According to reports, Boston University head coach Jack Parker will announce his retirement in a news conference today at 3pm ET at Agganis Arena on the ice surface named for Parker.
Parker is in his 40th season as head coach at his alma mater. He has an 894-471-115 career record and won national championships in 1978, 1995 and 2009. Parker ranks third on the all-time coaching wins list, but he has been through his share of turmoil.
Last September, a school task force found a “celebrity culture” existed among BU men’s hockey players, and its report called for the elimination of the executive athletic director position that Parker held. That task force was assembled after two Terriers players were charged with sexual assault. Corey Trivino pleaded guilty, while charges against Max Nicastro were dropped. Both players were dismissed from the program. In February, Parker suspended defenseman Alexx Privitera for the rest of the season, citing “on-ice discipline problems.”
Behind the bench, Parker is one of the most accomplished coaches in college hockey history. He trails only Jerry York and Ron Mason on the all-time wins list.
Along with his three national championships, he has won 11 conference titles — four in the ECAC, seven in Hockey East — and led the Terriers to 21 Beanpot crowns.
A three-time winner of the Spencer Penrose Award as the top coach in Division I men’s hockey, Parker was in 2010 given the NHL’s Lester Patrick Award for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.
Parker played center for the Terriers from 1966 to 1968, then went right into coaching after graduation. After a year at Medford (Mass.) High School, he joined Boston University as an assistant coach and then the B-team coach.
Geoff Discher is Examiner.com's National College Hockey Examiner as well as the Minnesota Golden Gophers Hockey Examiner. Leave a comment below, or feel free to reach him at Disch61@hotmail.com with comments, story ideas, or any general talk surrounding college hockey. You can find him on Facebook as well by clicking here and here, joining the conversation from the social media side as well. He's always chock full of fact and opinion.
Until next time, I’ll see you at the rink!
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