The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition-Sports - Thursday, September 9, 1993 - Page 7 TTke Two, Again Wu uIin4 Berenson right man Li rceh the brink for the second straight year by Chad A. Safran Daily Hockey Writer For the Michigan hockey team, the 9992-93 season was greeted with high expectations. Led by one of the strongest defen- sive corps in the nation, goalie Steve Shields and a high-powered offense, coach Red Berenson called his club "the best team" in his nine years at the helm of the Wolverines. Berenson's team had possibly its best season in his nine years. The team won 30 games, led the nation in goals- against-average and was rated one of the top five teams in the nation for the entire season. Yet, the ultimate goal, an NCAA title, was not achieved. The Wolverines (30-7-2 overall) je their talent to gain a berth in the CAA semifinals against the Maine Black Bears at Milwaukee's Bradley Center. Maine (42-1-2) entered the game ranked No. 1 in the Albany Times- AnionTop Ten for all but the first week of the season when Michigan opened the yearas the top squad. Maine came in to the matchup having dropped only one contest, a7-6 overtime defeatat the bimnds of Boston University in Febru- The Wolverines were on an emo- tional high entering the game following their thrilling4-3overtime triumphover Visconsin in the NCAA quarterfinals at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. David Roberts scored at 1:35 of the extra ses- sion to send Michigan on a trip to Mil- waukee. It was the second consecutive year that Michigan won in overtime at eJoe to earn a trip to the national 1mifinals. buring the 1992 tournament, the WolverinestoppedNorthern Michi- gan. Although Michigan and Maine played April 1, the game proved to be anything but a joke. The Wolverines, playing their best hockey of the season, jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals ftom forwards David Oliver and David Roberts and took a2-1 leadinto the first ssion. However, the Black Bears tied the score at two early on in the second stanza. Then, junior defenseman Aaron Ward notched his fifth tally of the sea- son, apower-play goal on a two-on-one with forward Cam Stewart, giving Miichigan its final lead for the season, 3- 2. The Wolverines were 24-0 entering the third period with a lead while the Black Bears had never trailed entering Sfinal stanza. Sometimes statistics lie. This was one of those times when the truth would have been better. Michigan became conservative in its style, amassing only three shots in the final period, compared to 15 for Maine. The Black Bears tied the game in the final five minutes ofregulation on Cil Ingraham's second of the game. e game went to overtime, but not before the Wolverines managed three solidchances on netminderGarth Snow. "It was pretty apparent that the mo- mentum was in Maine's favor from the third period on," Berenson said. "We needed to take them out of the game,but we couldn't do it." Then the extra session arrived. So did the 1:36 mark. The time that will stay in the minds of the players forever. Bat is when Maine defenseman Lee Siunders scored his seventh goal of the season, sending the Wolverines on a return flight to Ann Arbor. "Give Maine a lot of credit," Berenson said. "They kept coming at us when we're down and they showed that they deserve to be No.1." Maine went on to win the school's first national title in any sport with a 6-5 triumph over ending national champion Lake Su- for the job once more by Brett Forrest Daily NSE Editor It is a given in sports that teams cannot stay on the top for long. Red Berenson's Michigan hockey team resided close to the pinnacle the past two seasons and now the coach faces a dilemma--how to stay close to that level of excellence. Berenson was originally hired to bring glory back to a Wolverine hockey program mired in a malaise. The Michigan hockey team was once the most feared squad in the land, winning the first NCAA championship in 1948 and six of the first nine titles. Since the team's last national championship in 1964, Michigan reached the final game just once, losing to Wisconsin in 1977. In May-of 1984, Berenson took over the reins of a club that had endured two straight ninth place finishes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Berenson was the chosen man - the right man - to lead the Michigan hockey team back to national prominence. He was a successful player in college and in the NHL. He was a winning coach in the NHL. Most importantly, though, Berenson was a Michigan man and he cared about his newfound task. As a player, Berenson earned All-American honors as ajunior and senior at Michigan and still owns the school record for most goals in a season with 43 in 1962. He was the first player to step out of college and go directly into the NHL, playing his last college game and his first NHL tilt on the same day. Berenson won a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1965 and played in the original Canada Cup series for Team Canada versus the Soviet Union. He also shares the modern-day NHL record for most goals in a game, with six in a 1968 contest. He played for Scotty Bowman and Al Arbour, the NHL's winningest coaches ever. As a coach, Berenson guided the St. Louis Blues to the best record in club history in 1980-81, earning the Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL's coach of the year. So he has a lengthy hockey resume. Red played 17 seasons in the show and if anyone knows what it takes to succeed in the game of hockey, he knows. Berenson's journey to success behind the Michigan bench has been a methodical, plodding one. It took his team four seasons to have a winning record. It was seven years before his team earned a berth in the NCAA tournament. But each edition of Berenson's Wolverines has shown improve- ment upon the prior set. In 1990, the squad just missed out on an NCAA berth. In 1991, the team earned its first NCAA invitation since 1977 and won a first-round series against Cornell. In 1992, the Wolverines returned to the NCAA post-season tournament and this time made their way to the semifinal round before bowing to Wisconsin. Last season, it looked as if the team was right on schedule. If it followed the apparent plan then it would end up in college hockey's final game. This was not be, however, as Michigan ran into a powerful Maine squad that dispatched the Wolverines in overtime in the semifinals. Now, Berenson may face a challenge more difficult than any he has faced in his college coaching career. His teams the past two seasons certainly did their school proud in reaching the final four of college hockey. However, in the past two graduations, Berenson lost Denny Felsner (now a St. Louis Blue and wearing Red's old number), Mike Helber (now playing professionally in Europe) and David Roberts (probably a pro next year with St. Louis). He also will have to do without the services of Chris Tamer (most likely a Pittsburgh Penguin in the fall), David Harlock (surely an Olympian in 1994), Pat Neaton (likely an Olympian) and Mark Ouimet (doubtless an American Hockey League player next season). Next year's senior class is a great one as well, with four excellent forwards, the team's best defenseman and one of the finest goaltenders in the country. After that, though, there is a drop-off in high-caliber players. Berenson's recruiting classes have been strong the past three seasons, but they dim in comparison to the past three senior classes. M.. What will Berenson do to keep his team atop the game? Perhaps he and Michigan basketball coach Steve Fisher should hold a summit. Both teams reached the edge of greatness the past two seasons but their predicted dynasties are effectively finished before they ever started. Now, for Berenson, it is time to regroup in a way. As former defenseman Neaton said, "We've done a lot, we've accomplished a lot. But we've never won the CCHA championship. We went to the final four, but we never won it." Berenson has shown by leading his program out of the doldrums that he is a top-flight coach and leader. But now he must somewhat start anew - without ever having hung any banners at Yost. Many believed last year to be Michigan's best and last - at least for a while - chance at an NCAA title. "This is the best team I've had at Michigan," Berenson said the past two years. With Felsner, Roberts, Neaton, Tamer and Harlock pursuing other interests, Berenson must almost start from scratch to again create a contender: His task is a stem one, but hey, he's done it before. Senior center Mark Ouimet celebrates his first period goal against Michigan State at Joe Louis Arena Jan. 30. The Wolverines handed MSU coach Ron perior April 3. Despite the loss, Oliver was not sure Maine was the best in the country. "It proved that Maine's not better than us," Oliver said. "They just got the last shot. All I'm going to remember from this season is that Maine got the last shot." Although, Oliver may not want to remember anything from the season, the Wolverines accomplished much, including afifth consecutive GreatLakes Invitational Championship with a win over Northern Michigan. Coach Red Berenson won his 200th career game in a 13-1 drubbing of Ohio State in the final game of the regular season. Roberts finished second on the Michigan career scoring list and first in assists. The senior forward led the Wol- verines in scoring with 65 points and was one of five players with 50 or more points. The others were Mark Ouimet, Oliver, Stewart and Brian Wiseman. Nine players topped 30 points, includ- ing freshmen Ryan Sittler and Kevin Hilton. The offense was second in the nation in scoring, averaging over six goals a game -just behind Maine. However, it was the defense and goaltending thatwere Michigan's stron- gest points throughout the season, al- lowing more than three goals only six times. The Wolverines were the top defensive team in the nation. Goalie Steve Shields posted a goals-against- average of just over two and had two Mason the worst defeat during his years in East Lansing, winning 11-1. shutouts. For his efforts, Shields was honored with the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Goalie of the Year Award and was named to the conference first team. Shields also garnered second team All-American honors. Wolverine defenseman Pat Neaton, who posted the league's topplus-minus rating (+39), earned aspoton the CCHAfirst-teamas well. The loss of six seniors, including three on defense; captain David Harlock, Chris Tamer and Neaton, will hurt the team next season. The trio provided steady play throughout the year. Tamer set a new Michigan career record for penalty minutes in his four seasons wearing the maize and blue sweater. The six departing Wolverines have bright futures. Roberts is regarded by many to be a lock to be playing for the St. Louis Blues in theNHLnextseason. Tamer will be at the Pittsburgh Pen- guins' training camp and surely will make an impact with some team. Harlock and Neaton both look good to be playing for their respective Olympic teams in Lillehammer in January. Ouimet played a game for the Wash- ington Capitals' farm team, the Balti- more Skipjacks, after the season and will probably have a job next year. Winger Dan Stiver's NHL rights are owned by the Toronto Maple Leafs and he will likely attend their training camp in the fall. The contribution this class made was a big reason why Michigan was in the semifinal round in the past twoNCAAtournaments. The complex- ion of the team will have to change drastically next year. Shields, however, will be back be- tween the pipes as he attempts to break the NCAA record for career victories (he is 8 shy of the mark). Despite the loss of Stiver, Roberts and Ouimet, the offenseremains solid. Oliver, Wiseman and Stewart will give Michigan one of the top lines in college hockey as the trio skates in front of the hockey fanatics at Yost Ice Arena. FOR THE BEST: Crew Cuts-Flat Tops Princetons-Military THE DASCO LA STYLISTS Liberty off State 668-9329 -50 years of service- The road to success is t reached only through continual improvement -- work with us to improve all your pro jects. 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