ICI Since first taking the ice for the . Wolverines 40 years ago this month, Red Berenson has staked his claim as a Michigan legend. f you take 12th Ave. past Cornwall Street and Victoria Park, you'll see it. The large square building rises out of the land- cape much the way all of Regina, Saskatchewan fits oddly against its prairie background. It's tough to imagine now, but in many respects the founda- tions of a legendary Michigan hockey legacy were planted there at the Regina Public Library 40 years ago. It may be a bit sim- plistic, but this was the point where Michigan first beckoned to a young hockey phenom. And the self-described prairie kid has been answering that call for four decades. First guiding the Wolverines to national prominence as a player while resisting the lure of a shot at an early professional career, then catapulting the Michigan hockey program into the sational spotlight as a coach, the western Canada native Red Berenson has become a Michigan icon. But it was a journey that began not in a rink, but in a library. HOME ON THE RANGE On this day a blue hat all but covers the hair that gave Gordon "Red" Berenson his nickname. A wealth of plaques and trophies all but covers the quiet room he sits in, testaments to what the coffee-sipping general has orchestrated since becoming Michigan's eighth head coach 16 years ago. But these things haven't always been there, and - despite his tnparalleled commitment to Michigan hockey - neither has Berenson. There was a time when Berenson couldn't find Michigan on a map. That was until former Michigan coach Al Renfrew recruited Berenson. What the academic standout did know was that he could find out more about the school at the local library. So with his par- ents in tow, Berenson went to the big building by Victoria Park. What he found on 12th Ave. in Regina that day put him on State Street in Ann Arbor the next fall. "The thing that impressed me most was the academic strength ofthe school," Berenson said. "My parents and I looked up the credibility of the schools that were interested in me. Michigan WAs at the top academically." PRAIRIES FOR PUCKS So the kid who grew up playing'virtually all sports enrolled hs an engineering student to pursue the sport he loved the most hockey. And while the academic strength of Michigan impressed Berenson, what he discovered when he visited Ann Arbor sold him on the school. "I came down here, and immediately I could sense that this was a big-time university. I liked that," Berenson said. "I also liked the fact that Ann Arbor was close to Detroit, where I could go see at NHL game." Berenson saw his first NHL game that fall of his freshman year in 1959 when the Detroit Red Wings played host to the Montreal Canadiens. Little could he have imagined that he would go on to play for both teams. But not before skating his way to All-America honors his junior and senior years at Michigan while staking his claim as one ofthe Wolverines' finest players of all-time, leading them to a third-place NCAA finish his senior year. "We didn't win the national championship, although we could have and maybe should have," Berenson said. "But we were a real good team, and I felt good with the progress in the program. I'felt good with being able to contribute." Though his teams never reached the NCAA pinnacle, Berenson marshalled the Michigan squad to within two wins of the title in 1962, scoring 43 goals in only 28 games that season posting a Michigan record that stands to this day. While the record for goals in a season is shared with Dave Debol, consid- er that Berenson scored his in only 28 games, to Debol's 43. But for Berenson, personal success and athletic accolades paled in comparison with what he worked to achieve off the ice. Berenson switched from engineering when he was accepted to the Business School, where he earned his degree in 1962. "We had some good seasons, as a team and individually" Berenson said. "But the thing that I'm most proud of is that while I was here, I was a serious student as well as a serious player. To succeed at both makes me very proud." FROM AwESTRUCK TO AWESOME These days the fabled Boston Garden is just a memory. The old fleldhouse, a shrine to the six-team NHL, seems best remembered as a part othe bygone era of professional hockey's more formidable years. Into this setting, a much younger Berenson walked before lacing up his skates to play his first NHL game alongside boyhood idols. Even now, more than 35 years after that night, Berenson calls it the most exciting moment of his NHL career. The story surrounding Berenson's entrance into the profes- sional ranks seems to read like a film script. After seeing his Wolverines squad to a third-place finish in the NCAA Championships in Utica, New York, Berenson was driven to Boston, where the next day he suited up with the storied Montreal Canadiens at Boston Garden, becoming the first play- er to ever jump directly from college to the NHL. If the mere jump alone wasn't already impressive, consider the TeJlience of Berenson, who had told the Canadiens, .1Z By Geoff Gagnon - Daily Sports Writer arguably the best team in the game, that he wouldn't leave school to play despite being courted by the squad since first coming to Michigan. Interestingly, Berenson managed to finish classes supporting a wife and two children in a small apartment rather than opt for a chance at a lucrative career. Maybe it was the wait that made that night so special, or maybe not. What is certain, though, is that the moment affected Berenson like none other in his career. "It was unbelievable," Berenson explains with a smile and a shake of the head. "That is what I would call the biggest thrill of my career, that night in Boston." "Just looking around the lockerroom and seeing the guys that I had just worshiped as. a younger player was incredible," Berenson says, the smile sneaking across his face slowly as he names a litany of the game's greats that welcomed him to the NHL that night. Berenson's entry into the league may have been the stuff that dreams are made of, but it was his return to Michigan the day after the Canadiens paraded through the streets of Montreal after winning the Stanley Cup that showed just how grounded the young star was. Berenson was at work on his Masters in Business Administration while his NHL career was just beginning to blossom - a move that some would call unusual for a profes- sional athlete. It was a move that Berenson knew was the right one. "I came back here with the idea that I could get my MBA in the summers. It worked out great. and I knew I was doing the right thing for my future," Berenson said. "I didn't know how long I could play hockey, so I needed to prepare for life after the game." But the game treated Berenson well, and after he earned his MBA in 1966, he went on to play 12 more years of profession- al hockey. In all, Berenson logged 17 years in the professional ranks, scoring 261 goals in 987 games. But few of those games were as memorable as the night he scored six goals in one game when he was playing for the St. Louis Blues. The feat earned him a place in the record books as having scored the most goals in a road game, but the modest Berenson seems too quick to dis- miss the distinction. "That was just one night you know." the coach says with a laugh. "I had plenty of bad games, too, just like every player." Still, what Berenson accomplished that night in Philadelphia in November 1968 is something that has never been surpassed in an NHL game. At a time when the St. Louis Blues had captured the very soul of a city, Berenson had emerged as the squad's dominant star in his prime - even landing on the cover of Sports Illustrated. In only its second year in existence, the Blues had created a type of enthusiasm unrivaled in the league. The rabid fans at 5700 Oakland Avenue packed the venerable St. Louis Arena, prefacing each game by welcoming the Blues to the ice with a thundering ovation. In gleeful moments, the crowd would stand to sing, "When the Blues come marching in." The depression- era building was said to shake from its moorings to the rich wooden rafters that stared from the ceiling as Berenson and his team - coached by Scotty Bowman - skated to three straight Stanley Cup Finals from 1968 to 1970. It was in the midst of this fever and frenzy that St. Louis gripped its team in those early days. And if the enthusiasm was magical, Berenson's feat in Philadelphia was incredible. After leading the team the previous year in goals with 22. Berenson marshalled his team into the third period with a 5-0 lead - hav- ing scored all five of the goals himself. In the game's final peri- od, Berenson took a slap shot from the top of the circle, and in what decades later he called the greatest shot of his life, he found the net and the record books. St. Louis radio legend Dan Kelly seemed to call Berenson's name all night as the center tallied seven points in all with an assist complementing the six goals. 6 HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Berenson's coffee cup is now nearly empty. As he crosses his legs on the leather sofa, his socks hang down and bunch up around his feet. He wears no shoes today, having just slipped out of skates after coming off the ice with his team - a team that is very much his in every sense of the word. But it's takenf FILE PHTOIU Coach Red Berenson celebrates Michigan's 1998 NCAA title, his second in three years. Berenson years to make it so. Ironically, the man credited for rebuilding Michigan's hockey program after taking over in 1984 never pictured himself mov- ing from the ice to the bench after his playing days. Nevertheless. Berenson became the Blues' coach soon after his playing career. In St. Louis, Berenson guided the Blues to their finest record to date while collecting NHL Coach of the year honors in 1979 in his second season as the St. Louis skip- per. "I never saw myself becoming a coach, Berenson said. "And looking back, I see that I wasn't nearly as prepared for it as I am now. Michigan Athletic Director Don Canham and his staff never questioned Berenson's preparedness as they approached the NH L veteran with the notion of making a return to his alma mater on two separate occasions before finally signing him in 1984. "When I had been talked to earlier about coming here to Michigan. the timing wasn't right on both occasions, and I never gave it serious consideration," Berenson said. "This time, though, the opportunity caught me at the right time and the chal- lenge looked good. I thought I could give something back to Michigan." Coincidentally, the Wolverines at the time were anxious to be on the receiving end of whatever anyone would be willing to give back. The program had fallen on dark times in the early 1980s, failing to muster even a winning record in the first half of that decade. "When I got here, I was kind of disappointed to find that things weren't in great shape. The overall image of the team wasn't very good. The support wasn't very good. You used to be able to sit anywhere you wanted at a game," Berenson said. Immediately, Berenson identified his objectives and set out to repair the program that had given him his start. His first goal was to improve the perception of Michigan hockey among fans and recruits. "I saw right away that we had to change things," Berenson remembers. "We needed to change the way the program was seen." Berenson admits that at first he may have underestimated the time that it would take to turn things around. "I thought maybe I could make more of a difference than I actually did," Berenson said. "I saw that we had a lot of work to do." True to form, the straight-shooting Berenson decided that the work to be done had better be done in a respectable manner. Which * meant that when the new coach took the helm, he made sure to honor all of the scholarships promised to players who didn't fit the direction of his pro- gram. Where other incoming college coaches have simply handed players their walking papers' in favor of their own recruits, Berenson never thought twice about protecting the edu- cation of those that were cut from the team. And though Berenson's regard for education may have cost the Michigan program time in its ascent to the top, it gave Berenson and his staff reassurance in knowing they had done the right thing as coaches. "Some coaches, when they come in, get rid of the players and use their scholarships to bring in the ohes they want, and within a year they've got a better team," Berenson said. "I knew we couldn't do that. We did things the right way even though it took a little longer." BRIGHTER DAYS The room is quieter now as players have filed out of the near- by lockerroom. Things are much different these days. From the championship trophies that look down from a shelf near our seat, to the refur- bished offices and lockerroom that adjoin the lounge we occu-0 py, Michigan hockey has seen a great deal of change. And perhaps the greatest stems from what they've been able to accomplish on the ice. The Wolverines have advanced to the NCAA tournament in nine straight seasons, reaching the Frozen Four in six of them. The two national titles that Michigan has claimed under Berenson, in 1996 and in 1998, have given the Wolverines an NCAA record nine total titles. If any lingering doubt remained as to the impact Michigan hockey has made in recent years following such a dramatic turnaround, one has to look no further than the fan support that the program has been able to attract. Bordering on fanatical, Michigan's hockey faithful have made things difficult for ticket takers as well as opposing players in recent years, giving the Wolverines a home-ice advantage per- haps unsurpassed in college. But these things don't surprise Berenson, - they were all part of the plan to make Michigan a dominant program on the national scene. "When I got here I found out I had a lot to learn,' Berenson admits. "We were really behind schools like Bowling Green and Lake Superior - schools that I hadn't even heard of before coming here. I figured Michigan deserved to be a national pow- erhouse and that's been our goal from day one." And as a legion of former Wolverines greats pictured in their NHL careers stare down from the wall at the coach, it's easy to see that Berenson has put Michigan right where he wanted it all along. But even after a pair of national titles, Michigan's win- niningest coach hasn't let the pressure to stay on top numb him to the realities of why he came to Michigan - as a player and a coach. The.truth remains today, as much as it did 40 years ago, that the education hockey players receive at Michigan is the rea- son they are at the school. "Our players are here to go to school. I want them to get something out of school and recognize that there is life after hockey," Berenson said. "I even want them to prepare for life as if the degrees they earn here will not be their last." The example set by Berenson himself only makes his dedica- tion to upholding educational values that much more striking. Forty years ago, Berenson fended off professional hockey clubs anxious to make him a star. He was determined to fulfill a commitment and complete school. Forty years later, that attitude remains and that determination continues to inspire his players* STILL STANDING STRONG The coffee cup sits empty at our feet while the coach folds his hands on his lap. They are thick and solid - the kind that com- mand respect when shaken. They are the kind that seem to tell a story of their own; they are very much like Red Berenson him- self. In the 40 years since Berenson first came to Michigan, things A Michigan legend as a player and a coach, Red Berenson's connection with Michigan hockey ates back 40 years. From his All-America days as a player to coaching the Wolverines to a pair of national titles, Berenson has come to personify the excellence of the program he's defined. i 5 tct, k - m m m