The Harvard men’s hockey team has lost to Boston College three times in the past year—once at Kelley Rink, once at the FleetCenter, and now once behind the bench.

Ron Rolston, the Crimson’s top assistant, is leaving Harvard to join Jerry York’s coaching staff at BC, as both Rolston and Harvard Head Coach Mark Mazzoleni confirmed yesterday morning.

Rolston is widely regarded as one of the top assistant coaches in college hockey and has been praised recently for his efforts with Harvard’s strength and conditioning program. He was also in charge of defensemen, recruiting and the penalty kill during his three-year tenure at Harvard.

“I just felt that from my development as a coach, the opportunity was one I had to take,” Rolston said yesterday morning. “It’s a challenge I needed to approach. Hockey East is a great league and it’ll challenge me as a coach. Boston College is a great place for ice hockey with the success they’ve had there in the past five years.”

And while Rolston sees his new position at the Heights as a great prospect, he said it wasn’t easy at all to leave Harvard, where both he and Mazzoleni began coaching during the 1999-2000 season.

“This was a real tough decision for me because of what the coaching staff [at Harvard] has built up,” said Rolston, who e-mailed the team’s players Wednesday after finalizing the decision. “This is the best group of kids I’ve had a chance to work with in 11 years of coaching. [Assistant Coach Nate Leaman] and I spent a lot of time trying to find the exact right kid to help us win championships, and when you’re successful in bringing in a great group of kids, it makes this decision tough.”

Many Rolston recruits were key contributors to the Crimson’s ECAC championship this past season, Harvard’s first since 1994.

“I’ve had a great relationship with the rest of the coaching staff here—Nate and I have an apartment together, even,” continued Rolston, who noted that he is planning on maintaining that living arrangement next year. “It’s tough to move on from those relationships. I know where [the Harvard] program is going, and that’s one of the cons to moving to a different program. I told the guys that I’ll be over here to as many games as I can next year.”

Rolston’s new position became available when former Boston College associate coach Scott Paluch was chosen to succeed Buddy Powers as the head man at his alma mater, Bowling Green, on April 15.

Mazzoleni said York contacted him regarding his interest in Rolston three days later.

“I told him that if he decided to do it, I’d be disappointed, but happy for him at the same time,” Mazzoleni said of Rolston, who is a native of Fenton, Mich. “He’s not a Boston guy or a BC guy and doesn’t even know York very well. This is a real tribute to him. He’s been a winner wherever he’s been.”

“My relationship with Ron is outstanding,” Mazzoleni continued. “We have tremendous respect for one another.”

Mazzoleni indicated that the search for Rolston’s replacement would begin immediately.

“Harvard is becoming an attractive hockey program again, and due to that fact, I’m confident we’ll be able to attract a very qualified person to the program,” Mazzoleni said. “Harvard has made a progressive climb over the last three years, culminating with our NCAA berth last March. That, along with the Harvard legacy, will allow us to attract very good candidates.”

Rolston had a reputation of being a player’s coach at Harvard, something that sophomore winger Rob Fried confirmed.

“He has a great sense of humor and the guys loved being around him,” Fried said. “He was certainly part of bringing a lot of [recruits] to the team.”

Fried pointed out that while Rolston might be leaving, the off-season training program that has sparked significant improvements during his tenure will remain firmly in place.

“Coach Rolston gave us a program that will put us through the summer,” Fried said. “That shows what a class act he is.”

Junior center Dominic Moore said that the optimism surrounding Harvard’s run to the NCAA tournament is still very much in tact despite Rolston’s departure.

“He’s a great coach and a great guy, and it’s a shame that he left,” Moore said. “But it’s not going to be a problem for us. We have the same goals, and this is the same team. We’re going to take this thing where we need to go regardless of who’s here.”

Rolston, who has either played or coached in the CCHA, ECAC and WCHA, now looks to help one of Hockey East’s most storied programs rebound from a down year in 2001-02.

The Eagles made the NCAA tournament field for four straight seasons from 1997-98 through 2000-01, when they won the school’s first national championship since 1949 with a dramatic 3-2 victory over North Dakota in Albany, N.Y.

However, three key underclassmen on that team—Brooks Orpik, Krys Kolanos and Chuck Kobasew—left BC last summer to pursue professional hockey careers. That left the Eagles with little depth to battle through injuries to star players Ben Eaves and J.D. Forrest.

BC finished the year with a record of 18-18-2 (10-13-1 Hockey East) and was ousted from the league playoffs by Maine in two games.

Rolston, though, should find a very optimistic home in Chestnut Hill. Superstar forward Ben Eaves—who missed 15 of BC’s games this season due to injuries and the IIHF World Junior Championships—returns to lead a group that will be energized by one of the nation’s top recruiting classes.

Rolston came to Harvard from ECAC rival Clarkson, where he also spent three seasons. There, Rolston helped guide the Golden Knights to three NCAA tournament appearances, two regular season ECAC titles, and an overall record of 75-30-4.

Prior to that, Rolston spent five years at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The Lakers made the NCAA tournament during each of his seasons there and won the championship in both 1992 and 1994.

Rolston coached his brother Brian—the fifth-leading scorer on the Boston Bruins this past season—for two years at LSSU, including the first of the two championship seasons.

Rolston was a three-year letterwinner at Michigan Technological University, where he served as assistant captain during the 1989-90 campaign.

Harvard and Boston College are scheduled to meet at Bright Hockey Center in November and could also play in the Beanpot championship or consolation next February.