By Dan Stillman
When Brendan Morrison broke Denny Felsner's Michigan scoring record early in the third period of Saturday night's game against Notre Dame, the rest of the Wolverines came off the bench to congratulate him.
Morrison had eclipsed the all-time assists record the previous night - a great achievement. But nothing can compare to becoming the school's most prolific scorer ever.
It was a moment that the Wolverines and their fans had been anticipating for weeks, and it had finally happened.
"It didn't quite come on the play that I had envisioned," Morrison said. "You always picture the perfect pass, or an end-to-end rush."
The record-breaking point came on an assist, 2:58 into the third period. Sean Peach sent in a shot from the point, which Morrison deflected to Matt Herr, who put it in the back of the net.
After four spectacular seasons, the Michigan captain, twice a Hobey Baker Award finalist, notched his 262nd point.
When asked what it has been like watching Morrison operate over the last four years, senior Mike Legg replied: "He's the surgeon. Unbelievable. The guy's incredible."
What Morrison achieved Saturday night was indeed truly incredible. Points - the combined total of goals and assists - are the ultimate statistical indication of accomplishment in hockey.
In the future, the record will serve as historical proof of how special a player Morrison was at Michigan.
For those who have seen him play, or even played with him, no statistical proof is needed.
"He was different right from the start," Legg said. "He was a leader right when he first came in here.
"From freshman (year), everybody was looking up to him, and it's just continued."
During the 17 minutes that remained in the game after he set the record, Morrison showed why he is a leader.
The Fighting Irish turned decidedly rougher, especially towards Morrison, after the celebration of the record-breaking assist, which helped extend Michigan's lead to 6-0.
Second-year Notre Dame coach Dave Poulin was hardly in a celebratory mood when the game stopped momentarily and the Michigan bench spilled out onto the ice.
"There's a rule in the book, and it states clearly that there's a penalty if the entire team goes on the ice to celebrate a goal," Poulin said. "Now, apparently, there was some change between the officiating crew and the director of officials after the second period. I knew nothing of this.
"I understand it's a great achievement, without question. But you're changing a rule that's in the book while the game is going on."
Evidently, Poulin didn't fully understand the significance of what had just happened, and he should know better.
Like Morrison, he too was a Hobey Baker candidate, when he played for Notre Dame in 1982.
Poulin played in the NHL for almost 10 years. He knows hockey. He should know something special when he sees it. He must not have been looking.
"There's 60 minutes in the game, (and) we don't stop playing," Poulin said.
Maybe Poulin should have been warned during intermission of the possible celebration. But that oversight is no excuse for how his team behaved following the celebration.
Like many other teams this season, Notre Dame's style of play took a turn for the worse in the final period. The Fighting Irish bumped, clutched, grabbed, and threw blatant cheap shots at Morrison.
But Morrison resisted retaliation, and stayed out of the penalty box. Almost any other player, at any level, would have lost his composure.
Not Morrison. Not on his night.
The last-place Irish are many years away from reaching anything even remotely similar to the current status of Michigan hockey.
"I think coach Poulin, down the road, if something like that happens in their program, that he'll better appreciate the situation," Michigan coach Red Berenson said.
Until then, Morrison will receive plenty of appreciation from the rest of the hockey world, which certainly understands the magnitude of his achievements.
MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily
Michigan's all-time scoring leader was hooked more than a few times in Saturday night's game against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish seemed to play a lot rougher after Morrison set the scoring record early in the third period.