Hockey, Hockey, and More Hockey

My Church.

I love Michigan Hockey.

In college, my housemates and I used to do almost everything together. We'd drink together, go to the bars, get groceries, and get fast food. We say together at football games. Most of the things that we did, we did together.

Michigan Hockey was my thing.

I was the only one in my house to have season tickets. I was the only one who cared about it at all. I convinced one of my housemates to come with me to a game once. He had fun, but he only went that one time. I went as much as I could, which was every game on the home schedule.

For me, it was a religious experience driven by both Yost's quaint antiquity, raucous environment, as well as my personal routine of going to the games. I would always walk alone to to the games. Whether it was warm or freezing, I went. If I had a vuvuzela in my hands, leaving myself vulnerable to the Michigan winter chill, I went. Schoolwork to do, a big party, dinner to eat, I put it all off for the two or three hours that I'd spend every Friday and Saturday at Yost.

It was because I love Michigan Hockey.

***

Yost itself is an experience. It's old and many of the bleachers are wooden. I believe they are going to replace them in the renovation and I hope it doesn't take away the charm. The seats are right on top of the ice, and there's no question why it has the best crowds in college hockey. The history is all there. you can feel it as you walk into the arena. You can see it in the huge trophy cases by the North walls. You can hear it being made as the crowd rings out its cheers.

There's a reason for why it's so awesome (from the WSJ article linked above):

Unless, of course, you walk into a college hockey arena. 

For a number of reasons, this niche sport, which is concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest, has become a showplace for unusual stadium architecture—and on many campuses, the best fan experience going.

I don't think it's fair to call it a "niche sport," but I will agree that it's an under the radar sport in college. Not all schools have teams like they do for basketball or football. College hockey has yet to see the spoils of mainstream popularity. At the same time, this is what keeps it special.

The lack of mainstream popularity has meant that the sport hasn't been corrupted by high ticket prices and the generic, cavernous arena. It's still accessible to the diehard. It's still intimate with storied rinks. It's still raw and untamed, allowing for vicious, yet fun chants. It's still pure.

***

Michigan has the most successful hockey program in the country. We have 9 NCAA Championships, countless Conference Championships and Conference Tournament Championships, and many Frozen Four appearances. There's also the matter of the streak. Michigan has made the NCAA tournament an unprecedented 22 years in a row.

A lot of that would not be possible without Red Berenson.

Berenson is in many ways Michigan hockey. He was a star player for Michigan and he rescued the program from mediocrity when he took over the program in 1984. The program was on the brink of collapse and the culture was a far cry from the dominance of the early years. Berenson has changed that and Michigan is Michigan again. Zach Helfand of the Michigan Daily had a great feature chronicling the Berenson era in the Daily this morning:

Sparked by the snub in 1990 and with the credibility from the 1991 tournament run to grab top recruits, Berenson brought the team to the verge of the National Championship game in 1991 and 1992. Each time, those seniors too suffered a painful ending to their careers.

With the expectation of success, heart break becomes an inevitable piece of the puzzle. Despite the unheralded consistency with which Michigan has appeared in the tournament, they've only one two championships. Losing in the tournament is the worst feeling in the world and last year's final loss was one of my darkest days.

Today marks the beginning of a new opportunity. It's a new tournament and a new chance to add to the legacy. There's new hope. I'm excited for this year's tournament because if things go right, we have a chance at something special.

***

At this point, I'm going to link all sorts of Hockey Christmas links. Hoover Street Rag has its annual Hockey Christmas Tournament Challenge. I'll take Michigan, Boston College, Miami, and North Dakota. The United States of Hockey has previews for all of the regions. Yost Built has a preview of the Michigan-Cornell game and MGoBlog has previews of Cornell, Denver, and Ferris State.

MGoUser stephenrjking recounts a magical time when regionals were played at college barns and Yost hosted the 2002 regional, also known as the Greatest Weekend in Yost History.

Lastly, Merry Hockey Christmas everyone! Have a good weekend as well!