Champio s! The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 6, 1998 - Ill RIO 3 lerenson wins on many different levels, still "etains classic flavor of college hockey coach 4' *Key play: At 17:51 ini overtime, Michigan for-. ward Josh Langfeld took a pass from defenseman Chris Fox along Boston College's left goal line. Langfeld- skated in, by the left faceoff dot and fired a shot past Boston College goaltender Scott Clemmensen stick- side for the goal - and the national championship. SbrisFarah Sports Editor BOSTON - Michigan coach Red Berenson is done a lot of winning in a lot of different ays. As a player at Michigan, Berenson earned a putation as one of the greatest Wolverines of all ne. In 1962, his senior year, Berenson led the 'CHA - Michigan's conference at the time - ith 41 points, including 24 goals and 17 assists. is 43 goals and nine hat tricks in his last year as lverine are still Michigan records. The success didn't stop there. Berenson went i to a career in the NHL, and won the Stanley up with the Montreal Canadiens in 1962 - a ort time after his last game as a Wolverine. As e coach of the St. Louis Blues in 1981, erenson won the NHL coach of the year award ler leading his team to a record of 45-18-17 -v e best in Blues history. But all those awards, all those victories and nors in all the different phases of his life, don't h Berenson's championship wins as a col- coach for Michigan. Berenson took over as ad coach at Michigan in 1984, and since then s experienced some of his finest hockey >ments. In a sense, Saturday's NCAA championship is st one of those experiences. But in another way, turday's victory over Boston College is special it represents everything Berenson loves about llege sports. "I tried to tell myself, 'Try to enjoy this,"' Pnson said about his composure during the me. "This is a great, great environment. You n't get this in pro hockey. You don't get this vironment - the enthusiasm from the fans >m both teams. "Our kids will never have anything like this ppen to them. Even if they win a Stanley Cup believe me, it won't be the same as this kind experience. " If anyone can judge the value of college hock- it's Berenson. His numbers as a college coach Snstrate some of his greatness - two nation- ampionships, eight consecutive appearances the NCAA Tournament, five final fours in the st seven seasons ... the list goes on and on. But statistics can't really capture what makes renson a model of college coaching. Berenson emplifies what a coach is supposed to be - he fits all the cliches, automatically making him unique. He cares about hockey, but he values education first. He demands the respect of everyone around him without ever seeming to try. He seems to have a magical effect on his play- ers - very few of whom ever leave college early to try their hands at pros, even with the pressures of agents and scouts. Michigan assistant coach Billy Powers played under Berenson as a Wolverine during the late '80s, and returned a few years after graduating to help on the bench. The native of Sommerville, Mass., represents just one of the reasons Berenson loves to coach - he loves to watch oth- ers succeed. "For (Powers) to come back to his home city and win a national championship in front of 18,000 people, does it get any better than that?" Berenson said. "That's what makes me feel good, when I see other people enjoy this." More than anything else, he appreciates the purity of sports. He believes in facing opponents straight up, man-to-man, which is why he detests the neutral-zone trap, a technique that takes the edge off the action of a game. It's almost as if Berenson came to life out of a movie - a character who would be played per- fectly by Paul Newman: The wise, weathered coach who's still in such good shape that he's probably better than a lot of his players; who remembers the past with fondness, but embraces life in the present. Somehow, NCAA Tournament hockey makes all those qualities come out even more. But the NCAAs haven't always been kind to Berenson. He's' experienced a great deal of success, but Michigan hasn't always managed to win when expected in years past. That makes this year's national title - when the Wolverines weren't expected to do much of anything in the tourney - all the more important for Berenson. Even considering all the other hon- ors Berenson has earned over the years, this one was different. "Like I said, the best team may not win it, but it meant so much to our program, because we had gone so long with a great team, and we'd been in a number of final fours," Berenson said. "We got knocked off in some great college hockey playoff ""'""uua"' 1 - -t w f Michigan 0 1 1 1- 3 Boston College 1 1 0 0- 2 First period -1. BC, Caulfield 9 (Mottau), 4:19, Penalties - M, Berenzweig (tripping), :28: UM, Matzka (high sticking), 16:31; BC, Caulfield (cross- checking),18:36. Second period --1. UM, Kosick 13 (Berenzweig, Crozier), 7:42; 2. BC, Lephart (Farkas, Allen), 18:38, pp. Penalties - BC, O'Leary (slash- ing), :51; UM, Hayes (holding), 11:29; BC, Hemenway (cross-checking). 11:29; UM, Herr (hitting from behind), 17:26.Third period -2. UM, Kosick 14 (Muckalt, Fox), 13:58. Penalties - BC, Hemenway (holding stick), 1:58; UM, Langfeld (hooking), 2:54; BC, Bellefeuille (hooking), 4:15; BC, O'Leary (inter- ference), 9:55. Overtime - UM Langfeld 19 (Fox, Matzka), 17:51.. Shots on goal - UM, 7-810-10 - 35; BC, 11-7-9-3 -30 Power'Plays - UM, 0 of 5; BC, 1 of 4. Sves -UMTurco 10.69-3 - 28; BC, Clemmensen 7-7.9.9 - 32, Referee - Mike Schmitt Unesmen - Randy Schmidt, Jones Jonalvy At: FleetCenter, Boston; A: 18, 276 WARREN ZINN/Daily Michigan coach Red Berenson develops a strong rapport with his players. Berenson helped convince for- ward Bill Muckalt to return to Michigan for his senior year. games.... We finally won it (in 1996) and it was a great, great feeling." "This game, we shouldn't have been here, we shouldn't have won it, and yet we did. And it's even a greater feeling." Berenson is in love with the game, which makes it difficult to ever imagine him retiring - although even he has to remind himself every now and then why he does what he does. "I have enjoyed it, I really have, and yet it kills me sometimes," Berenson said. "I think, 'Why am I doing this? It's not worth it.' But it really is worth it." After all these years, why is it worth it? What makes an NCAA championship so memorable? For the same reason that Berenson is one of col- lege hockey's coaching greats. His highest prior- ity is his players - their education, their growth, and their success. "That's the one thing I've learned in college coaching - never think you know everything about these kids," Berenson said. "Because kids will surprise you. And they surprised me again this year and this week." Young guns fire away at Eagles Freshmen Kosick, Langfeld score all three goals in championship game By Shamat Raju Daily Sports Editor BOSTON - It's going to be all downhill now for the freshmen. After winning an NCAA championship, the remainder of their careers might be anti-climactic. But for now, the nine freshmen who have grown up and lived together for an entire season can revel in their most recent accomplishment - the national title. "I'm so happy," freshman forward Mark Kosick said. "When I came down here I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know one player on the whole team. I met all the freshmen and they're all my best friends. "I have friends at home, but these are all my best friends now." The Wolverines, stacked with nine freshmen this season, appeared to be skating on thin ice. And when the postseason started, it seemed logical that Michigan would be led by its battle-tested seniors. Logic doesn't always work in sports, however. All three Michigan goals in the championship game were scored by freshmen. Mark Kosick recorded the two regulation goals and Josh Langfeld netted the game winner in overtime. "I just shot it low, it went into the net - and we're national cham- pions," Langfeld said. All season, the freshmen have grown and built themselves into strong players. The upperclassmen have often said that during the sea- son they were no longer freshmen, that they were playing with a matu- rity beyond their years. Langfeld, who started the season as one of the marquee newcomers, was in somewhat of a slump in the second half of the season. The big forward recorded 19 goals and 18 assists and was named to the all- CCHA second team. Although only making the second team upset the Coon Rapids, Minn., native, Langfeld got his redemption with Saturday's game winner. Other freshmen came up big in the championship game as well, especially on the defensive end. Defenseman Dave Huntzicker has been a force all season, playing on the first line with Bubba Berenzweig. On numerous occasions, the Ann Arbor native was the lone defender in the Michigan zone and refused to get beat, keeping himself between Boston College's forwards and his own net. "We've played these kind of games all year," Huntzicker said. "They had us on our heels a little bit, but we knew that all it takes is one shot to win it." Two other freshmen defensemen, Mike Van Ryn and Scott Crawford, also played significant roles on defense. Van Ryn, arguably the best offensive defensemen (with apologies to Berenzweig), con- tinued his strong play until sustaining a concussion late in Saturday's game. The all-CCHA rookie team selection recorded 18 points on the season along with scoring five assists in a single game, against Colgate back on Oct. 18. And when Van Ryn went down with the concussion, the little-used Crawford stepped up and filled his shoes during the overtime. While the freshmen blueliners were the biggest question marks heading into the season, the forwards weren't necessarily a sure thing either. But as the season developed, the coaches soon found out that Kosick, Geoff Koch and Scott Matzka were each scoring threats, along with Kosick and Langfeld. Koch, Langfeld and Matzka - the fresh- man line - proved to be invaluable to coach Red Berenson. "I didn't feel uncomfortable playing them against (Boston College forward Marty) Reasoner's line, which might be one of the best ... lines in the country," Berenson said. "But that line can skate." As outstanding as the freshmen have played this season, the coach- es attribute much of their success to the more experienced Wolverines. "I think our upperclassmen did a great job of taking them under their wing, as well as coach Berenson," Michigan assistant coach Mel Pearson said. "I'm just happy for them. We keep talking how it could be anybody and that we're a chain-link. You're only as strong as your weakest links are." :i MARGARL MYtRS/)aily an freshman center Scott Matzka played against Boston ge's top-scoring line, despite his youth. )eja vu all over again for Blue OINCIDENCE stinued from Page I e. e hero in 1996 was, of course, No. 3rendan Morrison, who scored the ne winner. [his season, the hero was No. 9 rk Kosick, who scored Michigan's it two goals. cussion toward the end of regulation, Berenson had no choice but to put Crawford in the game. And despite playing just a couple of shifts in each of the past three games, Crawford played a regular shift in over- time and played well. "You've got to keep your head in the game no matter what," Crawford said. "You don't know what's oinu to han- Muckalt and Matt Herr thought that the hockey team's title was a little more impressive. "For the football guys, I'm just kid- ding, but we're one up on you right now," Muckalt said. "We don't have to share it with Nebraska," Herr said. WHAT RULE?: This season a new NCAA rule went into effect that nro- As one of the most improved players on the e 2 team, Michigan Sdefenseman Bubba b Berenzweig exemplified the hard work dis- played by the Whivr.ar ns ,~