NATIONAL CHAMPION

1996

DIVISION I

ICE HOCKEY
CHAMPIONSHIP

NATIONAL CHAMPION

1998

DIVISION I

ICE HOCKEY
CHAMPIONSHIP

1984 

1990 

1996 

1998 

2015 

2014 

Berenson earns first 
win as Michigan 
head coach

Berenson earns 800th 
win as Michigan head 
coach

Berenson passes 
Rick Comley for 4th 
place on all-time 
wins list

Michigan wins 
second national 
championship 
under Berenson

Michigan makes first 
NCAA tournament 
apperance since 1977

Berenson earns 300th 
win, Michigan wins 
eighth national 
championship over 
Colorado College

BSportsMonday

OOP, THERE IT IS

n A late alley-oop clinched Michigan’s 
home win over Minnesota on Saturday, 
the Wolverines’ second straight victory.
Page 4B

WORTH THE HYPE

The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | January 12, 2015

n Zach Hyman leads Michigan in goals, 
but the plays that don’t show up in the 
box score merit Hobey Baker consider-
ation, writes Erin Lennon. Page 2B

R

ed Berenson hopes this story will be about 
something other than himself.

His team just beat 

the No. 9 team in the country, 
won eight of its last nine games 
and moved to the top of the 
Big Ten standings, but I’m not 
discussing that success. Instead, 
I feel compelled to write about 
his 800th win as a coach in his 
college hockey career, because it’s 
mind-boggling that someone can 
win 800 games at any level in any 
sport.

Berenson joined a list of three 

other coaches in college hockey Saturday night, and 
it’s important that everyone realizes how much effort 
and how much time goes into that achievement. 
There are no more than 40 games in a season, and 
that’s only if a team makes the Frozen Four. Berenson 
is now 800-391-84 in 31 seasons.

He started when he was 44 years old, compared to 

the three other 800-game winners — Jerry York, Ron 
Mason and Jack Parker — who all started before they 
turned 29. He had to transform a struggling program 
that couldn’t pay its fans to attend games into one 
that captured two national championships.

Feats such as these are rare and special. But then, 

so are coaches like Berenson. These are the feats that 
capture the attention of those who otherwise haven’t 
kept track or wouldn’t pay attention. These are the 
feats that deserve that attention.

But he doesn’t want this story written. He’s not 

interested in celebrating the accomplishment any 
more than he’s interested in celebrating his birthday.

“I read about (the milestone) more than I think 

about it,” he said on Wednesday. “I just had my 75th 
birthday, and I didn’t celebrate that, and I didn’t 
celebrate New Years and I didn’t even celebrate the 
GLI (the team’s first title since 2011).”

***

T

his milestone almost never happened. Just 
last year, Berenson was ready to retire. 
Michigan had lost in the first round of the Big 

Ten Tournament and missed out on the postseason 
for the second year in a row.

He said he thought about leaving hockey because 

he “can’t handle losing” and “can’t handle a team 
underachieving.” He’s back now, of course, but was 
willing to leave hockey because he knows losing 
starts with the coaching staff, and he wasn’t leading 
his team to success.

There’s a story — one Berenson may not even 

remember — of a little boy and his grandfather 
meeting him for the first time. They are introduced, 
and Berenson asks the seven-year-old, “Do you know 
how to skate?”

The boy acknowledged that he had not learned 

how. With a straight face, Berenson replied, “If you 
can’t skate, then you can’t play hockey, and if you 
can’t play hockey, then what are you?”

Berenson’s life is hockey. But he’s willing to give it 

up in order for the Wolverines to win.

***

Mr. 800

Berenson gets win No. 800 as 

Michigan sweeps No. 9 Minnesota 

at Yost

By JEREMY SUMMITT

Daily Sports Editor

Red Berenson’s 31-year tenure as the head coach of 

the Michigan hockey program has comprised an era of 
prestige laden with countless awards and accomplish-
ments.

His first-ever win came in Berenson’s first game as 

head coach of his alma mater on Oct. 12, 1984, a 6-4 
victory at Miami (Ohio). And on Saturday, Berenson 
became the fourth coach to eclipse the 800-win mark 
after his Wolverines pounded Minnesota, 7-5.

“I can remember my first game at Michigan was 

at Miami and we won the game, and our team was so 
surprised that we won that they were celebrating like 
we’d won the Stanley Cup, and I knew we were in trou-
ble,” Berenson said.

However, in just a few years, things took a drastic 

turn, as Berenson began to build Michigan hockey 
into a dynasty. The journey from his first win against 
Miami (Ohio) to Saturday’s victory has been a long 
but memorable one with two national titles, 11 Frozen 
Four appearances, 11 conference championships and 
22 NCAA Tournament berths sandwiched in between.

Behind four first-period goals, the Wolverines (4-1 

Big Ten, 12-7 overall) put an old-fashioned beatdown 
on the ninth-ranked Golden Gophers (1-2-1, 10-7-1) for 
their eighth win in their past 10 games.

“We were happy with the amount of goals we put up, 

obviously, offensively,” said sophomore forward Tyler 
Motte. “But defensively, we gave up a little too much 
in our D-zone. We’ll give up shots as long as they’re 
not grade-A opportunities, and that’s what we saw too 
much of, I think, this weekend.”

With Michigan clinging on to a 2-1 lead in the final 

minute of the first period, senior forward Zach Hyman 
and sophomore forward JT Compher scored exactly 
30 seconds apart to take a 4-1 lead into the first inter-
mission. The other Wolverine goals came off the sticks 
of senior forward Travis Lynch and junior forward 
Andrew Copp at the 12:48 and 14:27 marks, respec-
tively.

“Coach (Berenson) was on us that we need to be 

prepared and start on time today,” Hyman said. “Even 
though we gave up that first goal, I think we outshot 
them in the first period and getting four back in the 
period, we end up exploding a little bit in that period, 
and that was huge for us.”

Minnesota forward Travis Boyd carried a large load 

all weekend, tallying a goal in Friday’s contest before 
netting the first two goals for the Golden Gophers 
on Saturday. His first was the product of a perfectly 
threaded pass from forward Seth Ambroz, who split 
the Michigan defense just over seven minutes into the 
game.

Ambroz would also net a goal of his own with a well-

executed redirect off a shot from the point, coming 
just 14 seconds after Michigan’s sophomore defense-
man Michael Downing scored his fourth of the season. 
Downing’s tally was enough for coach Don Lucia to 
pull the reigning Big Ten Goaltender of the Year, Adam 
Wilcox, for the first time all season.

Playing a large part in Michigan’s offensive outburst 

was Dylan Larkin, who’s coming off a dynamite per-
formance for Team USA in the World Junior Champi-
onships. Larkin never missed a beat upon his return to 
Ann Arbor, as he would net the Wolverines’ final two 
goals to extend his point total to 20 on the year.

“A lot’s going right,” Copp said regarding Michi-

gan’s offense. “I think our power play did a really good 
job today… We’re getting pucks behind their (defense), 
we’re cycling pretty well down low, we’re scoring off 
the rush, scoring off faceoffs, power play like I said, 
so it seems like any possible way that we can put the 
puck in the net, it’s going 
See BERENSON, Page 2B
See SPORTSMONDAY, Page 2B

GREG
GARNO

The milestone 

Red doesn’t 
celebrate

SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN

PAUL SHERMAN/Daily

PAUL SHERMAN/Daily

