Parker’s 58, but Walsh said it seems like he’s “been around for a 100 years in Boston.”

“He knows everybody,” Smith said. “He has a million stories. He can tell you about everything.”

Parker is Boston. Always has been. He grew up here, went to high school here (Catholic Memorial), college here (BU) and joined the coaching staff at his alma mater one year after graduating.

His deep voice grumbles with the local accent and he’ll drop an ‘r’ every now and then—two distinct features that contribute to his famed press conference quips.

Mazzoleni, meanwhile, is from Green Bay, Wis., and…well…sounds like he’s from Green Bay, Wis. (He doesn’t coach college hockey. He coaches callege hackey.)

He’s animated yet maintains strict focus. He likes to reference Vince Lombardi. And sometimes he works so late that he’ll sleep in his office rather than complete the 45-minute drive home.

Mazzoleni is now past Boston’s college hockey learning curve, but that wasn’t the case during his first season, when his coaching rivalry with Parker began with a 2-1 loss in November 1999 and, on a different level, at the 2000 Beanpot luncheon.

Mazzoleni was absent at the luncheon because of bad weather he encountered trying to get back from Ohio, where he was visiting his wife and children, who had yet to move to Boston with him.

That allowed the Beanpot lifers in attendance to poke a little fun at the No-Show New Guy. After then-Harvard assistant Ron Rolston, Mazzoleni’s roommate at the time, explained the situation, Parker—sovereign king of one-liners—couldn’t resist.

As reported by USCHO.com, he said:

“Ronnie mentioned that it’s hard for Mazz’s six-year-old son to understand what’s going on. You know, his dad is living with a man in Boston....It’s hard for me to figure, too.”

Hmm. Not much to add there, so we’ll fast-forward last spring.

During the buildup to the NCAAs, Parker told Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan that Harvard was “playing as well as anyone in the country.” Mazzoleni then jokingly referred to the media-savvy Parker as a “sandbagger.” (Parker later expressed his displeasure with the comment.)

Then the “sandbagger,” somewhat ironically, ate a sandwich as he sat in the stands during Harvard’s practice before their first round game.

When reporters told Mazzoleni that Parker was present at his practice, Mazzoleni told the Herald, “I wouldn’t do that. We were running a couple of new things. That surprises me.”