Bernard M. Burke Jr. was an American ice hockey

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

who won a silver medal at the 1950 World Championships and captained the

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

to the national championship in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

Career

Burke first began attending

in 1942, joining the ice hockey team under John Kelley. After his freshman year, however, the university, along with many of its contemporaries, suspended its ice hockey program due to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

' involvement with

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Burke left college and joined the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, spending approximately three years in the service. After leaving the Navy Burke returned to BC for the 1946–47 school year and rejoined the hockey team. He eventually became the starter and helped the Eagles reach the inaugural

NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I cham ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

. Burke was selected as

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

for his senior season. He led the Eagles to their best record in team history, finishing their regular season with a 17–1 record. Burke held the fort in two tough battles to win the New England Tournament (the precursor to the Beanpot) and garnered the Eagles a second consecutive bid to the national tournament. Boston College won both games to capture the championship, with Burke being named to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

All-Tournament Second Team. After graduating, Burke joined the US National Team for the 1950 World Championships, winning a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

. Burke retired following the 1950 season and, after a year off, returned to his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

to serve as the coach for the freshman team. He remained in that position until the NCAA ended the restriction for freshman on varsity teams, after which he became the goaltending coach for the varsity squad. He retired in 1993, after more than 45 years at Boston College.

Honors

Burke was inducted into the Boston College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Bernie 1925 births 2013 deaths American men's ice hockey goaltenders Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey players Boston Olympics players Ice hockey people from Newton, Massachusetts United States Navy personnel of World War II Military personnel from Massachusetts United States Navy sailors NCAA men's ice hockey national champions AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans 20th-century American sportsmen