Jay Pandolfo '96 was introduced as the 13th head coach in Boston University men's ice hockey history on Monday at a press conference held at the Francis D. Burke Club Room at Agganis Arena.
"This is a great day for our program," director of athletics Drew Marrochello said. "We want guys in this program like Jay Pandolfo, and that starts with naming him as our leader."
"The BU hockey program isn't broken," Pandolfo said during his opening remarks. "We're going to have high expectations, so we have to have high standards. It's not simply about the wins and the losses. It's about striving to be the best we can be, day in and day out."
The captain of the 1995-96 Terriers, Pandolfo helped guide BU this past season to the program's 31st Beanpot, a trophy he won twice as a player. Pandolfo, a First Team All-American and Hobey Baker finalist as a senior, becomes the first Division I men's ice hockey coach to have won an NCAA championship and two Stanley Cups as a player.
"I want the identity to look like it used to when I played at BU," Pandolfo said when addressing the media. "I thought our teams were always hard to play against. I thought we had the mindset that we're going to own the puck and when we don't have the puck we're going to do whatever we can to get it back. We're going to be hard to play against and teams are going to know when they play Boston University."
Prior to his return to BU last season, Pandolfo spent five years as an assistant coach with the Boston Bruins and helped them reach the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in four straight seasons. The Burlington, Massachusetts, native joined the Bruins' management team following a 15-year playing career, first as a player development coach in the 2014-15 season and in 2015-16 as the team's director of player development, during which time he worked with the team's drafted prospects throughout their system.
"Jay came in and we found right away that he was so dedicated and that he always wanted us to get better," rising senior captain Domenick Fensore said. "Every time he talked everyone gravitated towards him because he has so much knowledge about the game. You can see the passion he has for the game. I think he's going to do an amazing job as our head coach."
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up