Mike Cavanaugh is in his eighth season as the University of Connecticut head coach, but he hasn’t forgotten his roots alongside the sport’s all-time greatest mentor.
Though Cavanaugh (North Andover, Mass.) certainly wished his Huskies could take points out of back-to-back games against his former boss Jerry York’s top-ranked Boston College team over the weekend, Saturday night’s encounter at Freitas Ice Forum — a 4-2 win for the Eagles — still had a special ending.
“I told him that I helped him get enough wins. I didn’t need to help him get one more,” Cavanaugh said after York reached yet another milestone in his historic career with his 1,100th career victory. The two spent 18 years together on the Eagles bench before Cavanaugh’s move to UConn, winning four national championships and nine Hockey East tournament titles with BC.
The team’s accomplishments always have come in front of celebrating the many personal achievements that have come throughout Watertown, Mass., native York’s storied career.
After all, it is the great players and surrounding assistant coaches who have helped cement his Hockey Hall of Fame resume, including more wins than any coach in the history of the game.
After BC’s road to a national championship ended suddenly last March with the cancellation of the Hockey East and NCAA tournaments, this season so far has been filled with many successes. The Eagles stand at 9-2-1 and hold the No. 1 spot in the national polls for the second straight week.
However, junior captain Marc McLaughlin (North Billerica, Mass.) made sure to set the results aside and leave a little time for celebration and reflection following the series-ending victory.
“We were all honored to be a part of his 1,100th win,” said McLaughlin, the center who scored nine goals through his first two seasons as an Eagle and now has a team-leading seven, including four game-winners, and 12 points in 12 games this year.
“His success obviously speaks for itself, but something he does that is so great is how he pushes us every single day to be the best we can be on the ice and off the ice as human beings. That speaks to the type of person he is and his leadership. He’s super positive and his energy every day is contagious throughout the whole room.”
“I don’t think one guy in that locker room knew that was his 1,100th win,” junior forward Casey Carreau (Acushnet, Mass.) said. “When Marc gave Coach that puck after his speech in the locker room, it was just crazy to reflect and realize how lucky we are to be taught by a coach of his demeanor and his stature.”
The recent wins have been especially rewarding for York’s Eagles, who have developed incredible depth in their lineup even without star sophomore Alex Newhook’s services in all but one game due to an injury following his return to BC from playing in the World Junior Championship with Team Canada.
McLaughlin isn’t nearly the only Eagle who has seen an increased role in the offense, as 16 skaters have scored goals and 20 have recorded points this season. Freshmen Nikita Nesterenko, Colby Ambrosio and Bruins prospect Trevor Kuntar all have lit the lamp five times, helping their class account for 34 percent of the team’s point scoring.
Carreau broke out for a goal and an assist in each game against the Huskies, marking the first back-to-back scoring efforts of his college career. The combination that Carreau has developed with rookies Harrison Roy (Lakeville, Mass.) and Danny Weight since the season began in late November has been a key part of the productive, diverse offense.
“We’re developing some excellent players that are playing more than they have in the past,” York said. “Clearly, Casey’s line was outstanding this weekend. You can call them secondary scoring threats, but when they score, they’re big factors in the game. We can count on them not only to defend but also score. Those guys have helped us a lot. The depth is really important.”
Carreau’s story is one of perseverance and trust from York and the rest of his staff. After playing regularly for the Eagles as a freshman, the former Thayer star returned to the junior ranks and then played in just three games during his first year back — his sophomore year — at BC.
As a Massachusetts native, Carreau knew all about York’s legacy of developing players and trophy-winning teams and always had dreamed to be a part of the tradition himself. Yet another example of York’s positive coaching, Carreau in the midst of his best stretch of college hockey just a year later.
“Seeing everyone Coach York has brought in, it was honestly an honor to have talked to him the day he offered me,” Carreau said. “Before I committed he basically said he had faith and believed in me and that his main goal was to win. That’s what he’s been doing for years now and that’s something I wanted to do. The culture he brings to every guy in that locker room is second to none.”
Saturday’s game also included a visit from Geno Auriemma, the UConn women’s basketball coach who also earned his 1,100th win earlier in the week in Storrs. The two had briefly met years back at a coaching roundtable that also featured Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics, but they struck up a conversation after the game.
“He’s a good guy, and Mike (Cavanaugh) told me that about his relationship with Geno,” York said. “He came up and said, 'Congratulations Coach, you have 1,100 wins now,' which is secondary to the point Geno has 1,100 wins. It’s unbelievable. I just couldn't fathom that. Just two random strangers passing that night.”
Like Auriemma, York is still churning out exceptional teams one year shy of 50 into his coaching career.
Even though the Eagles sit in a high place in the Hockey East standings, looking to clinch their record 18th regular-season championship in a few weeks’ time, the coach’s eyes are on improvement.
“I think our team is maturing, we’re playing pretty well and our record would indicate that, but I think we can do more and be better in all three zones,” York said. “That’s just the coach in me, I guess.”
It is that style that coaches like Cavanaugh notice and have gravitated toward for nearly a half-century. Even deep into his tenure at UConn, his appreciation for the very beginning is still as important as ever.
“He took me out of nowhere to be his volunteer GA at Bowling Green in 1992 and then hired me at BC,” Cavanaugh said. “He’s a terrific mentor. We talk quite a bit. I just wish he got 1,100 against his next opponent, but I congratulate him and I’m happy for him.
“He’s the best. To do this for 49 years and average over 20 wins a year is pretty remarkable.”
