March lion
York's BC teams roar in the crunch month
Sometime after 6:30 tonight, when he casts his eyes toward the rafters inside Conte Forum, Benn Ferriero will embrace a sense of validation for all the work that has been required to fulfill his passion for hockey. It will be a banner commemorating Boston College's 2007-08 NCAA championship, a production Ferriero very much was a part of, having played in all 44 games for the Eagles.
There will be a sense of pride, of course, but truthfully, that is for later in his life. For now, the ceremony and what will go up to the rafters represent something more basic to Ferriero, a sort of metaphor, if you will.
"It will mean that last year is over," he said.
Which is good, because why?
"That means it's time to start a new one."
Indeed, it is. Even as leaves remain on trees and a winter's bite sits weeks away, sheets of ice are being prepared for a college hockey season that purists might suggest is too long. Jerry York understands their lament, for at another time in his life, he was a player whose signal to don the blades was the Thanksgiving turkey. But times "have evolved and we've evolved with it," said York with a shrug. He is entering his 37th year of coaching and his 15th at his alma mater, but at the age of 63, York appears as excited about the game as he was as a wide-eyed kid in Watertown.
"Hey, these kids love hockey," said York, explaining why the October start doesn't necessarily ruffle him, nor does a schedule that stretches virtually to the Red Sox' home opener. "If we weren't having practices and games, these kids would be out look ing for ice."
No worries there, for York has given his Eagles a robust way to get things underway, tonight's visitor being Wisconsin. It's a matchup of programs soaked in tradition, just two years removed from their national championship encounter in Milwaukee. The Badgers won that night, 2-1, but it's BC that is coming off of a national championship and currently sitting with the No. 1 ranking.
"Wisconsin gets their attention," said York.
So, too, will York and his coaches be focused on Mike Eaves's Badgers, but for them, there is a bigger picture at stake - that is, a season that bloats to six months. With such an expanse of time, the opportunities are plentiful for slumps and bumps, injuries and disappointments, so York concedes that the challenge for coaches is to focus on today's game, while keeping in mind that the main goal is to get his team at its best for March.
He offers the words with a layer of resignation in his voice, as if he senses a suggestion that he has unlocked some sort of secret puzzle.
"None of us," said York, "have a magic wand."
When it comes to York, it only seems that way, because the numbers say otherwise.
A merry month
If you put aside York's first three seasons at BC (1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97), when he was restoring the program and building with players of his choosing, his record at The Heights is 294-122-40, but nowhere do the numbers shine any brighter than in March. It's the time of year when teams are positioning themselves for postseason play and then facing elimination games almost on a nightly basis. They are the games that leave indelible imprints on your year, and over the last 11 seasons, York's teams have gone 60-16-4 in March and four times (1997-98: 6-0-1; 1998-99: 8-0; 2000-01: 7-0; 2006-07: 8-0) have been undefeated in that most pressure-packed month.The latest installment may have been his best work yet, for late last winter, the Eagles were struggling. In the aftermath of a Beanpot win over Harvard, BC dropped four of five games and was barely hanging on to fourth place in Hockey East. It is not York's style to rant, nor to seek out panic buttons. Words, he has always thought, work wonders.
"He kind of challenged us," said Ferriero. "I think he knew that we're competitive, and when we're challenged we want to rise to the occasion."
In dramatic fashion, they did. Beginning March with a tie and a loss, the Eagles were forced to win their next game to secure home ice in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East tournament. They did. What's more, they then ran the table, winning eight consecutive games to nail down not only their eighth Frozen Four appearance in 11 seasons, but their second national title in eight. It may have been York's finest coaching effort, because once again, he achieved something men in his profession aim for - his team played its best when it counted most.
"No question, the goal of all coaches is to develop consistency and get increased improvement," said UMass-Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald. "Jerry and Jack [Parker of Boston University] have always done that well, and I've always said that one reason why was those Mondays in February. They've always used the Beanpot as a precursor of what to get ready for in March."
Said New Hampshire coach Dick Umile, "It's your goal, and obviously, we're one of those teams that didn't play our best at the end. But it's the hard part of the job."
Though it's a mere footnote lost in the glare of BC's national title, Umile's Wildcats were the class of Hockey East from October through February, their 19-5-3 record giving them the regular-season title by a comfortable margin. UNH had gone 3-0 vs. BC in the regular season, but with the calendar squarely into March, the Eagles were in their comfort zone and beat the Wildcats, 5-4, in the Hockey East semifinals. Umile gives York, a longtime friend, credit, because he concurs that there is no magic wand to be waved.
"It is a long season, but it's all about playing at a certain level," said Umile. "Yes, you want to be playing well going into the Hockey East playoffs, but at the same time you can't lose focus on the regular season."
York agrees.
"March is just a child of what is done in October and November," he said. "In the back of your mind, you're thinking, 'Here's where we want to be,' but October and November are important. You're trying to decide who should play with whom. You're figuring out your team. You've got new players and you've got returning players in a different role. You think you know, but you never really do know."
Missing ingredient
Like nearly every other collegiate coach, York has seen his teams hit slumps - 4-5 last February, a spotty 5-4 in January the year before, 3-4 in February 2006 - but in each instance, they have recovered to get into the Frozen Four. One year, they just couldn't. An 0-4 record in March 2002 sent the Eagles' season reeling to an early finish. Oh, if he only did have a magic wand, York would have reached for it, but what coaches like him truly depend on is team chemistry, and that was a difficult component to find in 2001-02.The Eagles had won the national title in the spring of '01, and the departure of the senior class meant Brian Gionta and his electricity were gone. York was prepared for that, but when three underclassmen - Brooks Orpik, Chuck Kobasew, and Krys Kolanos - signed with the NHL, the coach concedes it created a void he never truly filled. Through October and November and into December, January, and February that long up-and-down winter, York mixed and matched, moved and adjusted, but never found that consistency or any sort of team rhythm.
It happens, said Umile, who would bottle the formula and make millions if he could figure it out.
"Team chemistry," he said, "is the key, no doubt."
Just don't ask York to assess what sort of team chemistry his Eagles will bring forth in this long 2008-09 season. Heck, don't even ask him about what sort of team he'll have.
"I've got players. I've got a roster," he said. "We have to become a team."
Jim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com. 