Len Ceglarski

Leonard Stanley Ceglarski (June 27, 1926 – December 16, 2017) was an American ice hockey player and coach.[1][2] He was an All-American left wing on Boston College's 1949 NCAA championship team, and was captain of the 1950–51 squad.[3] He was also a member of the U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the silver medal at the 1952 Winter Olympic Games in Oslo, Norway.[4] Ceglarski was also known as a baseball player. While at Boston College, his .429 batting average as a senior second baseman was best in New England.[3]

Len Ceglarski
Biographical details
Born(1926-06-27)June 27, 1926
East Walpole, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedDecember 16, 2017(2017-12-16) (aged 91)
Playing career
1948–1951Boston College
1951–1952US Olympic Team
1954–1955Worcester Warriors
Position(s)Left wing
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1958–1972Clarkson
1972–1992Boston College
Head coaching record
Overall673–339–37 (.659)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1949 NCAA National Champion
1966 ECAC Hockey Champion
1966 ECAC Hockey Tournament Champion
1978 ECAC Hockey Tournament Champion
1980 ECAC Hockey East Region Champion
1980 ECAC Hockey Champion
1981 ECAC Hockey East Region Champion
1984 ECAC Hockey East Region Champion
1985 Hockey East Champion
1986 Hockey East Champion
1987 Hockey East Champion
1987 Hockey East Tournament Champion
1989 Hockey East Champion
1990 Hockey East Champion
1990 Hockey East Tournament Champion
1991 Hockey East Champion
Awards
1966 Spencer Penrose Award
1973 Spencer Penrose Award
1974 Boston College Varsity Athletic Hall of Fame
1985 Hockey East Coach of the Year
1985 Spencer Penrose Award
1990 Lester Patrick Trophy
1991 Clarkson Athletic Hall of Fame
1992 US Hockey Hall of Fame
1993 National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame
1996 Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey Award
2001 Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing the  United States
Olympics
Silver medal – second place 1952 Oslo

Coaching career

A native of East Walpole, Massachusetts, Ceglarski taught and coached at Walpole High for four years before beginning his collegiate coaching career. He took the reins of the Golden Knights’ program from retiring Clarkson mentor Bill Harrison.[5] At Clarkson, he had various responsibilities. He was responsible not only for varsity coaching, but for the freshman team, the rink, the equipment, and the laundry, and served as his own secretary and the team's skate sharpener.[5]

Clarkson College

Ceglarski began his coaching career at Clarkson College of Technology in 1958. When Ceglarski began his coaching career in the late 1950s, he was the fourth head coach in Clarkson's storied tradition.[5] It took Ceglarski only four seasons to guide the Knights to their first NCAA championship game.[5] In 1962, Clarkson beat Michigan 5–4 to make hockey history by becoming the first Eastern team to defeat a Western squad in the first round of the Final Four since 1954. Clarkson fell to Michigan Tech in the 1962 title game, closing out a 22–3–1 campaign.[5]

During the 1965–66 season, Ceglarski boasted his best Clarkson squad, winning the ECAC Tournament and once again making it to the deciding game in the NCAA tournament. The Knights defeated Denver, 4–3, before falling to the Michigan State Spartans in the title game. The club had a 24–3 record in 1965–66.[5] At the end of the season, he was awarded his first Spencer Penrose Trophy, which goes annually to the national coach of the year. He also earned this honor in 1978 and 1985.[5]

For the third time in less than 10 years, Ceglarski's team advanced to the NCAA Championship when the Knights battled Cornell for the 1970 NCAA championship. After skating past Michigan Tech, 4–3, in the semifinals, Clarkson fell just short against the Cornell Big Red, suffering a 6–4 loss in Lake Placid. The club finished the season with a 24–8 record.[5] He led the Golden Knights to three national championship games, compiling a 254–97–11 record. He left Clarkson in 1972 to become hockey coach at his alma mater Boston College. The vacancy left by Ceglarski would be filled by Jerry York, who would also go on to coach at his alma mater, Boston College.

Boston College

When long-time Boston College coach John "Snooks" Kelley retired as the Eagles coach in 1972, Ceglarski decided to return to his alma mater.[5] While at Boston College, Ceglarski guided the Eagles to 419 victories through two decades at the Heights. Ceglarski retired in 1992 with 689 career wins. At the time, it was the most in Division I history; as of 2017, he ranks ninth on the all-time list, and third all time at BC, falling short of Kelley's 486 wins. Ceglarski's vacancy would be filled by interim coach Steve Cedorchuk, but after two seasons, Jerry York again followed Ceglarski by becoming the Eagles' head coach.

Coaching legacy

When Ceglarski concluded his 34-year hockey coaching career in 1992, he retired with the most victories ever amassed in the history of the game at the college level. His first win came with Clarkson's 10–2 win at Providence on December 5, 1958.[5] His teams at Clarkson and Boston College won 673 games, lost only 339 and tied 38. Over that time, Ceglarski-coached teams had only four losing campaigns.

Serving for 14 years as the head coach of the Clarkson Golden Knights, Ceglarski compiled a .717 winning percentage, posting a 254–97–10 overall record from 1958–1972.[5] He guided Clarkson to four NCAA Tournament berths and its first ECAC Tournament title. Ceglarski's teams finished as runners-up in the NCAA Tournament in 1961–62, 1965–66, 1969–70 and 1977–78. The first three were the only Clarkson squads to have reached the national championship game.[5] Ceglarski's 1977–78 BC squad also finished as NCAA runner-up, losing to Boston University in the finals.

In 34 seasons (1958–1992), he became the winningest coach in the history of college hockey with a record of 673–339–37. In 14 seasons at Clarkson, he had a record of 254–97–10 and a record of 419–242–27 in 20 seasons at Boston College. He is the first man in college hockey ever to coach 1,000 games.[3] He was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974.[3]

Honors

Several honors have been bestowed upon Ceglarski. He was a 1974 member of the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1990, he won the Lester Patrick Trophy, an annual award presented for outstanding service to hockey in the United States. Ceglarski was also inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992, and was named the 1996 recipient of the Legend of College Hockey Award.[2][5] In 1993, Ceglarski was inducted into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame.[6] Ceglarski was the winner of the 1984–85 CCM / Bob Kullen Award. Sponsored by CCM, the award is given in the name of Bob Kullen, who served as head coach of the New Hampshire Wildcats. The award goes to the head coach who is considered to have demonstrated the highest number of significant accomplishments over the course of the season as voted by the conference's head coaches.

The Len Ceglarski Award for Individual Sportsmanship was given by the league to one player who had consistently demonstrated superior conduct and sportsmanship on the ice. The directors of Hockey East established the Award in 1992.[7] Each school nominates one player and the award is then voted upon by head coaches, sports information directors and league officials. The first winner was Joe Flanagan, a senior forward from the University of New Hampshire. One of Ceglarski's former players, John T. McLennan honored his mentor by creating a $1.5 million endowment to fund the Leonard S. Ceglarski Chair at Clarkson. McLennan was offered an athletic scholarship to play hockey at Clarkson in 1964, and McLennan earned a master's degree in industrial management and went on to become president and CEO of Bell Canada before retiring in 1997. McLennan credits Ceglarski with the success he achieved in his life. The chair will fund the Clarkson men's head hockey coach position.

Playing record
Year Team   GP G A P PIM
1950–51 Boston College 20 21 13 34 0
1951–52 U.S. Olympic Team N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
1954–55 Worcester Warriors 3 0 1 1 0

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Clarkson Golden Knights (Tri-State League) (1958–1961)
1958–59 Clarkson 10–8–12–3–0T-2nd
1959–60 Clarkson 7–13–00–4–03rd
1960–61 Clarkson 14–8–01–3–03rd
Clarkson: 31–29–13–10–0
Clarkson Golden Knights (ECAC Hockey) (1961–1971)
1961–62 Clarkson 22–3–113–1–13rdNCAA Runner-Up
1962–63 Clarkson 20–4–211–2–22ndNCAA Consolation Game (Win)
1963–64 Clarkson 17–7–110–5–18thECAC Third Place Game (Loss)
1964–65 Clarkson 18–7–011–4–03rdECAC Third Place Game (Loss)
1965–66 Clarkson 24–3–011–1–01stNCAA Runner-Up
1966–67 Clarkson 14–8–18–6–16thECAC Quarterfinals
1967–68 Clarkson 16–7–111–5–02ndECAC Third Place Game (Win)
1968–69 Clarkson 19–7–212–5–14thECAC Third Place Game (Loss)
1969–70 Clarkson 24–8–014–3–02ndNCAA Runner-Up
1970–71 Clarkson 28–4–116–2–12ndECAC Runner-Up
1971–72 Clarkson 20–10–012–8–06thECAC Quarterfinals
Clarkson: 222–68–9129–42–7
Boston College Eagles (ECAC Hockey) (1972–1984)
1972–73 Boston College 22–7–113–5–13rdNCAA Consolation Game (Win)
1973–74 Boston College 16–12–08–11–011th
1974–75 Boston College 11–15–26–12–212th
1975–76 Boston College 15–13–111–9–18thECAC Quarterfinals
1976–77 Boston College 18–11–113–9–15thECAC Quarterfinals
1977–78 Boston College 24–10–014–9–05thNCAA Runner-Up
1978–79 Boston College 16–14–010–12–011th
1979–80 Boston College 25–7–118–3–11stECAC Quarterfinals
1980–81 Boston College 20–8–313–6–32ndECAC Quarterfinals
1981–82 Boston College 19–11–013–8–05thECAC Quarterfinals
1982–83 Boston College 15–13–29–10–211th
1983–84 Boston College 26–13–015–6–0t-2ndNCAA Quarterfinals
Boston College: 227–134–11143–100–11
Boston College Eagles (Hockey East) (1984–1992)
1984–85 Boston College 28–15–224–9–11stNCAA Consolation Game (Loss)
1985–86 Boston College 26–13–323–9–21stNCAA Quarterfinals
1986–87 Boston College 31–8–026–6–01stNCAA Quarterfinals
1987–88 Boston College 13–18–310–14–25thHockey East Quarterfinals
1988–89 Boston College 25–11–416–6–41stNCAA Quarterfinals
1989–90 Boston College 28–13–115–6–01stNCAA Frozen Four
1990–91 Boston College 27–12–016–5–01stNCAA West Regional Quarterfinals
1991–92 Boston College 15–18–310–9–25thHockey East Semifinals
Boston College: 193–108–16140–64–11
Total:673–339–37

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Awards and honors
Award Year
AHCA Second team all-american 1949–50 [8]

See also

References
  1. "Former BC hockey coach Len Ceglarski dead at 91". BostonGlobe.com. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  2. "Len Ceglarski". www.ushockeyhalloffame.com. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  3. "Player Bio: Len Ceglarski ::". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  4. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Lenny Ceglarski". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  5. Clarkson Athletics – CLARKSON ATHLETIC HALL of FAME INDUCTEE
  6. "Len Ceglarski « National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum". Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  7. Hockey East Online Archived 2012-04-13 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "1949–1950 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
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