Jack Parker on Now, and Then
BU’s legendary hockey coach talks about what it takes to make it to the top
Get the Flash Player to see this media.
Click on the video above to watch Jack Parker reflect on BU hockey. Check in tomorrow for more with Parker, plus great profiles upand down the ice, from the freshman offensive line to the seniordefenseman and captain — heart and soul.
If you ask Jack Parker about the last time the Boston University men’s hockey Terriers won the national championship, he’ll tell you about the time they didn’t.
“The 1994 team was a very, very good team, and they steamrolled everybody right until the national final game,” says Parker (SMG’68, Hon.’97), who’s been head coach of men’s hockey since 1973. “But when we got to the final game, we got beat 9-1. And I think that loss was kind of the catalyst to make sure we won it the next year.”
That next year, 1995, was the last time BU won the national championship — and earned collegiate hockey’s triple crown with a Beanpot and Hockey East laurels besides. Now it’s 2009. Beanpot? Check. Hockey East? Check. Previous season catalyst — also known as a 1-5-1 nonconference season in 2007–2008? Check.
“The 1995 team was a very similar team to this team — there was a lot of confidence, a lot of depth,” Parker says. “The chemistry is very similar to this. It was run by the seniors, mature players, and everyone followed suit. There will only be one key difference, and that’s if this team doesn’t win the national championship. It will be interesting to see if we can catch up.”
As the hockey Terriers prepare for the Frozen Four on Thursday, Parker — who’s earned 2 NCAA titles, 21 Beanpots, 4 consecutive ECAC crowns, and 7 Hockey East titles and is the first coach in NCAA history to win 800 games at one school — spoke with BU Today about the 1995 and the 2009 teams, plus what’s changed about coaching hockey, the student athletes who play, the game itself, and what keeps him coming back for more.
Robin Berghaus can be reached at berghaus@bu.edu. Jessica Ullian can be reached at jullian@bu.edu.
Comments & Discussion
Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.