Hello all,
 
Well, another year has passed us by in the college hockey portion of our
lives. I just wanted to put my spin on the crowning weekend of college
hockey.
 
First, the ice thing. Yes, it was a pain in the butt. Yes, it was a
distraction. But it shouldn't be what is remembered most about our trip to
Cincy. The ice was the same for all teams and there were three great hockey
games played on that ice. I thought that Steve Cady and his crew from Miami
did a great job fixing everything once the problem started. It was fine for
the championship game and I think they did a great job getting it fixed for
the late game on Thursday night. Therefore, the only talk I would like to
hear about ice from now is in our glasses.
 
Second, Michigan is one great hockey team. Think about their last four wins
of the season. LSSU, Minnesota, Boston University and Colorado College. If
there's anyone in this country that has any questions of who's the best,
just take a look at the polls and see that UM beat the best teams in the
country to take the trophy home. Red Berenson and his coaching staff is to
be commended for preparing his team to play those teams. The game against BU
was a perfect a game as I've ever seen a team play. About ten minutes into
the first period, the shots were 17-1 UM. That's impressive to do to the
defending national champion. After talking to Brendan Morrison and Marty
Turco, you get the feeling that these kids were happy to win for themselves,
but happier to win for Red. They know the pressure that he was put under the
last few years to win the title. Hell, it's the only thing he hadn't won.
Well, he did it. And for all the doubters (like myself), you can only feel
happy for a guy who had to take as much abuse as any coach in the country as
far as "when will you win the big one." Kudos to the UM program!!! Red, your
day did come, I for one, hope you enjoy it!
 
Third, if I ever have a son (a sick thought I know), and he wanted to play
college hockey, I would want him to play for Don Lucia. After getting a
chance to spend some time with Don and get to know him on and off the
record, he is one of the classiest men in the game today. He loves his
players and it showed this week. He's an even keeled coach who doesn't get
too high or too low. He laughed as his players busted on him at the Thursday
press conference and he cried when Peter Geronazzo and Jay McNeill spoke of
how much this program and their coach meant to them. His son skated before
the team did on Thursday and Don's family was never far behind him when he
was off the ice. He promotes everything that is good about this sport on and
off the ice. We need more coaches and people like Don Lucia in our lives to
make us realize that life doesn't have to be that hard or that bad. More
importantly, we need Don to show us that you don't need to cheat to win.
Just be yourself and sell what you believe in! Look at what this man has
done with a program with NO HOME RINK!!!!! It's just incredible! The only
question that I never asked him this weekend, and if he's reading this
please let me know, what he saw in Colorado College's program that he saw to
take the job???
 
Fourth, what great players were up for the Hobey Baker and what a great kid
Brian Bonin is. Just like we need more Don Lucia's on the bench, we need
more Brian Bonin's on the ice. This is just one great kid. He's the kind of
ambassador that we need to promote the game. He smiled and did every
interview without complaining (including going online with us). He's smart
in the classroom and just is the kind of kid I hope to raise someday. I was
fortunate enough to meet his parents this weekend and they too are very nice
people. But, the people who didn't win the trophy this year that were in
Cincy were just as great. Vermont's Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin showed
the people in the west that they are really great players. BU's Jay Pandolfo
and Chris Drury were gracious in their loss to UM and never forgot Travis
Roy for one minute. As Pandolfo skated for the handshake for the last time
this season, he had Roy's jersey in hand one last time. And Morrison, who
wanted to win for his coach more than himself. Kudos to all their families
for raising good hockey players and better people.
 
Last, what great people college hockey fans are. I have made many great
friends over the years through this sport (you know who you are) and I make
new ones each year. It's great to be able to see our little fraternity get
together once a year for a few drinks and a lot of laughs. More importantly,
great hockey!!!! It was great to John Haeusseler, with no voice, on the
verge of tears when UM won the title. It was great to see WTKA's Jim Hunt
look at me on Saturday night and ask me what we can argue about now that
they have won it all. Well, we can start arguing about next year in
Milwaukee!!!!
 
I'd just like to thank all of you for another great year in college hockey!
It has been a wild and wacky year and I hope that with our help, we can help
Travis walk again!! I also hope that all of us at USA TODAY can continue to
build a strong relationship with all of you and we hope to expand our
coverage next season to try and meet your needs and wants. More importantly,
I hope that all of you have a safe and happy summer and that we can all
start the discussion of who's number one again in September.
 
Is it too early now to pick Northeastern???
 
Yours in the bond of chaos in college hockey,
Jon Barkan
[log in to unmask]
 
PS---For those of you making your reservation early, the 9th Annual Barkan
Bash will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee on March 26-March 30!
 
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