Re: Red Berenson: America's Sorest Loser
U-M hockey coach Red Berenson laments team's poor fortune
St. Paul, Minn.— Head coach Red Berenson walked into the Wolverines locker room about 45 minutes after Michigan lost to Minnesota Duluth, 3-2 in overtime, in the championship game of the Frozen Four.
He grabbed a slice of pizza, took one bite and threw it in the garbage, as if disgusted by something more than the preceding game.
Shortly after, he dismissed the choked-up Wolverines and tried to describe the emotions of a team so close to glory.
"I think right now it's pretty tough to reflect on the season when you just lost a national championship game in overtime. If you're a competitor, you're going to be devastated," he said.
"You know the seniors aren't going to get another chance, and they've been the nuts and bolts of this team. Our young guys, they might think they'll get the chance every year, but it doesn't work that way."
Berenson returned to the title game for the third time in his 27-year career at Michigan. The first two times the Wolverines left as 3-2 overtime winners, a complete opposite feeling from Saturday.
"I was more excited about winning a national championship than I was a Stanley Cup," he said. "There was no comparison. The investment you put into your team and the program years and years of trying to get there — and then to win one was unbelievable."
The 2010-11 Wolverines have some commonalities with Berenson's two champions, he said. The 1996 and 1998 champs relied on goalie Marty Turco, who Berenson said wasn't any better than Shawn Hunwick was in this year's Frozen Four. The first title-bearing team had more firepower, and the second relied on four senior leaders to help overcome 11 inexperienced freshmen in beating a better Boston College team.
"This team was a little bit in between," Berenson said. "We weren't as prolific offensively. We were better defensively. We had a goalie that could make a difference, and we have great seniors that were leading the way."
The Wolverines were just 2-2-4 in overtime games entering the title game while the Bulldogs went 6-2-4. And even though Michigan had a chance to recover during the intermission, having to kill off nine power plays left the Wolverines with less energy than the Bulldogs in the extra period.
"You'd like to have some power plays, too," Berenson said. The Wolverines were 0 for 4 on the power play compared to the Bulldogs' 1 for 9. "The game can't be that one-sided physically."
Berenson said he was happy for Minnesota-Duluth that it won its first title and admitted the Bulldogs were better than he thought throughout the season. Still, taking one bite of pizza in the losing locker room wasn't where he wanted to be.
"We could be national champions just as easy as not. The best team doesn't always win," he said. "We get an ugly goal, the game's over and we're happy. … We're used to playing in big games and in big rinks, but I can't tell you this was a real good game for us."
From The Detroit News:
http://detnews.com/article/20110411...son-laments-team-s-poor-fortune#ixzz1JEc1QGK3
I'll call Wonder Bread and see why they still only include 8. 
