College hockey icons Dean Blais, Tony Granato, Jenny Potter and Jerry York will make up the United States Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2020.
The class of 2020 will be formally enshrined together with the yet-to-be-named class of 2021 at a formal induction in December 2021.
“The class of 2020 is an extraordinary group whose remarkable contributions to our game will be felt for generations to come,” said USA Hockey president Jim Smith in a statement. “As fans, we’ve had the great pleasure of watching them play or guide teams to championships at all levels of the game. We are thrilled to welcome Dean, Tony, Jenny and Jerry to the list of immortals who have so positively impacted our sport.”
Blais, a native of International Falls, Minn., who played at Minnesota 1969-73), also coached at the NCAA level at North Dakota and Omaha.
He was head coach at UND for 10 seasons (1994-2004) where he led the team to two NCAA titles (1997, 2000), seven NCAA tournament appearances, including three Frozen Fours, four WCHA regular-season titles and two WCHA playoff championships.
During his nine campaigns (1980-89) as an assistant coach with UND, he helped the team to a pair of national titles (1982, 1987) and a third-place finish in the 1984 NCAA championship.
He earned the Spencer Penrose Award as the top men’s collegiate coach on two occasions (1997, 2001) and was three times named WCHA Coach of the Year (1997, 1999, 2001).
Blais concluded his coaching career with an eight-year stint at Omaha (2009-17) where he led the program to its first-ever NCAA Frozen Four appearance in 2015 and two NCAA tournament berths overall. He finished with a 146-133-30 mark at UNO and is the school’s all-time winningest coach.
In his 18-year run as a college head coach, Blais finished with a record of 407-246-84 with 14 winning seasons.
Granato, from Downers Grove, Ill., put up 220 points in a prolific four-year career at Wisconsin (1983-87), where he stands today fourth all-time in school history in points and third in goals (100). He was a two-time All-American for the Badgers and a finalist for the 1987 Hobey Baker Award following his 73-point senior season.
A member of the UW Athletics Hall of Fame, Granato was named team MVP as a senior and also earned WCHA Student Athlete of the Year honors.
After 13 seasons coaching in the NHL, Granato was named head coach Wisconsin, a position he continues in today. He was named the 2017 Big Ten Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award that year as national coach of the year.
Potter was an All-American in each of her four NCAA campaigns from 1998 to 2004.
She played one season with Minnesota (1998-99) before finishing her final three years with Minnesota Duluth (1999-00/2002-04).
The two-time WCHA Player of the Year was a three-time finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award and also a three-time All-WCHA First Team selection.
The Edina, Minn., product helped the Bulldogs to the 2003 national championship, a year in which the team also earned both the WCHA regular-season and playoff titles. She averaged over two points per game in her three-year UMD career, finishing with a school-record 256 points (108 goals, 148 assists) in 102 games.
Potter was inducted into the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017.
Upon her retirement as a player, Potter served as head coach for two seasons at Trinity and one season at Ohio State.
The winningest coach in college hockey history, York enters his 49th season as an NCAA Division I head coach in 2020-21 and his 27th campaign guiding Boston College, where he has led the program to four NCAA championships (2001, 2008, 2010, 2012), four national runner-up finishes, and 12 NCAA Frozen Four appearances.
He is the NCAA’s all-time leader in NCAA tournament wins.
In addition, York’s teams have also captured 11 Hockey East regular-season titles and nine Hockey East tournament titles.
Over the course of his BC coaching career, York has guided his teams to winning records in 22 of his 26 seasons to date, including in 22 of the past 23 campaigns. He has coached two Hobey Baker Award winners and 18 NHL first-round draft picks.
The Watertown, Mass., native’s coaching career began with two seasons (1968-70) as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Boston College, before moving to Clarkson where he spent two campaigns as an assistant coach before taking over as head coach of the Golden Knights in 1972 as the youngest head coach in the nation at age 26. In his seven seasons as the bench boss for Clarkson, he led the team to six ECAC playoffs and claimed the 1977 ECAC regular-season title.
On April 10, 1979, York took over as head coach at Bowling Green where he spent the next 15 years. His term with the Falcons included an NCAA title in 1984, two Hobey Baker winners, six NCAA tournament berths, four CCHA regular-season titles, and a CCHA tournament title.
York played at Boston College from 1964 to 1967 where he was a three-year letterman for the Eagles. He led BC to the 1965 Beanpot title and an NCAA runner-up finish. In his final campaign as team captain, York helped the Eagles to a 19-8 record and earned All-America First Team laurels. He was also named team MVP, a member of the All-New England team, and received the Walter Brown Award, which is presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England.
York concluded his college career with 134 points (64 goals, 70 assists) in 81 games.
Among his many highlights, York is enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame (2019), Bowling Green Athletic Hall of Fame (2003) and Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame (1982), was honored with the Lester Patrick Trophy in 2010, and earned the Spencer Penrose Award in 1977.
He is the only coach in the history of NCAA hockey to win 1,000 or more games and one of just three coaches in NCAA history to lead two different schools to NCAA titles.
