8 — Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Berenson revived ‘M’ with family atmosphere
R
ed Berenson was
Michigan hockey.
For the last 33
seasons, he has been the
Wolverines’ head coach. And
before that, Berenson tallied
43 goals in his senior season at
Michigan in 1961-62. That total
still stands
today as the
most goals
in a season
in Wolverine
history.
After his
collegiate
playing
career,
Berenson
immediately
moved to the NHL, competing
in the 1962 playoffs with the
Montreal Canadiens the same
season.
It was the start of a long
20-year professional hockey
career for Berenson. And after
that ended, he bounced around
the NHL, coaching in St. Louis
and as an assistant in Buffalo,
before finding himself back in
Ann Arbor as the head coach at
his alma mater.
But on Tuesday, that will no
longer be the case.
In his time at the helm of
the Wolverines, Berenson has
grown to legendary status in
the hockey community. He has
led Michigan to two NCAA
Championships, 11 Frozen Four
appearances and 11 CCHA
Championships as well as a
streak of 22-straight NCAA
Tournament appearances from
1991-2012.
But that’s not what Berenson
is most proud of.
Two days after winning
the Stanley Cup with the
Canadiens in 1965, Berenson
began taking classes in the
business school at Michigan.
He claims that was the best day
of his life, trumping both the
victory with the Canadiens and
the championship parade that
followed.
It was the first sign of the
family atmosphere he would
eventually try to build, as the
University and its students felt
like a family to him.
The effect the degree has
had on him is evident, as he
now preaches the importance
of academics to all of his
players. But it isn’t the only
value he’s instilled in them.
“One of the biggest things
I’ve taken away from Red
is that you’re going to treat
people with respect,” said
former goaltender Shawn
Hunwick, who played under
Berenson from 2007-12.
“You’re going to do things the
right way. You’re going to do
it day in and day out, and it’s
going to shape who you are as
a person.
“And for me, (the) thing
about not being a ‘hockey
bum’ and life after hockey — I
only played one year after
Michigan. I decided that
Michigan was the pinnacle of
my playing career and I wanted
to move on, and I took his
advice to heart.
He helps mold
great, young
men who play
in the NHL, but
more so the guys
who go off into
the work force
and in family
life.”
Over the last
year, Berenson
was asked
to be a guest
speaker in Classic Civilizations
Professor Chris Potter’s course
at the University, where he
discussed his entire career.
He wanted to leave a lasting
impression on the class,
especially since there were
so many student athletes in
attendance, so he gave them a
bit of advice.
“I think the clearest thing
he said to everybody is don’t
count on sports,” Potter said.
“… I think it was very powerful
to see someone who’d been
as successful in the athletic
arena speaking out to athletes
and others saying, ‘You really
have to plan your life, and you
have to try to excel at whatever
it is that you’re doing. Not to
simply say to yourself that I’m
this great hockey player or
whatever, but that the values I
bring to the rink are the values
I bring to everything else.’ ”
Berenson’s impact was seen
Monday in his last moments as
head coach. Along with local
media outlets and current
team players, multiple former
players and various other
Michigan coaches stood in
the Junge Family Champions
Center for his farewell press
conference.
One of those in attendance
was men’s basketball coach
John Beilein. Beilein came
to support his colleague, and
his respect for Berenson was
apparent.
“I usually go to one game a
year,” Beilein
said. “It’s
unfortunate that
our schedules
cross over so
much. We were
rarely able to
attend each
other’s events.
He’s come to
my practices,
I’ve been to his
games. I just
think there’s
a great crossover in just the
same values.
“… Here’s one thing that
resonates that he told us:
‘Practice like you’re in second
place, and then play like you’re
in first place.’ I just said it to
my team before we went to the
tournament, when we had all
the success.”
The reason that Berenson
has earned so much respect
all around the University is
not just because of his success
on the ice. It’s because of how
much he loves the University
itself.
Berenson came back to
the University
looking to
cultivate
a family
atmosphere in
his program.
Monday, as
he reflected
on his time
at Michigan,
he considers
his attempt a
success.
“I want this
to be a big
family,” Berenson said. “I want
the players to feel like this is
family. Even the guys I came to
school with in the late (1950s),
we’re still the best of friends
and we stay in touch. I think
it’s a big Michigan family, and
we tried to establish that. One
of my first problems coming
back was to get the alumni
back on board. … They’re back,
and I feel good about that.”
Ironically enough, though,
one of the most prominent
examples of Berenson’s
family atmosphere is a player
he’s only coached for one
season — freshman forward
Will Lockwood, who was the
second-leading scorer on the
team with 20 points.
Lockwood came to Michigan
32 years after his father, Joe
Lockwood, who played on
the first Berenson-coached
Michigan team. For Joe, the
opportunity for his son to play
on a team coached by a man
who had brought him so many
life lessons was something he
relished.
“I wanted Will to have a
chance — I’m glad he got one
year, I’ll just say that,” the
elder Lockwood said. “Red’s
more than just a coach. He’s all
about the University, he’s about
the hockey, he’s just a great
representative of the athletic
department. I’m glad my kid
had a chance to play for him for
one year anyway.”
Joe Lockwood
isn’t alone in
his sentiment.
It’s one that
is considered
the norm for
anyone who
has played for
Berenson, and
for as important
as he’s been
to Michigan
hockey, his
legend reaches
far beyond the
ice. He’s taught the people
around him life lessons that
they’ll take with them for the
rest of their lives.
Whether it’s coaches who
have been alongside him
through the years, players
who have learned from him
or students who have simply
observed his teams, there is an
indelible mark that Berenson
has left on the University.
For him to be gone now is
going to be hard for many to
swallow.
“For me, it gives you an
idea that the people that
believe in you and that stood
behind you, that they’re not
always going to be there,” said
Michigan goaltending coach
Steve Shields. “When I think
of what’s important to me in
my life, Michigan hockey is
just about number one. Not
having Coach there and having
the coach be somebody I don’t
know, you think about it, and
you want to be a part of it, but
it’s sad that things like that
have to happen.”
Added Hunwick: “Coach
talked about his best day of
his life being when he was in
class at Michigan. … But the
best day of my life was when
Coach said I can come play at
the University of Michigan. … I
was giving up hockey because
I was coming to be a third
goalie. Coach told me, ‘You’re
going to be a good teammate,
you’re going to be a member of
this team, you’re going to have
to be a good student. He is a
legend. I’m a walk-on, third-
string goalie, and he treats us
like the Hobey Baker winner. …
He’s the same guy to everybody
in the room.”
Berenson was Michigan
hockey. Tuesday, he won’t be
anymore.
But the mark Berenson left
is permanent. He has built
an atmosphere where former
players are willing to send
their highly-touted sons to play
for him. It’s an atmosphere
where alumni of the program
are willing to come back at
the drop of a hat to support
another former player who is
suffering from ALS.
Berenson is one of the most
well-respected, living figures
in hockey. The day before
announcing his retirement
he joined other legends of the
game in commemorating the
closing of Joe Louis Arena,
where he coached the first
game played there with the St.
Louis Blues.
Berenson said himself
Monday, it’s time for the
program to go in another
direction, and he may have a
point. But Berenson and his
accomplishments won’t be
forgotten anytime soon.
He and his teams have
inspired fans to continue to
pack Yost Ice Arena despite the
up-and-down teams in recent
years.
But the reason the fans keep
coming back is the atmosphere
that Berenson has worked so
hard to cultivate in the last 33
years, and for that, Michigan
will always owe him gratitude.
tallied double hat tricks as a
forward for the St. Louis Blues,
because we forgot to bring it up.
As he walked out, Red mentioned
this to us. Beat writers had always
asked him about the Nov. 7
anniversary, and we hadn’t.
This was Red. He could’ve
lectured us or said nothing, even
let ego cloud the lesson. But he
knew we were young and he
knew we were learning and so he
instead decided to teach us about
diligence and research in his own,
gracious way. I’ll be hard pressed
to ever cover a coach that generous
again.
Michael Florek, 2009-11: In two
years of covering Red Berenson’s
hockey teams (2009-10 and 2010-
11), I, like most Daily reporters
covering the team, spent almost
every day in the lounge outside of
the hockey offices talking with Red
for 15 minutes or so.
In me and my beatmates’ time
with Red, we talked about hockey,
but we also talked about the
journalism industry, his playing
days, and how to find good pucks by
smelling them. We learned a lot of
lessons there. Some of them we’ve
already forgotten, but I’ll never
forget the musk ox protective circle
because of him.
One day, early in the season,
we asked about Michigan’s next
opponent,
Alaska
Fairbanks.
Fairbanks was famous for not
allowing many goals. When we
asked
about
(this),
Berenson
initially did the usual coachspeak.
Then, he stopped. I’m not sure if
he sensed we didn’t understand or
had just been watching National
Geographic, but he asked us if we
knew what musk ox were.
He explained they were long-
haired, bison-looking animals that
lived in the arctic.
When they sense a threat, they
form a circle around their young
and forced their attacker to try to
break through.
Alaska did that, but around their
net.
We left the lounge that day
both with more clarity on Alaska
Fairbanks’ defensive system and a
better understanding of the natural
world.
Mark Burns, 2009-11: “Who
wrote the Louie column?” Red
Berenson casually asked as we
began our usually after-practice-
interview-sessions upstairs at Yost
Ice Arena, with Berenson carrying
his customary coffee mug and
plopping in the same blue chair.
I had written a column midway
through 2009-10 season in January,
basically asking where was then-
junior forward Louie Caporusso’s
production on the ice. It was
pretty scathing in hindsight. And
yet, Caporusso made me eat my
words six weeks later as I wrote an
apology column to him. Berenson
was referencing the latter column
that March.
After a few moments of silence, I
slowly raised my hand and without
words he knew. “Good...good...
good,” I can remember hearing him
saying back. “Ok, first question...”
Yes, it was one singular moment
in two years of the covering the
Michigan hockey team, but you
knew how much Berenson cared
about his players based on that,
albeit brief, exchange. He was
sharp as a whit despite being
around 70 at the time — and still is,
I’m sure of it.
I think he appreciated, more
than anything, the Daily hockey
beat writers’ commitment to their
craft and covering the team at
nearly every single game, even
if it meant a 48-hour excursion
to New Hampshire and back for,
yes, one measly game against a
non-conference foe. He knew we
were dedicated, even giving us
the occasional shoutout at press
conferences at Joe Louis Arena in
front of 20 other media members
who only covered the team during
big games.
So with that, enjoy retirement,
Coach Berenson. Thanks for the
memories and being able to sit
with you for those interviews after
practice. Those were pretty special.
Andy Reid, 2007-08: My first
major beat at The Daily was the
hockey team. The first time I met
Red, he walked into the hockey
office after practice in his socks,
sipping a coffee. He sat in his cushy
recliner and looked expectantly at
us. I’ve never been more intimidated
in my life.
But Red went out of his way to
make the student writers at the
Daily feel at home. He understood
we were learning to be professionals,
just like his players. He saw me
walking home from a post-practice
press conference once, pulled over
and said, “Get in.” Not a question.
Not a suggestion. And gave me a ride
home and asked about my studies
and life. He was stern, but he cared.
About Michigan, not just the team.
Red, I’m sorry I wore a green hat
into your office that one time. I’ll
never do it again. But thank you for
allowing me, however briefly and
tangentially, to be involved in your
career. There will never be another
one like you.
Nathan Sandals, 2007-08: It’s
hard to pinpoint any particular
story, but I will never forget the
weekend Bo Schembechler died,
the hockey team was at Ferris State.
It was all hands on deck at the Daily
for a special Saturday edition, so
no one from the hockey beat was
at the game on Friday night. After
the game on Saturday night (during
which another Michigan team lost
by three points in Columbus) we
went to Red’s press conference. “I
don’t think I saw any of you guys
last night,” Red said to me and
my beat mate, with a mischievous
smile. He was busting our chops
a little bit, but as a beat writer, we
knew he appreciated our work and
even when he gave us grief (which
happened from time to time), he
was always generous with his time
and cared to see that student writers
had every chance to succeed as they
learned their trade.
One other point: Red was not
my professor, but I spent at least 15
minutes a day in his office hours for
two years. I’m grateful to have had
the opportunity to learn from one of
the greatest teachers of hockey and
life that the University has ever had.
James Dowd, 2005-07: Having
followed Michigan hockey from a
young age, it was an intimidating
experience to come face to face
with Coach Berenson for the first
time at the GLI during the 2004-
05 season while filling in on the
hockey beat. Over the next two
seasons with The Daily and the
following years with Inside College
Hockey, the nervousness subsided
and I was lucky enough to learn
a vast amount about the game,
both on and off the record, from
Red. Chatting in his office after
practice, press conferences or phone
conversations, Red always required
you to be prepared and be your best
and made all of us who covered
Michigan hockey better journalists
by coaching us to be students of
the game. I’ve always admired
the deep relationships he built
and maintained with his players,
be them Stanley Cup champions,
members of the Armed Forces,
neurosurgeons or businessmen. I’ll
always be grateful for the standard
he held myself and my colleagues to
and for the legacy he leaves for the
University of Michigan.
Scott Bell, 2003-04: During
my time at the Michigan Daily, I
had the opportunity to interview a
lot of big names — from Lloyd Carr
all the way to Bo Schembechler.
But nothing had me worried and
downright terrified like the time
I was given the assignment to
interview Red Berenson after the
hockey team’s year-end banquet.
None of the normal beat writers
were available, and I was a very
eager — albeit very green (that’s
another word for terrible) —
freshman reporter that was very
familiar with the Berenson stare.
But Red put up with my stumbling
and stuttering because he knew I
was prepared and he knew I was
familiar with his team. And no
matter how gruff he may have been
on the exterior, all he really wanted
was people who respected his team
and his sport, and he’d return that
respect tenfold.
Brady McCollough, 2001-02:
As a 19-year-old sophomore, you
could only learn so much from the
Daily’s senior sports editors. Red
Berenson took it upon himself to
teach a very valuable lesson to each
writer who was lucky enough to
cover his hockey team: The more
you put in, the more you get out.
Red expected us to be there every
practice, and he definitely took note
which of us took advantage of the
access he offered. I actually decided
I wanted to be a journalist within
a few months of joining the beat,
which was no coincidence. It was a
special feeling being taken seriously
by such a legend.
Joe
Smith,
2000-01:
Red
Berenson played a role in me having
my dream job now. It was the time I
spent covering Michigan hockey as
a sophomore in 2000 that sparked
my interest in wanting to become
a sportswriter. I learned a lot from
Red in his daily talks with us. He
was so gracious with his time,
especially if you showed up for
practice. Which I almost always did.
He was a little intimidating at the
time, but I learned how to be a pro.
And grew a passion for the sport I
still have today. Thank you Red.
Jeff
Weinstein,
Michigan
hockey
sports
information
director,w 2013-16: There was
nothing quite like listening to
Red Berenson talk hockey. If ever
there was a man to connect hockey
and Michigan’s past, present, and
future, it was Red, a man who
fondly recalled driving a tractor
back in Saskatchewan as a boy as
easily as a goal scored by Dylan
Larkin in a Red Wings game the
night before. For any reporter with
the opportunity to interview Red in
recent years, it was a treat, a chance
to hear a story from a man who
embodies well over a half century
of hockey history. I know because I
tried to sit in on every interview he
gave, not because I needed to, but
because I didn’t want to miss any
one of those great hockey stories or
nuggets of hockey wisdom. I think
the biggest reason Red connected so
well with players a quarter his age
towards the end of his career was
a shared passion for the University
and the program he embodied.
After a weekend sweep, that passion
was never so evident than in the
locker room and look of absolute joy
on Red’s face in the huddle with the
guys, singing The Victors. This is
the source of one of my favorite Red
Berenson moments. Michigan won
the 2015 GLI, and the team had just
completed “singing the song,” when
a rap song was put on by one of the
players in the room (I believe it was
Up on a Tuesday). Red with a big
smile on his face, turned to Michael
Downing and asked him – “What
does that mean?” Downing tried to
explain but couldn’t come up with
the words - he might has well have
been speaking a different language
to Red.
A hockey legend, and the ultimate
Michigan Man, I’ll never forget the
three years I had the opportunity to
spend around his program.
RED
From Page 7
MIKE
PERSAK
“I want the
players to feel
like this is
family”
“I’m glad
my kid had a
chance to play
for him”