8A — Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Berenson plans to
return next season
By ZACH SHAW
Daily Sports Writer
When the Michigan hockey
team takes the ice for its home
opener next October, the fans at
Yost Ice Arena will see a familiar
face following the team to the
bench.
Michigan coach Red Berenson
announced Tuesday afternoon
that he plans to return for the
2015-16 season, as long as the
Athletic Department will have
him.
“Right now that’s the plan,”
Berenson said. “I haven’t talked
to our athletic director (Jim
Hackett) and reevaluated our
progress of the team or where
we’re going, but that’s the plan.”
The decision comes three days
after the Wolverines (12-8 Big Ten,
22-15 overall) fell to Minnesota
in the Big Ten Tournament
championship game, 4-2. With
the loss, Michigan failed to make
the NCAA Tournament for the
third consecutive season after
qualifying for the previous 22
years.
The season proved to be a
lopsided one for Michigan, which
was the nation’s top offense in
goals per game, but ranked just
38th out of 59 teams in defense.
Just three days removed from
the season-ending loss in Detroit,
Berenson
already
sees
the
potential for next year.
“Offensively, the name of the
game is to score goals, and we
were one of the best teams in the
country,” Berenson said. “On the
defensive side, we were improved
over last year, but not enough.
“I didn’t think our defense
was as good as it should have
been. We were inconsistent, I
think we can do a better job as
coaches, there’s lots of room or
improvement. Maybe I’m a slow
learner, but I still think we can
do a better job with this team.”
A former All-American and
NCAA scoring leader as a player
for the Wolverines from 1960 to
1962, Berenson, now 75 years
old, became the first collegiate
hockey player to go straight to
the National Hockey League
after scoring 43 goals in his
senior season — still a Michigan
record.
After
a
17-year
playing
career in which he tallied 658
points in 987 games, Berenson
immediately became the coach
of the St. Louis Blues in 1979. He
won the Jack Adams award as
the NHL’s best coach in 1981, but
took the Michigan head coach
position in 1984, citing a love
for Michigan as the reason for
leaving the NHL.
In addition to 22 consecutive
NCAA
Tournament
appearances,
Berenson
has
coached Michigan to 11 Frozen
Fours, national titles in 1996
and 1998, and turned a dormant
fan base into one of the most
respected in the nation.
This season, Berenson became
just the fourth coach in NCAA
history to win 800 games, and
kept his team within one game
of both the Big Ten regular-
season and tournament titles.
Regardless, fans and analysts
have
speculated
that,
with
the recent lack of tournament
appearances, if it might be time
for Berenson to retire.
Unsurprisingly, those on the
team find such talk ridiculous.
“I mean, you see all the
trophies he’s won, and what
he’s done for this program is
unbelievable,” said sophomore
forward JT Compher. “A lot
of this stuff, and the reason
why we’re talking (about job
security) today, is on the players
and because we left games out
there that we should have won.
Everyone in the locker room
respects Red, and any talk is
from the outside.”
Players mull their futures
By JASON RUBINSTEIN
Daily Sports Editor
Red Berenson hates this time
of year.
Specifically, he dislikes when
the season ends and there is a
period of time when he doesn’t
know who, aside from the
graduating seniors, will be gone
next year.
At a program like Michigan,
which brings in elite recruiting
classes full of NHL draft picks
every year, it’s expected that
some players may not stay all
four years.
“That’s the
worst
part
of the end of
the
season,”
Berenson
said. “Players
get all excited
about it, and
their families
get all excited
about
it,
and
then
sometimes
they jump at it. Sometimes,
common sense kicks in and they
realize there is no rush.”
Last year, both Alex Guptill
and Phil Di Giuseppe decided
to forgo their senior years
to join their respective NHL
organizations. Two years ago,
Jacob Trouba left after his
freshman season to join the
Winnipeg Jets.
This year, three Wolverines
will have to make that same
tough
decision:
freshman
forward
Dylan
Larkin,
freshman
defenseman
Zach
Werenski and junior forward
Andrew Copp.
Larkin,
the
Detroit
Red
Wings’ first-round draft pick in
2014, just finished an impressive
freshman campaign that earned
him the Big Ten Freshman
of the Year honor. He led all
conference freshmen with 47
points (15 goals and 32 assists)
and finished second on the team
in points, trailing only senior
Zach Hyman.
Larkin could feasibly play
games for the Red Wings this
season, but would most likely
join the Grand Rapids Griffins
in the American Hockey League
should he choose that route.
“The Red Wings have already
opened the door for him to
know that it’s up to him to stay
in school or if he wants to play
in Grand Rapids,” Berenson
said.
Copp, the Wolverines’ captain
and Winnipeg Jets draft pick,
remained non-
committal on a
return for next
season.
The
junior finished
third on the
team
points,
registering
31
on 14 goals and
17 assists.
It
didn’t
seem
likely
that he’d bolt
after this season, but Berenson
noted Winnipeg loves signing
its players after their junior
seasons, and it wouldn’t be any
different for Copp.
“When you’re a junior and a
good player like he is, they try
to sign their juniors, whether
they think you’re ready or not,”
Berenson said. “They’ll tell you
what you want to hear, and
that’s the reality of it.”
Copp added that he “took
a step this year” and feels
“decent”
about
where
he
currently stands.
“I’m trying to figure out what
is my best option for next year,”
Copp said. “I’ll probably take
another week to figure that out.
“It’s definitely a decision I
have to make. I don’t think I’ll
be getting any outside opinion.
The people who matter to me
most, I’ve already talked to.”
Werenski, though, is in a
completely different situation.
The 17-year old freshman is just
now draft eligible, and many
predict that he will be a top-10
pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.
The
freshman
was
arguably the Wolverines’ top
defenseman, contributing nine
goals and 16 assists, earning
him a spot on the All-Big Ten
First Team.
Unfortunately for Michigan,
NHL
organizations
often
want their top draft choice to
enter their system as soon as
possible. That means Werenski
wouldn’t be wearing the maize
and blue next season if the
professional team that drafts
him has its way.
“I think he will be in a bit of a
tug of war with whoever drafts
him,” Berenson said. “They
might want him out. If I were
him, I would just stay put for at
least another year, keep growing
my game, and I think he’s fine
with that. But let’s see who
drafts him and how aggressive
they come after him.”
It’s feasible that Copp, Larkin
and Werenski could all leave.
It’s also possible that all of them
could stay.
But according to Berenson,
the decision is simple and can be
boiled down to an analogy.
“It’s just like having a driver’s
license,” Berenson said. “You
know you’re going to get a
license when you’re 16. But
how about when you’re 14? Are
you ready to take a Corvette to
Chicago when you’re 14? I don’t
think so. Now when you’re 16,
you might think you are and you
might be OK. But you’ll probably
be better off when you’re 18
or 19 or 20 to be trusted and
confident and so on.
“It’s not that much different
when all these people watch pro
hockey on TV and think, ‘Well
yeah, I can play there, I’m as
good as that guy.’ They have no
idea.”
ICE HOCKEY
“That’s the
worst part of
the end of the
season.”
Cole makes strides at center
By MAX BULTMAN
Daily Sports Editor
After starting 12 games at left
tackle last season, sophomore
Mason Cole has spent the last
two weeks learning to play
center.
With incumbent center Jack
Miller leaving the team at the
beginning of spring practice,
and fifth-year senior Graham
Glasgow
suspended
for
a
probation violation, Cole has
been thrust into action in the
middle of the offensive line.
And
despite
having
no
prior experience at center, a
notoriously tricky position to
perfect, Cole said Tuesday that
he is enjoying the opportunity to
learn its nuances.
“It’s different, but it’s good to
learn something else,” Cole said.
“It’s just a whole different game
in the middle.”
During
a
practice
last
Thursday, Cole anchored a line
that included redshirt juniors
Ben Braden, Erik Magnuson and
Kyle Kalis along with redshirt
sophomore
Logan
Tuley-
Tillman.
He told reporters Tuesday
that while there is a noticeable
difference between playing on
the outside and playing at center,
offensive line coach Tim Drevno
has helped make his immersion
as smooth as possible.
Cole is still taking reps at left
tackle as well, but with limited
depth at center outside of redshirt
sophomore Patrick Kugler, his
growth in the middle could be a
key for the Wolverines.
“The
staff
does
a
good
job of making sure everyone
knows everything, at least on
the offensive line with Coach
Drevno,” Cole said. “It’s a little
different making center calls and
stuff, but you’ve gotta know your
stuff everywhere.
“It’s just a lot quicker. The
guys are a lot bigger inside and
everything is a lot closer. …
Usually I play with leverage and
do fine.”
One player who has gotten
perhaps the best feel of Cole’s
transition is sophomore defensive
tackle Bryan Mone, who now
weighs in at 330 pounds after
putting on weight this offseason.
Mone is a lot to handle at the
nose tackle position, even for an
experienced center. But he says
that Cole has already impressed
the defensive line with his ability
to transition.
“He’s doing a really good
job. When we found out he was
moving to center, me and (junior
defensive tackle) Ryan Glasgow
were just licking our lips.
“At first I thought he was
going to slow up, but you can tell
what kind of football player he is.
Wherever you want him to play,
he’s gonna play it with everything
he has. He’s never going to quit. If
he does mess up … he’s just going
100 miles (per hour).”
Cole was the first ever true
freshman to start a season
opener on the offensive line, and
coaches repeatedly touted his
intelligence. That helps to explain
why Drevno and Michigan coach
Jim Harbaugh thought of Cole
when the center position became
a question mark.
But if they have to move him to
the inside full time, a new starter
will have to emerge elsewhere
on the line. Whether that comes
in the form of Tuley-Tillman,
redshirt sophomore guard David
Dawson or someone else, the
line could see its fair share of
shuffling between now and the
season opener September 3 at
Utah.
Still, Cole said he had full
confidence in Drevno and the
coaching staff to find the right fit.
“They don’t know all of us yet
as much as the other staff did, so
they’re trying different things
and experimenting a little bit,”
Cole said. “That’s what spring is
about — just changing things up
and competing.”
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
Mason Cole has been working at center after starting every game of his freshman year at left tackle.
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Red Berenson will return to his familiar spot on the bench next season.