Left to right, WTKA’s Ira Weintraub, John U. Bacon and coach Red Berenson.  Sidenote: If Red retires it won’t be for health reasons, the Baron is fit as a fiddle.  (photo: Ansel Adams) Dave Brandon has only been at the helm for a few weeks but he’s already presided over some new chapters of Michigan history – perhaps literally.   I recently reached out to a pair of noted Wolverine historians, namely John U. Bacon and John Kryk, to comment on a couple of major goings on down on State Street. Blue Ice 2? As unlikely as this seemed just a few weeks ago, the run of the hockey team through the CCHA playoffs and into the dance will unquestionably go down in U-M hockey lore.  Beyond the turnaround, consider the preservation of the unbelievable consecutive NCAA tournament appearances streak (now 20) and the emergence of walk-on goalie Shawn Hunwick.  If it’s not a movie script, it’s certainly a chapter in a book.  But where does this all fit in M hockey lore?   The definitive book on Wolverine hockey is of course John U. Bacon’s marvelous Blue Ice: The Story of Michigan Hockey.  While Bacs hasn’t produced an updated volume, the story of the 2009-10 squad would certainly have its place if Blue Ice were penned today.  I caught up…

More good news  Just out via U-M media relations, Michigan football will tie this year’s Spring game to a fundraiser for the new C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.  Great stuff: Football and C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital Partner for Spring Game Fund Raiser Beam Family of Brighton, Mich., Provides “Matching Gift” Incentive ANN ARBOR – University of Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez announced today (March 23) a unique partnership between the Wolverines’ program and C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital for the annual spring game slated for Saturday, April 17, at 1 p.m. The spring game is a free public event, but U-M football and Mott are partnering in a fund raiser to assist in the building of the new C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital scheduled to open in Fall 2012. “Our players and staff, as well as Rita and the coaches’ wives, feel a great connection with Mott Children’s Hospital,” said Rodriguez. “This partnership is an extension of our long-standing relationship with Mott and provides us with another avenue to assist with their cause of helping children.” “We are thrilled for the opportunity to partner with the U-M football team and Coach Rodriguez to benefit the patients at U-M Mott Children’s Hospital,” said Pat Warner, Chief Administrative Officer for C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital. “The annual spring game is always…

In a surprise if you follow the hockey nerds, Michigan will be headed out Fort Wayne and will face Bemidji State at 7:30pm in the first round of the 2010 NCAA hockey tournament.   Tickets, Tickets, Tickets?  Click here or and pick to the StubHub banner on the right toolbar.  You can also go crazy and reserve your Frozen Four tickets here. Here’s a Michigan fan’s Bracket: Here’s a .pdf of the U-M NCAA bracket if you need it or you can grab the jpeg here. For those looking for a clean, non-Michigan inspired NCAA bracket, check it here from ncaa.com.

  WOOOOOOOOOO!  And it goes on and on and on, on & on Photo: ccha.com We’ll know in a couple hours where this wild run goes from here, but it appears as though Shawn Hunwick and the Wolverines will be slotted at the number 12 seed overall and headed to Worcester.   What a run and what an incredible feeling for Michigan fans.  With the final ratings out there it looks like Michigan will be slotted as the number 12 overall seed and face North Dakota. College Hockey News has a very nice breakdown of their projections: Midwest (Fort Wayne) 1. Miami vs. 16. Alabama-Huntsville 8. Bemidji State vs. 9. Yale East (Albany) 2. Denver vs. 15. RIT 7. Cornell vs. 10. Northern Michigan West (St. Paul) 3. Wisconsin vs. 14. Vermont 6. St. Cloud State vs. 11. New Hampshire Northeast (Worcester) 4. Boston College vs. 13. Alaska 5. North Dakota vs. 12. Michigan Seedings explained here as well; the only question for CHN is whether Denver or Wisconsin will head to St. Paul: The committee’s procedure is to take the seedings (shown above), order them 1-16, then bracket them in serpentine order. In other words, 1-16-8-9 in one bracket … 2-15-7-10 in another … 3-14-6-11 … and 4-13-5-12. That gives us the groups you see above. Consequently, Wisconsin — just…

  Yeeees! Lynch after U-M goes up 5-1  Photo: me   photo: CCHA.com  Damn we needed this one and we got it.   Kind of last minute I made it down to the Joe for the big one versus CCHA powerhouse Miami, OH and it was worth it.  The 5-2 win puts Red and crew on the brink of a NCAA tourney bid.   A win in the finals over Northern Michigan will do it, and every unit is fully engaged right now and firing.  Michigan really outworked Miami, who obviously have less incentive here as their tourney bid was sealed up weeks ago. Here’s an example of Michigan feeling it.  Check out these stills Lynch’s 2nd goal to put Michigan up 5-1 in the third period: In still (1), the puck slides across to Lynch who’s got mucho real estate for a shot.  He could have merely flicked it or pushed it to the right side of the net and probably would have lit the lamp.  Earlier this season Lynch goes right and the puck ends up in the glove.  But he didn’t tonight.   Rolling in at a high clip he actually settled for a split second and instead (2) slid the puck under the goalie glove and into the left side of the net.  (3) Horn sounds, crowd erupts, Lynch…

Somewhat exciting news today that Michigan and Notre Dame will square off under the lights of the Big House in 2011 so…it’s the right time to take a look back at the first time U-M lined ‘em up at night.