Northeastern in the Hockey East quarterfinals. The Eagles finished 15-18-5, which was the second sub-500 record in four years.
The accomplishments for York are many. Under his guidance, the Eagles won four NCAA championships (2001, '08, '10, '12), advanced to 12 Frozen Fours, and won 14 conference regular-season titles and nine postseason trophies. He won another national championship at Bowling Green in 1984 and had 1,123 victories as a college head coach.
His departure means that the two most prominent Hockey East programs are in need of a new head coach. Crosstown rival Boston University is looking for a new bench boss after firing Albie O’Connell late last month. Two of college hockey’s most storied programs have an opening for head coach and it’s possible another, Michigan, will soon be vacant. In addition to BC and BU, there are currently openings at Michigan State and Union.
York certainly enjoyed plenty of success at BC, but a change and a new direction for the Eagles certainly can’t be considered a bad thing. There will be plenty of eager, qualified candidates looking to make their own mark on the Conte Forum ice surface.
Despite a few internet rumors to the contrary, I believe the next head coach will be Greg Brown, a former player and associate head coach at BC. The Hartford, Conn., native was beside York for three national championships at BC before leaving his alma mater to become an assistant coach with the New York Rangers. After three seasons on Broadway, he took over as head coach of the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints prior to the 2021-22 season.
A former second-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in the 1986 NHL draft, Brown had never been a head coach before this season, despite his lengthy and impressive resume. He’s highly qualified, has NHL, junior and college coaching experience, and played the game at a high level.
Another obvious candidates is UConn head coach Mike Cavanaugh. The North Andover, Mass., native is a 1990 graduate of Bowdoin. He was on York’s staff for 18 seasons, including all four NCAA championships. In 2013, he became head coach of UConn, guiding the Huskies in their transition from Atlantic Hockey to Hockey East. He never won a playoff game until this season, but the Huskies have had some semblance of success, especially considering the lack of support from their administration. He obviously had great success as an assistant coach under York and he’s highly respected. The one knock on him, for some, is that he’s not an alum.
The other choice could be former BC defenseman and Merrimack head coach Mark Dennehy. The Dorchester, Mass., native is a 1991 graduate of Boston College. He helped the Merrimack program enjoy success that they never had before or since at the Division 1 level. Dennehy also helped enrich programs at Princeton and UMass as an assistant coach under Don "Toot" Cahoon. After being fired by Merrimack, he became a head coach in the AHL with the New Jersey Devils affiliate. He’s currently the Director of Amateur Scouting for the organization. While Dennehy doesn’t get as much traction in most conversations, I think he’d be a home run hire for BC Athletic Director Patrick Kraft.
Listen: Podcast with Mark Dennehy
Current associate head coach Mike Ayers, a UNH alum, and assistant coach Brendan Buckley, a former standout defenseman for the Eagles, will certainly vie for the job, as well. Both would likely stay on staff should any of the three top candidates be hired.
Terriers update: Pandolfo emerging as likely head coach
It will likely have to wait until May 1, due to the school’s human resources policy, but expect Jay Pandolfo to be named the next head coach at Boston University. The Burlington, Mass., native and former Terrier standout enjoyed a lengthy NHL career before jumping on the Bruins bench as an assistant coach. He spent the 2021-22 season in a similar post at his alma mater. Expect Pandolfo to be hired, as he’d be a good choice and it would be as seamless of a transition as possible.
When Pandolfo gets hired, the first move he’ll likely make is naming UConn assistant coach Joe Pereira as his right-hand man. The 2010-11 BU captain and West Haven, Conn., native has been an assistant under Cavanaugh since 2013. He’s known for his connections on the recruiting trail.
Obviously, if Pereira goes to BU, as expected, the dominoes would fall. Sacred Heart assistant coach Scott McDougall, a UConn alum, would be a logical choice to step in and fill the void there. Steve Bergin, another UConn alum and former Sacred Heart assistant, now with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, would be a candidate for the Huskies or Pioneers.
DAVID QUINN: Ex-BU coach says he wants back in NHL
Marcou pulls out at Union
Harvard assistant coach James Marcou has pulled out of contention to be the next head coach at Union. He was one of five candidates to interview for the head coaching position at the Schenectady, N.Y., school. Alums Joel Beal and Alex Todd, current assistant coach John Ronan and Clarkson assistant Josh Hauge are believed to be the other four candidates. The obvious choice, among those four, is Beal, the assistant coach at Providence. The Brantford, Ontario, native played for the Dutchmen from 2001 through 2005, serving as an alternate captain in his final two seasons. In addition to his stop at PC, he’s been an assistant coach at Union, Sacred Heart, and Miami.
If Beal gets the job at Union, possible replacements on the staff at Providence are Cape Breton Screaming Eagles head coach Chadd Cassidy, a college teammate of Providence coach Nate Leaman’s at SUNY-Cortland, American International assistant Cory Schneider, or Colby assistant Tyler Walsh, under whose late father Leaman worked at Maine as a graduate assistant. Walsh, working under Blaise MacDonald at the NESCAC school in Waterville, Maine, has helped resurrect that program. The team won the 2021-22 NESCAC regular-season crown.
The allure of the Big Ten
Expect there to be interest from several high-profile local coaches if there is a vacancy at Michigan. They might not get the job, but Providence’s Nate Leaman and Quinnipiac’s Rand Pecknold have built a reputation worthy of being mentioned at job openings such as in Ann Arbor.
New assistant coach at UMass
Following the conclusion of the season, UMass head coach Greg Carvel fired first-year assistant coach Matt Lindsay. The Deerfield, Mass., native and Williams College alum came to the Minutemen after serving as an assistant coach at Penn State for 10 seasons. He also had been an assistant at Princeton, Colorado College, Robert Morris, Utica and Hobart. Expect Lindsay’s name to surface for assistant coaching vacancies at Union, Princeton and Michigan State.
Carvel quickly moved to promote volunteer assistant Nolan Gluchowski. From Wixom, Mich., Gluchowski was recruited by and played for Carvel at St. Lawrence. He graduated from the Canton, N.Y., school in 2018. While he’s green, Gluchowski has been a volunteer for the last two seasons and certainly knows what Carvel expects of his players and assistants. UMass has enjoyed recruiting success in the state of Michigan under Carvel. Gluchowski’s knowledge of the state from growing up there, playing youth hockey for Honeybaked and his playing time in the USHL will all be valuable assets.
