Michigan
Colorado College
Morrison's OT Game-Winner Gives Wolverines Their Eighth NCAA Title
3/30/1996 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Site: Cincinnati, Ohio (Riverfront Coliseum)
Event: NCAA Frozen Four (Championship Game)
Score: Michigan 3, Colorado College 2 (OT)
Records: U-M (34-7-2), CC (33-5-4)
Next U-M Event: Season completed
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Brendan Morrison's goal at 3:35 of the first overtime gave the University of Michigan ice hockey team a 3-2 victory over Colorado College on Saturday (March 30) and the first NCAA championship for the Wolverines since the 1963-64 season.
Morrison rushed into the goal-mouth area and snapped a point-blank chance past Tigers goalie Ryan Bach, sparking a wild celebration on the ice at Riverfront Coliseum and among the Wolverines fans of the 13,330 spectators who gathered for what turned out for one of the most exciting games of the season. Morrison was named Most Outstanding Player of the Hockey Championship. Michigan coach Red Berenson recorded his 300th career collegiate coaching victory.
Mike Legg had forced the overtime with his tying goal at the 6:54 mark of the third period. Legg tapped in a rebound on a Wolverines power play. The Wolverines scored six times in 13 power-play opportunities during their three-game NCAA run.
By winning, Michigan finished the season 34-7-2 -- tying the school record for most victories in a season (1990-91: 34-10-3) -- and won its last nine games. Seven of those nine victories came against national powerhouses Colorado College, Boston University, Minnesota, Lake Superior State, Bowling Green and Michigan State (twice).
Morrison had set up the Wolverines' game-opening goal, feeding the puck from the right boards to Bill Muckalt in between the faceoff circles. Muckalt's one-timer eluded Bach between his legs at 11:33 of the first period.
Along with Morrison, goalie Marty Turco -- 21 saves, including a clutch glove save on Chad Remackel's second-period point-blank opportunity -- and defenseman Steven Halko were the other Michigan players named to the all-tournament team.
Game Notes
The championship game attendance of 13,330 is the third largest crowd ever to see a hockey game in Cincinnati history. The Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) attracted 13,901 vs. Edmonton (3/30/78) and vs. San Diego (1/8/77) ... Today's crowd is the largest amateur hockey attendance in Cincinnati history, surpassing the previous record of 12,943 established 12/12/87 when the U.S. Olympic Team played the Olympic Team of the Soviet Union ... Today's crowd is the largest hockey attendance in Cincinnati in more than 18 years. The three-game total attendance of 36,179 is the biggest ever in a three consecutive game series.
NCAA Hockey Championship Rally
Michigan's NCAA ice hockey championship rally will be held Monday afternoon (April 1) at 5 p.m. at Cliff Keen Arena. Players, coaches, school officials and the Michigan Pep Band will be on hand to recognize the Wolverines' hockey championship, accomplished in Saturday afternoon's thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over Colorado College in the title game at Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum. Brendan Morrison's rebound goal at 3:35 of overtime enabled the Wolverines to win their first national championship since the 1963-64 season.
NCAA Ice Hockey Championship All-Tournament Team
Goalie -- Marty Turco (Michigan)
Defenseman -- Scott Swanson (Colorado College)
Defenseman -- Steven Halko (Michigan)
Forward -- Brendan Morrison (Michigan)
Forward -- Martin St. Louis (Vermont)
Forward -- Peter Geronazzo (Colorado College)
Goal Descriptions
#1 -- Brendan Morrison centered the puck from the right boards to Bill Muckalt between the faceoff circles, and Muckalt one-timed a shot between Colorado College goalie Ryan Bach's legs. Muckalt (Morrison) at 11:33 of first period -- 1-0 U-M
#2 -- Colin Schmidt, standing behind the net, fed a soft pass to Peter Geronazzo in front, who chipped a shot over a sprawled Marty Turco. Geronazzo (Schmidt, Rud) at 3:52 of second period (power play) -- 1-1 TIE
#3 -- After Chad Remackel and Peter Geronazzo missed point-blank rebound attempts, Colin Schmidt tapped in a close-range shot past Turco and just inside the right post. Schmidt (Geronazzo, Remackel) at 5:37 of second period -- 2-1 CC
#4 -- With the Wolverines on the power play, Steven Halko's shot from outside the slot was stopped by Bach, but the rebound came to Mike Legg at the left post, and he nudged in a soft shot. Legg (Halko, Schock) at 6:54 of third period (power play) -- 2-2 TIE
#5 -- Greg Crozier fed Bill Muckalt at the left faceoff circle, and his shot was saved by Bach, but Morrison was there and, from outside the crease, he snapped in the national championship-winning goal for the Wolverines' first NCAA title since the 1963-64 season. Morrison (Muckalt, Crozier) at 3:35 of overtime -- 3-2 U-M
Postgame Quotes
Michigan Coach Red Berenson
On winning the national championship ... "We expected to play in this game, and like we said on Thursday, we expected to put ourselves in a position to win it. Our defense played well, and in a close game, it usually comes down to a mistake or a break."
On Colorado College ... "Their defense played very well, and like our guys, they didn't get the recognition for their defense because it was overshadowed by their offense."
On Brendan Morrison ... "Brendan's the epitome of a college hockey player. He's a good player and a good student, and I was happy that it was him that got the game-winner."
U-M Junior Center Brendan Morrison
On winning the national championship ... "It's something we'll remember for the rest of our lives. The game-winner came from the left wing, and then cut across the slot. It seemed like forever before it went in, but it finally did."
U-M Sophomore Goalie Marty Turco
On seeing a lot of shots ... "I came out tonight ready to play, and I don't mind getting outshot as long as we win."
Colorado College Coach Don Lucia
Opening comments ... "I would like to congratulate Michigan. They played a great game. If you look at the teams that they beat the last few weeks -- Lake Superior State, Minnesota, Boston University and ourselves -- they went one-by-one through the top five teams in the country and that's why they are standing as national champions. They are a great team and we knew that coming in, and I thought that we played as good of a game all season. Defense, we knew it was going to be important, and I thought that we did a good job shutting them down. I couldn't be prouder of our kids. They fought and they battled all season long and we ended up with five losses all season long. It was a tough game losing, but at the same time the way we lost to a good team it is a lot easier to take."
CC Senior Right Wing Peter Geronazzo
On what the team was thinking before the game ... "We felt really confident going into the game. Not too many people gave us a shot going into the game tonight. We knew that we had the team to win. We knew that we were as good as them, if not better. We came out and thought if we could weather the storm for the first 10 minutes that we would be fine. We got down one, but not one guy in our locker room gave up. We were focused today, and we thought that we had a good chance of winning going into the third. Sometimes there is a lucky bounce, like on Thursday. It just wasn't in the cards tonight."
