His first batch of four-letter seniors having just made their tracks, Brian Durocher may now symbolically commence the second phase of his tenure behind the Boston University women's hockey bench.
Late Tuesday, BU athletic director Mike Lynch divulged his having bequeathed Durocher a three-year contract extension, observantly citing the coach's track record of ceremoniously flooding a new women's pond at Walter Brown Arena in 2005 and proceeding to all but exponentially thicken that pond each year since.
"Brian continues to make our women's hockey team stronger every year, and just four years into this process we have already become a national contender," Lynch proclaimed in a statement Tuesday.
"Retaining Brian's services was a priority for us," he continued. "And we are very happy to know that he will remain a Terrier for years to come."
Granted, it technically has not been a year-to-year improvement across the board. The Terriers did dip from a surprise 19-12-3 transcript in their second year of existence back to a sub-.500 finish the following year at 15-17-3. Then again, 2006-07 exposed a nonconference record much more pristine than the team's league record before those roles reversed in 2007-08.
Besides, that 2007-08 campaign culminated with a progressive stamp as BU put in its first appearance in the Hockey East playoffs.
Reeling off that pleasurable milestone, which all but neutralized the vinegar of an 8-0 semifinal lashing at the hands of New Hampshire, BU proceeded to return to the semis this past spring, ultimately engaging none other than crosstown rival Boston College in a genuine arm-wrestling bout.
Though the experienced Eagles would prevail, 3-2, the Terriers' valiance was hardly lost on the pollsters, who at season's end glued them to the #10 slot amongst the nation's best. And they could take that placing as a reward for a sparkling stretch drive. Leading up to the BC engagement -would surely garnered everyone some publicity points- they had closed out the regular season on a 4-0-2 run and subsequently disposed of Northeastern in the Hockey East preliminary round.
And never at any time in 2008-09 did BU drop more than two consecutive decisions. That is just about the very breed of consistency an aspirant contender must have from the saturation of interleague games in the autumn through the Hockey East pennant race in the thick of winter, and the Terriers seem to have captured that after one half of it or the other had been lacking at a time.
"There are still a number of years ahead of me," Durocher said in his statement. "But I think it's great to have the confidence and the support of the administration to move forward with the program, which is still a pretty young one to say the least."
And young this team shall be in the coming season.
Looking ahead to where he should be -i.e. the immediate future- Durocher is raring to confront his most comprehensive rebuilding project as of yet. With the graduating class of 2009 -aka the program's inaugural true freshman class- laid a grand total of 10 personalities, everywhere from starting goaltender Allyse Wilcox, to decorated defenders Amanda Shaw and Sarah Russell, to all-time scoring leader Gina Kearns.
In all likelihood, Wilcox will be more than reasonably supplemented by seasoned back-up Melissa Haber, and the Terriers are returning four of their top five point-getters, including radiant rookie Jenelle Kohanchuk.
Still, Durocher's task ought now to be getting his unofficial Second Generation to surpass the standards raised and left resting by the likes of Kearns, Shaw, and Wilcox.
That First Generation of pupils had been recruited to at least notify the nation that BU had a women's program. Now comes a new contract, appropriately coupled with a new cast, with a new task of wooing the nation's selection committee.
In orthodox developmental fashion, Durocher made a smooth stride with each of his first four seasons. The next three seasons will be his to do the same thing with a more advanced tome.
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