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