BOSTON - Head women's ice hockey coach Brian Durocher '78, who has been a member of the Boston University Department of Athletics for 36 years, will retire from coaching at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. 
 
A 45-year coaching veteran, Durocher has been the head women's coach at BU since the program was elevated to varsity status beginning with the 2005-06 season. No coach has won more Hockey East women's tournament titles than Durocher as he has led BU to five, including four straight from 2012-15. The first two Hockey East teams to reach the NCAA women's championship game were Durocher's 2010-11 and 2012-13 squads.
 
Durocher has accumulated 336 victories over 18 seasons and his win total ranks 10th all-time amongst Division I women's coaches. He guided BU to six NCAA tournament appearances – all in succession – from 2010 to 2015. 
 
"College hockey has been a big part of my life for the past 45 years and I consider myself very lucky to have traveled that path," said Durocher. "As I announce my retirement from the coaching world, I must thank Boston University, President Robert Brown, Drew Marrochello and Jack Parker for putting me on the BU stage on four different occasions. I also want to recognize Colgate, Brown and American International for the opportunity to work at those elite institutions.
 
"As a head coach, you are only as good as your players and assistants. They define your success, and I am grateful for the fantastic student-athletes that have excelled at all four programs. Each year they pushed themselves to be successful on the ice, in the classroom, and throughout their respective communities. I hope they all know how much respect and appreciation I have for their effort and accomplishments."
 
While building BU into one of the nation's top programs, Durocher developed five Terriers into All-Americans and six have competed in the Olympics, highlighted by three-time gold-medalist Marie-Philip Poulin. BU players have accumulated 40 Hockey East All-Star awards under Durocher including 19 first-team accolades. His players have also combined for 20 Hockey East All-Rookie Team nods.
 
Forty-two of his former players have gone on to play professionally and on four occasions an assistant on his staff has been hired as a head coach, including three in Division I currently (Katie Lachapelle – Holy Cross, Liz Keady Norton – Dartmouth, Tara Watchorn – Stonehill).
 
As well-liked and admired as anyone in the sport, Durocher received the Ace Bailey Foundation Good Guy Award in 2020. Over decades he also built fantastic relationships with people throughout the BU community. He received an Honorary Scarlet Key Award from the university in 2018 and was the recipient of the Bruce Lehane Coaching Award in 2019. 
 
Durocher will remain in the athletic department as Special Assistant to the Director of Athletics.
 
"It's safe to say that no one will ever have a larger dual impact on our hockey programs like Brian has," said BU director of athletics Drew Marrochello. "His dedication to this university and to everything our department stands for is incredibly admirable, and there is an extensive list of people who are grateful to have been coached by him or lucky to have worked with him.
 
"Brian was obviously the perfect person to be the first leader of this program and exceeded expectations in terms of how quickly he placed us among the nation's best. Whether it was being the first Hockey East school to play in an NCAA women's title game or the magical run at Hyannis or having four Terriers on an Olympic gold medal-winning team before our program was a decade old, the achievements under Brian's watch are truly remarkable."

Named the program's first head coach on June 3, 2004, Durocher wasted little time in guiding the Terriers to success. After an inaugural campaign in 2005-06 that set the foundation, year two produced an appearance in the Beanpot final and set a high watermark for wins with 19. In 2007-08, BU returned to the Beanpot championship game and made its postseason debut in the Hockey East semifinals en route to Durocher being named the league's Coach of the Year.
 
In just the program's fifth season (2009-10), the Terriers hoisted their first Hockey East trophy as they posted an overtime win over UConn to become the first Massachusetts school to win the league crown. The following year, BU claimed its first Hockey East regular-season title and added another two seasons later. BU has finished in the top 10 of the USCHO.com national rankings nine times, including seven consecutive years from 2009-15. 
 
While a student at BU, Durocher was a four-year letterman as a goalie and co-captain of the Terriers' 1978 NCAA Division I national championship team. Durocher first served as a full-time assistant on Jack Parker's staff from 1980-85. He began his coaching career immediately after graduation when he was named an assistant at AIC and returned to BU two years later.  
 
In 1985, he left the Terriers to join the staff of the late Terry Slater at Colgate. He was responsible for attracting the players who backboned the 1990 team that won the Eastern College Athletic Conference title and advanced to the NCAA title game. 
 
In December 1991, after the untimely death of Slater, Durocher was named Colgate's interim head coach, a position he retained through the conclusion of the 1992 season. Later that fall, he was named assistant coach at Brown University, a position he held until he returned to BU in 1996.  
 
"Jack Parker, Terry Slater, Bob Gaudet, Wayne Lachance and Gary Dineen all gave me a chance to learn and grown under their tutelage," added Durocher. "Let me also tip my cap to the peers who have believed in me as a collegiate coach and leader. This included many assistant coaches on the men's side and the fantastic staffs I have had with women's hockey at BU. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the numerous support staffs.
 
"This run would not have been possible without the love and support of daughters Kirsten, Kara, Kelsey and their respective families. Last, and certainly not least, is Laura Durocher, who has been a rock for our family and a supporter for the entirety of my most enjoyable hockey career."
 
A native of Longmeadow, Mass., Durocher won the Eberly Trophy his freshman year at BU as the most outstanding goalie in the Beanpot and was an All-East selection. His senior year, as the Terriers finished with a 30-2 record and won the NCAA title, he posted a 14-2-0 record in goal.