BGDrew wrote:
No offense, but while Rico isn't my favorite guy in the world he wins and has built Miami into a powerhouse. If you like Bergeron then you have to like Blasi. He really taught Chris how to coach D1.
A little correction here..... let me put on my Miami alumni hat.
Around 1989/1990, Miami finally assigned the maximum number of scholarships allowed under NCAA rules to their hockey program. That is correct, there was a time that Miami was affectively working short-handed.
This was also the time that Miami hired George Gwozdecky as their head coach (1989-1994). By the third year of his tenure, Miami had improved their program to land a spot in the NCAA tournament. It was Gwozdecky who recruited Mr. Bergeron and pinhead to play for Miami. Miami would win several regular season CCHA titles under Gwozdecky. It is Gwozdecky who began turning Miami's program into a contender - not Blah.
Gwozdecky left to coach Denver, where he would win a National Championship. He was followed by Mark Mazzoleni ( 1994-1999) who took the Redhawks to the NCAA at least once during his tenure. Miami was up and down during Mazzoleni's tenure, but the program was still strong. Mazz left Miami to coach Harvard.
Count Blah has been at Miami since 1999.
Yes, Blah hired Coach Bergeron as an assistant coach in 2000. However, unlike Blah, Bergeron actually played nearly 7 years at a professional level. Certainly he learned something about coaching during that tenure.
Also - no one at Miami denies that it was Chris Bergeron who was recruiting the top players at Miami and seemed to garnish the full respect of the players. So clearly, he was the coach that could identify talent. It is my understanding that there was quite a bit of gnashing and gnawing of teeth within the program when Coach left to come to BGSU. I think time will tell who really had the impact on the Miami program between 2000 and 2010.
FWIW, A friend who has Monster's season tix invited me a couple of months ago to an "appreciation day" affair, meeting and eating with the players... There's a former Miami player who saw my BG cap on and asked me if I knew Chris Bergeron.... I had to respond that I did not have the chance yet...he responded by saying, "if you ever do get that chance, thank him for me...without him, I wouldn't be here". (at the pro level).
Hard to argue against that kind of loyalty.
