April 15, 2006
Pearl Extended at Holy Cross
CHN Staff Report
WORCESTER, Mass. — Fresh off the stunning upset of Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament, giving Atlantic Hockey and Holy Cross their first-ever NCAA win, Crusaders coach Paul Pearl was rewarded with a three-year contract extension by the school.
"This has been a priority for us and something we have been working on since the end of the season," said Holy Cross athletic director Richard Regan. "When you have a successful program, the coach always receives a great deal of the credit but we believe that Coach Pearl deserves an extraordinary amount of credit for the recent success of our men's ice hockey program."
First Regan had to wait to see whether potential suitors, Yale and RPI, would come calling for Pearl's services. Pearl was reported interviewed at both places, and was a finalist for the Yale position. The latter was filled today by Keith Allain, while Pearl is not considered among the finalists at RPI.
"Holy Cross is a special place for me and I feel we have a real opportunity to continue to build this program. It's a great place to be," said Pearl. "We have had some great kids in this program and I am excited about the student-athletes that will be joining us next September."
Pearl just concluded his 11th year at Holy Cross, his alma mater, and is the winningest coach in the program's history (181-148-31).
The Crusaders finished their most successful season ever with a 27-10-2 record and their first win in the NCAA Tournament. The 4-3 overtime victory over Minnesota on March 24 in the West Regional marked the first time that a No. 4 seed defeated a No. 1 seed in NCAA action, since the tournament expanded to 16 teams.
The Crusaders also won the Atlantic Hockey regular season and tournament titles for the second time in three years.
Holy Cross finished the season ranked No. 14 in the final USA Today poll, making it its highest national ranking in the program's history.
