Since we can't be the Final Four, the NCAA appears to be trumpeting
hockey as Championship Weekend. Whatever. Phinal Phour works for
me and is funner to explain.
GO BLUE
I have to begin with the obligatory tooting. Congratulations to
Coach Berenson and the 1995-96 Michigan Wolverines. NCAA Champs!
It was definitely a rebuilding project, but after twelve seasons at
the helm Coach B can look back on a record of 300-171-25 (.630),
six consecutive NCAA tourney appearances (8-7-0,.533), four CCHA
regular season titles (one being a co-championship), two CCHA post-
season crowns, eight consecutive Great Lakes Invitational titles
and now a national championship. He can look forward to defending
all of the above next season.
HOCKEY-L
My sincere apologies to the Hockey-L contingent in Cincinnati. I
don't think I caught up with a non-CCHA Hockey-Ler following the
Hobey ceremony. Most of the weekend was spent with fellow Michigan
fans and/or in Room 1826 at the Hyatt. As always, I enjoyed seeing
some familiar faces in the Hockey-L group as well as meeting a few
new ones. To all of those that I've become friends with this
season but didn't see in Cinci, I look forward to when we do meet
in person. Particularly the UAF gang.
COLORADO COLLEGE 4 VERMONT 3 (2OT)
The following excerpt appeared in last Friday's ANN ARBOR NEWS. It
came from the AP with no byline.
(begin quoted material)
CONTROVERSIAL GOAL SENDS COLORADO COLLEGE INTO FINAL
...
The winning goal came at 9:31 in the second overtime in what
the NCAA said was the eighth longest game and second longest
semifinal game in history.
With it, Colorado College (33-4-4) advanced to play Michigan
on Saturday.
Neither team was able to score in the frantic, final five
minutes of regulation, or in the first 20-minute overtime
period.
By that time, officials had determined that the ice at
Riverfront Coliseum needed major resurfacing and had ordered
that play be suspended if no one scored after a 10-minute
overtime period.
With just 29 seconds left before the game would have been
halted, Remackel scored on the putback, ending the season for
Vermont (27-7-4).
(end quoted material)
The first time I read that I understood it to mean that the NCAA
was going to stop play after 90 minutes and have a long delay.
When I read it now I think it could be just and over dramatic way
of saying that they went to ten minute overtime periods instead of
twenty. Turning to the game, I admit to quietly cheering for CC.
Not only being a West thing, but CC-Mich is a classic match-up from
the early days of the NCAA tourney. But Vermont proved to be a
difficult team not to cheer for. Perrin, St Louis and Thomas lived
up to their billing. I still haven't seen a reply of the overtime
goal. However, I've spoken to people that will go to their grave
believing it was a valid goal and to others that will die believing
UVM was robbed.
MICHIGAN 4 BOSTON UNIVERSITY 0
Coach Berenson later said that UM dominated BU as much as they had
anyone this season. I agree. It was every bit as impressive and
then some as the double digit pastings of teams like UIC and Miami.
Coach B referred to the 2-0, 17-1 shots on goal opening as "the
best ten minutes of the season". I'd make an argument for "ever".
I don't remember a Michigan team looking better over a ten minute
stretch. I also don't remember a BU team looking so chippy,
presumably a product of frustration later in the game. I was
worried that UM would be felled with injuries or DQs, because at
times it appeared that Michigan was ready to go toe-to-toe with the
Terriers. I know that I was looking to pop Grier, Lachance and
Wood and I was 20+ rows away from them. I'll also admit that, had
BU been victorious, I would have cheered for them over CC on
Saturday. I'd prefer to see the title come West, but winning for
Travis was a bigger priority. Lastly, kudos to the entire UM
defense for playing an aggressive yet near mistake-free game. The
guy that really jumped out at me was Chris Frescoln, who may have
had the game of his career defensively.
MICHIGAN 3 COLORADO COLLEGE 2 (OT)
Everyone saw the game, right? Yes, that was Bill "Mr Underrated"
Muckalt with the opening goal. Yes, that was Warren Luhning going
into chump-mode with some really bad penalties in the second
period. Yes, that was Marty Turco, with an assist to UM's penalty
killers, keeping the Wolverines in the game in the second period.
Yes, that was Steven "Mr Defense" Halko making the offensive move
which resulted in Mike "The Goal - Do It" Legg tying it up. Yes,
that was Red "Mr Conservative in past NCAAs" Berenson going for the
jugular on Michigan's next power play when he put five forwards on
the ice for the first time since maybe the Blue-White game. Sweet.
In the stands, it didn't seem like a national championship game
because Michigan was playing! Amazingly, even with UM's recent
history and that ever present pessimism among Wolverine backers, I
and everyone around me seemed to feel that this was Michigan's game
at the end of regulation. We even had a game-winning goal pool,
which pushes that fine line between confidence and arrogance. My
first instinct was Greg Crozier. One of my buddies had tabbed
Brendan "What Me Hobey" Morrison all along. Halko once again
started the play, this time by keeping the puck in the CC zone. I
thought Crozier was going to put the initial chance in. Then I
thought Muckalt was going to do it. When Muckalt's rebound came
out to Morrison everyone knew the game was over, but it took
FOREVER for Brendan to put that puck behind Bach. I can't say that
I'll ever forget it. I turned to my friend Pete and we simply
hugged each other. Before we let go, Steve (who picked Morrison
for the goal) was in on it as well. He must have jumped the
railing of the upper deck to get there so fast. Ironically, the
first two people I hugged were both wearing a #9 (Morrison) jersey.
DO THE BASH, THE BARKAN BASH
A room full of hockey knowledge, a tub full of beer and someone's
misfortune usually leads to a good time. Hence, the 1996 UIC
Dispersal Draft, which was held late on Friday night. IMO, Ohio
State (with Paula Weston at the helm) gained the most with the
acquisitions of goaltender Adam Lord and forwards Mike Peron and
Jeff Edwards. WTKA's Jim Hunt was handling the Michigan selections
and did the opposite of everything I advised him of. Remind me not
to hire Hunt as a GM if I ever own a hockey team. He passed on
Mike Peron to take Darren Tymchyshyn, so he could say his name on
the radio more often. Jim - If Tymchyshyn were at Michigan you'd
only say his name once a game, when you announced the scratches.
The only good pick that he made was getting a bucket of practice
pucks. I tried to select Sparky the Dragon, but Lake Superior beat
me to him muttering something about needing a mascot that forms a
more formidable obstacle to see around. !=^) And, Jon Barkan
noted that the best on-ice officials were at home for the NCAA. No
they weren't, they were at the Barkan Bash! :-)
YOST ICE ARENA
While congratulating Michigan on Saturday's victory, Patricia Scott
took time to call Yost a dump. Normally I would jump all over
that, but I noticed that Patricia is from Mt Pleasant MI. That's
punishment enough.
RIVERFRONT COLISEUM
Now we're talking dump. Forget the bad ice. All I can say for
this place is that the seats were comfortable. I'm not sure what
color they were, it looked like a someone spilled a giant box of
Ju-Ju Fruits or something. The concessions sucked, the restrooms
sucked and there was enough second hand smoke in the air that the
teams probably had to wash their jerseys between each period. Me
thinks Cincinnati is not the place for hockey, but Michigan fans
will always remember it.
MICHIGAN CAREER STATS
Most people have no interest in these, but the statistician in me
was itching to get a look at them. Unofficial career stats for
1995-96 players:
NO NAME POS YR GP G A PTS PIM +/-
9 Brendan Morrison C JR 112 71 125 196 107 66
10 Kevin Hilton C SR 157 57 109 166 46 78
19 Jason Botterill LW JR 108 67 58 125 354 48
18 John Madden F JR 118 54 63 117 67 70
28 Warren Luhning RW JR 114 50 62 112 286 70
15 Mike Legg F JR 118 39 61 100 66 51
16 Bill Muckalt RW SO 80 47 48 95 76 48
24 Steven Halko D SR 162 9 55 64 96 105
6 Harold Schock D JR 121 10 50 60 152 96
27 Blake Sloan D JR 118 10 43 53 163 81
8 Matt Herr F SO 77 29 21 50 106 31
20 John Arnold F SR 91 11 22 33 58 21
13 Greg Crozier W FR 42 14 10 24 46 17
25 Bobby Hayes C FR 43 8 13 21 32 15
4 Chris Frescoln D JR 63 2 17 19 106 45
23 Dale Rominski RW FR 35 8 7 15 37 17
2 Mark Sakala D SR 88 1 14 15 62 38
17 Sean Ritchlin RW FR 27 7 7 14 24 -1
5 Peter Bourke D JR 55 2 11 13 28 33
3 Bubba Berenzweig D FR 42 4 8 12 4 25
26 Chris Fox D SO 32 1 11 12 24 22
35 Marty Turco G SO 79 0 8 8 32 --
11 Justin Clark W FR 11 1 2 3 2 1
29 Gregg Malicke G SO 10 0 0 0 0 --
30 Greg Daddario G FR 2 0 0 0 0 --
NAME POS YR GP W L T GAVG SPCT SO
Marty Turco G SO 79 61 14 2 2.44 89.5 7
Gregg Malicke G SO 10 0 0 1 1.69 91.9 0
Greg Daddario G FR 2 0 0 0 0.00 100. 0
THE SENIORS
John Arnold's legacy is his work ethic, which doesn't show up on
the stat sheet. Thankfully, Arnie did take at least one shift in
the CC game. He was a quiet leader on this team and arguably its
best dresser.
Steven Halko should capture UM's best defenseman award for the
third consecutive year. He entered as a highly touted offensive
defenseman and leaves as a highly touted stay at home defender and
leader. NHL rights: Hartford.
Kevin Hilton's offensive numbers tailed off the final month of
the season, but his defense didn't. He deservedly received All-
CCHA and All-America (second team) honors this season to go with
his CCHA scoring title. He'll be remembered for his great two-way
and clean (23 minor penalties in 157 games) play. NHL rights:
Detroit.
Mark Sakala was a fifth year senior this year and was in my
personal doghouse during the months which end in "BER". After
seeing him work hard over the summer, I set high expectations for
him. I should have known from experience that Sakala doesn't show
up until the second half of the season. Like 1995, he saved his
best play for the stretch drive and NCAA tournament, where he was
solid. Too bad he couldn't be on an eight year plan where he only
played in the second semester. I also finally realized this season
what a great ambassador for Michigan hockey Sakala is. If I had to
send one player to a community function and wished to leave a
positive impression of UM hockey I'd send Sakala. (Brendan
Morrison and Blake Sloan are other candidates.)
NET POSITIVE
From his post, it appears that Michigan has lost J Michael Jackson
to Minnesota forever. I can only hope that the Wolverines made
some fans like JMJ in Cincinnati, even if everyone thinks the band
plays The Victors way too much. (They save it up just for the NCAA
tourney, you know.)
WEB SITES & THE SUPERHIGHWAY
I was finally introduced to the web this season. What perfect
timing. Many thanks to Lee and Tim for maintaining the college
hockey homepage. I actually get more info from USA TODAY's site,
but I tout Lee and Tim just as much because they're kindred souls.
They reap few rewards for their many hours of work driven by their
love of college hockey. They'll get bumped out someday when all of
the conferences and teams have official sites, but those of us that
have enjoyed their site will always remember their "grassroots"
effort to promote our game. Steve, Jon, Cindy, et al at USA TODAY
also get two big thumbs up for the best overall sports site in the
world. I don't think I've visited ESPN since bookmarking USA TODAY!
Of course, I can't say enough about Keith and Jeff with the CCHA
site. I'd be lost without it. I'd probably be institutionalized
without it, because it usually supplies me with my stat fix.
Hockey-L and now Info-Hockey-L continue to be the primary source
for anything and everything related to college hockey. Bill, Mike
and Wayne (who is going to get mentioned whether he wants to or
not) are great! And, I'll get a final plug in for Chris Lerch's
article in USCHM. I really enjoyed it, Chris.
THE QUOTE
There have been several great comments from the NCAA tournament.
I've yet to see the game and post-championship interviews on ESPN,
but I plan to soon. (If CC had won, I'd have watched the tape four
or five times by now, isn't that interesting.) However, my
favorite comment was made by UM captain Steven Halko at the pep
rally for the victors. Liberally paraphrasing: "All Michigan fans,
whether they were in Cincinnati, watching on ESPN or listening to
the radio, will always remember where they were and what they were
doing when Brendan scored that goal." YES!
GROUNDED IN REALITY
The national championship still seems somewhat surreal to me. I
celebrated, I partied, I bought the souvenirs, I had a block M
shaved into my head, etc. I still had to go to work on Monday. I
still have to get my tax return finished soon. The thing that hit
me most was not seeing one of my buddies in Cinci then finding out
that he couldn't attend because his young son had part of his lung
removed this week. Trevor, all the best little guy.
After being so close to this team as a fan, and the team being so
close to the title throughout the 1990s, it's sometimes hard to
distinguish what is elation and what is relief. I'm still glassy-
eyed right now, but I plan to enjoy this for a LONG time.
To Paula (who mentioned it) and all of my other friends around the
CCHA, you're right, Yost is going to be a major bitch next season.
What happens to an already arrogant and obnoxious bunch following
a national championship?! Tune in next season. !=^)
John Haeussler ([log in to unmask]) publisher of BLUE ICE, D'SCREAM
and anything else I damn well please...
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN WOLVERINES - 1996 NCAA CHAMPIONS!
CENTRAL COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION - 6 NCAA TITLES IN 13 YEARS!
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.
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