Michigan-Minnesota hockey rivalry rolls on

By Fred Link
Daily Sports Writer

In the early 1960s, when Michigan coach Red Berenson was playing for the Wolverines, the Michigan-Minnesota rivalry was one of the most heated in college hockey.

"I remember playing in Minnesota, where it was nearly a riot," Berenson said. "It was a big thing. (John) Mariucci was the coach, and he really had his team playing hard against Michigan."

FILE PHOTO Michigan center Bobby Hayes and the rest of the Wolverines will try to further their success in their rivalry with the Golden Gophers tonight. Michigan and Minnesota have a long history of hard-fought games.

During Berenson's playing days, the Wolverines and the Golden Gophers were both members of the WCHA.

In the 1981-82 season, Michigan left the WCHA to join the CCHA, and for a time, the rivalry between the two schools cooled off. After meeting four times a year for the past 60 years, the Wolverines and the Gophers met only four times from 1982-92.

Since 1993, Michigan and Minnesota have met every year in the College Hockey Showcase - an annual showdown between Minnesota and Wisconsin from the WCHA and Michigan and Michigan State from the CCHA.

Since the series began again, the rivalry between the Gophers and the Wolverines has developed into one of the best in college hockey.

"The reason it's such a rivalry is because their team has been so strong and our team has been very competitive with them," Berenson said. "We've won games against them. We've lost games against them. Every game we've played against them have been good games."

For the past two years especially, games in the Michigan-Minnesota rivalry have been particularly heated.

Two seasons ago, the Gophers snapped Michigan's nine-game winning streak, beating the Wolverines, 3-2, in a hard-fought game.

Last year's matchup in the College Hockey Showcase was even better. With seven seconds remaining in the third period, Minnesota's Erik Rasmussen scored to tie the score at three. Just 51 seconds into overtime, Brendan Morrison took a pass from Matt Herr and one-timed it past Minnesota goaltender Steve DeBus to give the Wolverines the victory.

In the past two seasons, the Wolverines have been the Gophers' nemesis in the NCAA tournament, knocking them out of the NCAAs each year in the regional finals.

Last season, Michigan defeated the Gophers, 7-4, to advance to the final four in Milwaukee.

The game that stands out the most in the recent Michigan-Minnesota rivalry, however, is the 1996 NCAA regional final - the game in which Mike Legg scored "The Goal."

Trailing, 2-1, in the second period and with the Wolverines on the power play, Michigan center Mike Legg scooped up the puck on the blade of his stick.

Like a lacrosse player, Legg cradled the puck on his stick and flipped it over DeBus's shoulder and into the net tying the score at two. Michigan went on to beat the Gophers, 4-3, and eventually won the national championship.

Each of these recent encounters has helped inflate the Michigan-Minnesota rivalry to the level of prestige and excitement it enjoyed in Berenson's playing days. If history is any indication, tonight's Hall of Fame game should be quite a show.

10-10-97