Blue Ice: The Story of Michigan Hockey

by John U. Bacon

Blue Ice relates the tale of the University of Michigan's hockey program--from its fight to become a varsity sport in the 1920s to its 1996 and 1998 NCAA national championships. This history of the hockey program profiles the personalities who shaped the program--athletic directors, coaches, and players. From Fielding Yost, who made the decision to build the team a rink with artificial ice before the Depression (which ensured hockey would be played during those lean years), to coaches Joseph Barss, who survived World War I and the ghastly Halifax explosion before becoming the program's first coach, to Red Berenson, who struggled to return his alma mater's hockey team to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s. Players from Eddie Kahn, who scored Michigan's first goal in 1923, to Brendan Morrison, who upon winning the 1996 national championship with his goal said, "This is for all the [Michigan] guys who never had a chance to win it." Blue Ice also explores the players' exotic backgrounds, from Calumet in the Upper Peninsula to Minnesota's Iron Range to Regina, Saskatchewan; how coach Vic Heygliger launched the NCAA tournament at the glamorous Broadmoor Hotel; and how commissioner Bill Beagan transformed the country's premier hockey conference. In Blue Ice , fans of hockey will learn the stories behind the curse of the Boston University Terriers, the hockey team's use of the winged helmet, and the unlikely success of Ann Arbor's home-grown talent. Unlike other sports at the collegiate level, the hockey players at Michigan haven't been motivated by fame or fortune; rather, they came to Michigan get an education and to play the game they loved. John U. Bacon has won numerous national writing awards and now freelances for Sports Illustrated, Time, ESPN Magazine, and the New York Times , among others.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Hockey

456 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

John U. Bacon is an American journalist and author of books on sports and business as well as a sports commentator on TV and radio.

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a terrific read with some surprises for me along the journey. I did not attend the University of Michigan; however, I am a lifelong hockey fan; my best days of playing hockey as a kid were on frozen lakes, ponds, and parking lots. While most folks would likely rather watch a college ball game on New Year’s Day, I would rather watch the NHL annual Winter Classic outdoor game. This year’s Winter Classic was the Boston Bruins at the Chicago Blackhawks played at the Notre Dame Football Stadium in South Bend Indiana. Baseball is a sport I will always enjoy and love going to MLB games; but hockey will always be my first love. This book is truly a definitive account of Michigan Hockey and is a book not likely to be read by people who did not attend the University of Michigan and not likely to be read by people not interested in hockey – this is all understandable of course. There were some pleasant reminders of hockey history and some pure hockey surprises as well. In a condensed manner I am providing only a few here. Every decade in UofM’s hockey history however, there were many interesting events, history, and achievements made to strive the Michigan Hockey program forward. Hobey Baker is the opening chapter – a sort of honorary approach to the collegiate game overall given what he accomplished in Princeton Hockey.

Listed here are merely but a few that stood out to me.

Joseph Barss: The first coach of Michigan Hockey. He was a machine gun sergeant in the Princess Patricia’s unit of the Canadian Light Infantry. He was gassed in Flanders and then took a year to recuperate in France. In 1917 he was sent home to Halifax Nova Scotia to recuperate further. While recuperating and ambulatory, he witnessed the Halifax Explosion on 6 December 1917. He was not in harm’s way, but he had the presence of mind to help the injured; in addition to his experiences within the Fields of Flanders – he witnessed the deaths of many civilians. He had played against the Montréal Canadiens prior to his WWI military service. His volunteer service in Halifax included medical assistance and treatments to the many; after many months he came to realize his calling was to helping others. Barss arrives in Ann Arbor Michigan to study medicine at the University of Michigan, not to play or coach hockey. The hockey program at the UofM had its initial attempts at full Varsity status in 1911, but was denied – it took 12 years and in 1923 gained the status long sought. Barss had officiated the “Huron Rats” game played on Lake Huron during winter months. He became UofM’s first official hockey coach in 1923. He would resign his hockey coach post in 1927 the year he graduated with his degree from the University of Michigan School of Medicine. In 1921 however, a man of vision would become the new Athletic Director at UofM – his name was Fielding Yost and he would remain the AD through 1941. Together, he and Barss developed the hockey program further than imagined at the time.

Fielding Yost: Born in 1871 in West Virginia, Fielding Yost knew nothing about hockey in 1923; but he knew a lot about the impact of sports on building character for that time in American history. He became the Athletic Director in 1921 and had coached the Michigan Football Team to many victories in his 20 years of head coaching from 1901 -1921. The meager son of a Confederate Soldier during the War Between the States, he had built the largest collegiate football stadium, track & field venue, and managed in 1928 to create the first artificial ice in a building he had the university purchase before the stock market crash and Great Depression that followed. In addition to all this he had built the best collegiate golf course and baseball stadium in that part of the country at the time. These buildings would be renovated over the years and they still stood in the late 1990’s. Yost would retire his post in 1941 and pass away in 1946.

Mel Wakabayashi: The leading scorer, MVP, and Captain of the Michigan Wolverine hockey team (1965/1966) was born in a Canadian Government Japanese Internment Camp in British Columbia 1942. His parents later would rarely speak of the camp; however, when they did it was with positive reference to the point that had they not been in Canada at the outbreak of the Second World War Mel’s father would have had to have served in the Imperial Forces of Japan in some capacity and the family would have gone hungry. “Little Mel” as he was known stood all of 5’ 5” in height; but as anyone with any form of intelligence knows that a person’s heart cannot be measured in feet and inches of stature alone. If there were any reason for NCAA Division I Hockey Conference to begin a thoughtful retroactive awarding of the Hobey Baker Award – Mel Wakabayashi is but one reason to do so – there are many others in other decades that should also retroactively receive this award. Beginning with Little Mel would be a fantastic beginning to the storied history of the game of hockey – Collegiate or otherwise.

Mike Legg: 1996 NCAA Quarterfinal to keep UofM’s hopes alive – a must see Miracle Goal followed by a repeat in 2016 for students of the University of Michigan: http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=178... Keith Olbermann stated on the air the night of this game that it is “the best collegiate hockey goal you will ever see.’

[Ian Loree · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5. It was going to be difficult to cover 80 years of history in 400 pages, and I had high expectations for it as (still!) the definitive, and only book on Michigan hockey history in the 21st century. I suppose part of the problem is that its most engaging sections are naturally going to be the years when Michigan is winning championships (50s/90s) or come just short (1977, in the best-told story of the book). Some years receive multiple chapters while others are glossed over in a paragraph.

Bacon does a solid job choosing which teams to flesh out, such as the foundational teams of the 80s, and Joseph Barss' pioneers of the 20s. He goes in-depth into many key individual players to give a book large in scope a personal touch, which I did appreciate even if I was reading the book from a broader historical perspective, as much has changed even from the writing of this book to today. The Coliseum likely will only stand for a few more years, and Michigan is now coached by a former player whose time in Ann Arbor was too late to chronicle in 2002. I would welcome an updated version of this book, although I don't think it would come until Michigan wins that elusive 10th national championship.

(Bacon's chapter roasting the Ohio State band is also a highlight.)

[Dave Cottenie · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Blue Ice had the potential to be a terribly boring recount of Michigan hockey, season by season. However, the superlative writing of John Bacon made the lengthy history of Michigan hockey extremely interesting and exciting. Even at over two decades old, the history stands up and remains interesting. The description and history of the goal now known as “The Michigan was particularly masterful. Excellent read.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably only enjoyed by a Michigan hockey fan, this book is as rich as the U-M hockey history.

[Brian Bundesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

John U. Bacon is a really good writer. This history is a very interesting and thorough chronicle of the University of Michigan hockey program. Highly recommended if you are a UM hockey fan.

[Jashvina Shah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't in good faith recommend this book. It was a great history lesson in Michigan hockey as well as college hockey as a whole and the shifting landscape. However, the chapter title "character" is where I put the book down. I believe that sexual assault allegations should be mentioned, if you're writing a book about a team's history, but there's a way to write about it and the way it was done here was pretty irresponsible. The book was written in 2001 and I honestly hope that, if he were writing it now, it would be different.