Omnipresent Parker
Legendary Terrier Head Coach Jack Parker, a stalwart of BU hockey history, heads to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, becoming the first Terrier to be inducted
Jack Parker’s road to the Hockey Hall of Fame weaves its way from the Historic Boston Arena of St. Botolph Street where he made his mark on the ice, to Babcock Street and Walter Brown Arena where he grew his legend as a coach, to Harry Agganis Way where he left his legacy at Jack Parker Rink at Agganis Arena, with numerous stops to Causeway Street where he cemented his status as a legend of the game at the Garden.
Boston Arena
The Jack Parker Terrier hockey story at Boston Arena began with an 11 goal season on the BU freshman team in 1964-65. Parker—who wore #15 for the season—scored his first goal with the varsity team, at the Arena, in a 7-0 rout of Yale on November 30th, 1965, the 7th goal in that game.
Parker’s first season in Scarlet and White featured a trip to Olympia Stadium in Detroit when the Terriers received an invitation to the inaugural Great Lakes Invitational in 1965—Parker would return to the GLI three times as a coach, finishing 3rd in 1975 and 1978, before claiming the title in 2002. BU lost the opening game to defending National Champion Michigan Tech (2-4), before a rout of Colorado College (10-3) to finish 3rd in the tournament. The Terriers faced off again with the defending champions just over a week later, in the Boston Arena Christmas Tournament where again BU fell to MTU (2-5), to finish 2nd in the tournament. Through the first half of the year, MTU was the only team to score 4+ against BU and gave the Terriers 2 of their 3 losses. The Terriers finished Parker’s sophomore season 27-8-0, 2nd in the ECAC regular season, 3rd in the ECAC tournament, and 4th in the NCAA Tournament after earning their 5th Final Four—it was not called the Frozen Four till 1999—as an at-large bid. Parker ended the season with 9 goals and 13 assists.
Parker vs. the Eagles—Part I
In his first game against Boston College (9-2 W), Parker recorded an assist on a 3rd period goal. The game also featured future coaching rival Jerry York, who scored for the Eagles. The Parker-York rivalry began in their high school days when they attended rival high schools: Parker (Catholic Memorial), York (Boston College High School). The rivalry continued in their collegiate playing days, and would be rekindled in the 2000s and 2010s when York returned to the Heights to coach the Eagles. As a player, Parker and the Terriers were a perfect 7-0-0 against BC. Parker recorded 2 goals and 3 assists in 7 games against BC. He recorded an assist in every BU-BC game at Boston Arena. Parker recorded his only multipoint game against BC at McHugh Forum in Chestnut Hill.
The 1966-67 season was more of the same for Parker and the Terriers. BU entered January with just 1 loss, winning 11 of their 13 games in the first half. Their only loss came to the Eastern Olympic Hockey Club, a non-collegiate team, in overtime. The Terriers won two trophies before the ball dropped. Winning the 1966 ECAC Holiday Hockey Festival at Madison Square Garden—not to be confused with the ECAC Christmas Hockey Tournament at Boston Garden, which did not feature the Terriers—with a goal from Herb Wakabayashi. Wakabayashi (16-51—67) along with linemates Serge Boily (29-26-55) and Mickey Gray (24-24—48) set the program record at the time (now 2nd overall), for the most points by a line in program history that season. In the completely unrelated to the previously mentioned two tournaments, the Boston Arena Christmas Tournament, the Terriers shared the title battling to a 3-3 tie after 2 overtimes with Cornell, also undefeated in NCAA play at the time. The game featured Ken Dryden in goal for the Big Red, who would be a thorn in the side of the Terriers, winning each of the next 7 games against the Terriers—though never able to shut them out. The 2nd half opened with Jack Parker’s first multi-goal game as a Terrier in an 11-1 win over Clarkson. Unfortunately for the Terriers the next time out, in their first ever trip to Denver to face the Pioneers, BU was swept (1-7, 1-3), their first collegiate losses of the season. Fortunately for the Terriers they won 12 of their next 14 to close out the season, unfortunately for the Terriers their two losses came to Cornell in the ECAC title game and the National Championship game. BU ended the season 25-5-1 and claimed their 2nd ECAC regular season title, Parker finishing the season with 8 goals and 9 assists.
As a senior, Jack Parker got his first taste of Scarlet and White leadership after being named Captain of the 1967–68 Terriers. Redeeming themselves from their 3rd place finish two seasons earlier, BU took the New Brunswick Invitational in Canada, defeating Memorial University (8-2) and New Brunskwick (13-3) to open the season. In another bout of redemption from the season earlier, defeating the Eastern Olympic Hockey Club 3-1. The Terriers entered the new year with just 1 loss in their 10 game first half—the single loss coming to Harvard at Watson Rink (5-8)—and another Boston Arena Christmas Tournament title. After tying Cornell for the 1966 title, BU won the next 4, claiming 5 straight titles (6th overall after having won the 1957 title). No other team won more than 2 in the 17 years of the BU hosted—and co-hosted by Northeastern after 1956—tournament. Early January 1968 saw Jack Parker’s one and only hat trick in a 10-3 win over Loyola of Montreal on January 9th, 1968. However, the 2nd half of the season was not as successful as the 1st, with the Terriers going 11-8-3, all but one collegiate loss coming to teams from New York and New Jersey. In Parker’s last game at Boston Arena as a player, he recorded his last goal (and last point) as a Terrier in a multi-goal performance vs. Providence (14-1) on March 2nd, 1968. In his final season as a player, Jack Parker and the Terriers, ended the season 20-9-3, 5th in the ECAC and 4th in the ECAC Tournament. Parker finished the season with 14 goals and 11 assists.
Jack Parker finished his playing career with 31 goals, 33 assists for 64 points. At Boston Arena, Parker recorded 16 goals and 16 assists, and the Terriers posted a 36-8-1 record at the Arena during his time.
BU faced 29 different opponents during this team and were undefeated against 14 of them, led by NU (9-0-0), BC (7-0-0), and Providence (6-0-0).
Upon graduation, Jack Parker headed to Medford High School for one season before returning to BU as an assistant coach under Jack Kelley.
Boston Garden (Part I)
Jack Parker’s success at the Boston Garden began during his playing days. The Terriers were 8-3-0 at the Garden, including 6 straight from 1965 through the 1967 ECAC Tournament semifinal. BU claimed a Beanpot title in all 3 seasons that Parker played for the Terriers, going 6-0 and outscoring opponents 38-14. Parker recorded 2 goals and 5 assists at the Garden, including the 4th BU goal in the 4-1 win over Harvard in the 1968 Beanpot Title game, in which he was the captain. The only teams to beat BU at the Garden during this time were Cornell (2) and Clarkson (1).
Walter Brown Arena
The Defending National Champion Terriers new on-campus home rink, Walter Brown Arena, opened on November 27th, 1971 against Yale (6-3 W), coincidentally the first team that Jack Parker played at Boston Arena as a player. Behind the bench as an assistant for the Terriers first two National Championships—still the only Eastern team with back-to-back titles—Parker got a chance to move up to coach the B-team in the 1972-73 season under new head coach Leon Abbott. Jack Kelley left BU after winning the 1972 title to coach the New England Whalers of the WHA.
Jack Parker’s life and BU Hockey history was forever changed on December 21st, 1973. Leon Abbott was abruptly fired, due to recruitment violations that were eventually cleared, but the damage was done1. Parker took over head coaching duties for the Terriers and would not give up the reins for forty years.
“The House That Jack Kelley Built” was soon to become “The House That Jack Parker Rocked”. The Terriers of the 70s under Parker continued their dominance of Eastern hockey that started under Kelley. Under Parker, the Scarlet and White won 4 straight ECAC tournament titles from 1974-1977, in that span finishing 3rd in the NCAA Tournament in 3 of 4 trips—Ironically the only time they lost in the NCAA consolation game was the year they won the ECAC regular season title in that span 1975-76.
After 4 straight trips to the Final Four with not much to show for it, the 1977–78 Terriers were something different. Jack Parker’s Wiseguys2, as they were called, recorded one of the greatest seasons in program history. The team posted a 30-2-0 record—at .938 they hold the program record for highest winning percentage—with their only two losses coming to Yale on February 18th and Providence on March 10th in the ECAC tournament semifinal. The season also saw Jack Parker record his 100th win behind the bench in just 129 games—the fastest in program history. The team featured three of BU Four—the four Terriers who would help lead Team USA to their 1980 Olympic Gold Medal—Jack O’Callahan, Jim Craig, and David Silk. The team also featured Mark Fidler whose 35 assists would be a Freshman program record, till Jack Eichel recorded 45 in 2014-15 and whose 65 points would be the most by a Freshman until Eichel’s 71. The team also featured Dick Lamby, one of the greatest offensive defensemen in program history, and Tony Meagher, a member of the most dominant families in Terrier history not matched until the Hutsons four decades later. The 1977-78 team gave the Terriers their first national title under Parker and 3rd overall. The title was even sweeter, coming against arch-rival Boston College.
In the early 80s Jack Parker’s time in the ECAC would come to an end with a 162-70-6 record, 4 tournament titles, 2 Regular Season titles, and a Regional Title. Under Parker two Terriers won ECAC Player of the Year: Peter Brown (1975-76) and Cleon Daskalakis (1983-84) and three won ECAC Rookie of the Year: Mark Fidler (1977-78), Bill Whelton (1978-79) and John Cullen (1983-84). The Terriers held the record for most ECAC Rookie of the Year winners till 2007-08—despite not being in the conference for nearly 40 years. On March 1st, 1983, Jack Parker secured his 200th win, defeating Boston College 3-0. 17 games later, Parker became the all-wins leader, recording his 212th win, against Northern Arizona (6-5) at Walter Brown Arena.
Parker vs. the Eagles — Part II
As a coach, Jack Parker faced Boston College 155 times—the most of any team— holding a 78-65-12 record against them. The Eagles were the only team to record more than 47 wins against Parker’s Terriers. In the Beanpot, Parker bested the Eagles 20 times, losing only 8, including a 10-5 record in title games. In fact, Jack Parker won as many Beanpot titles against BC as BC won overall in the era. The Terriers never lost a Hockey East title game to BC in the Parker Era, winning the 1986 title and 2006 title game showdowns. In his coaching rivalry with Jerry York, Parker came out on top finishing 38-37-7, in their bouts. Indoors and outdoors, Parker bested BC, winning at Fenway Park 3-2 in 2010. However, the greatest triumph over the Eagles under Parker was the 1978 National Championship Game, the only time the ancient rivals faced off on college hockey’s greatest stage.
In 1984, BU, BC, Providence, Northeastern, and UNH came together to shake up Eastern hockey, splitting from the ECAC to form the Hockey East Association. New conference, same Terriers, as the team finished 2nd in the regular season standings their first two seasons before claiming their first Hockey East tournament title in 1986 defeating tournament #1 seed Boston College. On January 13th, 1988, Parker earned his 300th win, beating Wisconsin 10-6.
The Terriers’ interregnum of the 80s gave way to the 90s, where Jack Parker’s legendary status was solidified. After just 2 NCAA tournament appearances in the 80s, the Scarlet and White took a trip to the National Stage eight straight years from 1990-1998. A span that saw 7 Final Four appearances, including 5 straight from 1993-1994 and 4 Title game appearances. The decade saw Parker’s 400th (10/31/92), 500th (11/21/95), and 600th (11/27/99) wins behind the bench.
The 1994-95 was a fierce fight with the Maine Black Bears for the entire season. In four regular season games across 3 states—Maine, Massachusetts, and California—the Terriers could only pull out two ties compared to Maine’s two wins. The Scarlet and White featured numerous future NHL Stars that season including: Chris Drury (the Terriers’ first Hobey Baker Award winner), Jay Pandolfo (future Terrier Head Coach), Mike Grier, and Shawn Bates. The season also saw the return of eternal rival, Jerry York, who returned to coach Boston College. Despite failing to win the Great Western Freezeout at the LA Forum, the Terriers redeemed themselves with wins in the Mariucci Classic, Beanpot, and Hockey East Tournament. BU ultimately got their revenge on the Black Bears, beating them in the National Championship to claim the 4th Title and 2nd under Jack Parker.
The following two seasons saw BU make the Final Four twice more, including a National Title game appearance in 1997, falling to North Dakota (6-4), Jack Parker’s last loss in a National Championship game.
The early 2000s saw another dip in performance as their 30+ year old arena began to show its age—although Parker reached his 700th win on December 3rd 2004 vs. Boston College at Walter Brown Arena (3-2 W). However, a new era would dawn just down the road in “The House that Jack Built”.
Boston Garden (Part II)
If there’s one place, Jack Parker did his best work away from home, it was the Boston Garden. In 71 games coaching the Terriers there, he recorded 49 wins and just 22 losses, the .690 winning percentage, his best at any arena where he coached 40+ games. The Boston Garden was the home of the Jack Parker Invitational Beanpot for much of Jack Parker’s tenure. Parker’s Terriers lifted the trophy 10 times at the Garden compared to Harvard’s 5, Northeastern’s 4, and BC’s 3 during his tenure. Parker won 31 of 44 Beanpot games at Boston Garden. Parker held a whopping 17-5 conference tournament record at the Garden—ECAC (10-4-0), Hockey East (7-1)—winning 4 ECAC Tournament titles and 3 Hockey East Tournament Titles there. To top it all off Parker and the Terriers won their last 7 games at the Garden including the last two Hockey East tournaments there and the final Beanpot.
Agganis Arena
On January 2nd, 2005, a packed Walter Brown Arena saw the Terriers face the #1 Minnesota Golden Gophers, Brad Zancanaro scored BU’s only goal, the final goal of the game (1-2 L). The following night, in the brand new Agganis Arena, Brad Zancanaro opened the arena with a goal en route to a 2-1 win over the top team in the country and ushering in the latest chapter of Terrier hockey in what would become Jack Parker Rink at Agganis Arena. The arena was painstakingly designed by the coach, who wanted to give BU a top-notch home for many years to come.
The new arena made the Terriers more competitive in the modern college hockey world, with BU completing the “conference double”—winning the Hockey East Regular Season and Hockey East Tournament title—in the 2005-06 season, their first since the 1996-97 season.
Four years after the opening of Agganis Arena, the Terriers would reach the mountain top one last time under Jack Parker, showing the 64-year-old could still do it. The 2008-09 Terriers were a wrecking ball, they amassed the most wins in program history (35) while playing the most games in program history (45). The “Burn the Boats”3 team won every trophy in front of them 7 for 7 in trophies: from the Ice Breaker Invitational to open the season, the Denver Cup to open January, the Beanpot in February, the Hockey East Regular Season and Tournament, the Northeast Regional Championship, the National Championship. Additionally, the Captain, Matt Gilroy won the Hobey Baker Award—the 2nd under Jack Parker. The team featured 10 future NHLers the most since 1990-91, which also featured 10. The 2008-09 Terriers always found a way to win even when hope seemed lost, most notably in the National Championship game coming back from being down 3-1 with less than a minute to play to an overtime win.
TD Garden
The FleetCenter (now: TD Garden) opened much like the Boston Garden closed, with a BU Beanpot win in 1996. Followed by 4 more Terrier Beanpot titles. It wasn’t until the turn of the millennium that some other than Jack Parker’s Terriers lifted the Beanpot at the new arena. In all, Jack Parker’s team lifted 11 Beanpots at the arena with all other teams combining for 7 (BC - 7, NU - 0, Harvard - 0). Parker held a 36-20-0 record at TD Garden which included 3 Hockey East titles (1997, 2006, 2009).
On March 23rd, 2013 the Jack Parker Era at Boston University came to an end with a loss to UMass-Lowell in the Hockey East title game. Parker’s last win, fittingly, came the night early over Jerry York’s Boston College Eagles (6-3).
Parker ended his BU career with an 897-472-115 record. The wins are the most at one school in NCAA hockey history. He has a winning record as a head coach against every opponent he faced 22 or more times (15 teams). Parker as a player, assistant coach, and head coach was a part of 62.5% of BU wins all-time (as of the end of the 2024-25 season) and 59.5% of BU games. He is the leader in Beanpot Titles (21), NCAA Tournament Appearances (24), and Frozen Four appearances (13). BU’s record books, history books, and trophy cases are filled with people and moments that Parker played under, played with, and coached.
The three time Spencer Penrose (National Coach of the Year) Winner—1975, 1978, 2009—and five-time Hockey East Coach of the Year will add a new honor to his long list of awards alongside his 2014 Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey Award and 2010 Lester Patrick Trophy. 31 years after becoming a BU Athletics Hall of Famer, 30 years after being among the inaugural class of Beanpot Hall of Famers, and eight years after being inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, the long and winding road through the great cathedrals of college hockey will take Jack Parker to the greatest cathedral in all of hockey, the Hockey Hall of Fame. There is no better person to be the first Terrier immortalized in Toronto. The greatest leader in BU Hockey history will once again lead the Scarlet and White to glory. Jack Parker is forever and always a Hockey Hall of Famer.
For a deeper look on this, check out former Boston Hockey Blog Director, Belle Fraser’s incredible piece on this
Tim Rappleye has a great book on this season that goes deep into this season: Jack Parker’s Wiseguys: The National Champion BU Terriers, the Blizzard of ’78, and the Road to the Miracle on Ice
Check out Scott Weighart’s Burn the Boats: A Seven-Championship Season for Boston University Hockey for a more in depth look at the 2008-09 Terriers