Bergeron and his predecessor, Rico Blasi, worked out the series before Miami athletic director David Sayler fired Blasi after 20 seasons as the RedHawks' coach and hired Bergeron, a former Miami player and assistant coach. It just adds to what normally would be a high level of anxiety that always accompanies a new coach's debut.
»RELATED: Miami introduces Bergeron
“Let’s make the game about Miami versus Bowling Green, not Bergeron versus Bowling Green,” the new coach said Monday in his office, which overlooks the arena. The RedHawks are scheduled to visit Bowling Green on Dec. 30.
This year is the 30th anniversary of Bergeron’s arrival in Oxford from Wallaceburg, Ontario, in 1989. He earned four letters and was a two-time Miami team captain before being named the Central Collegiate Hockey Association Best Defensive Forward and the RedHawks’ Most Outstanding Senior.
After playing professionally for seven seasons, he spent 10 as a Miami assistant — helping the team go a combined 226-139-37, a .608 winning percentage — before heading north on Interstate 75 to take over a moribund Bowling Green program that finished the previous season with just five wins. The Falcons went 171-154-44 during his nine seasons, reaching the Western Collegiate Hockey Association finals twice in his final three seasons and this past season reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 29 seasons.
“I didn’t see myself coming back under these circumstances,” he said. “If I came back at all, I figured it would have been because Rico moved on to a better opportunity. We sat down and talked. That had to happen. “
Bergeron inherits at Miami a team that last season went 11-23-4 overall and a tied for seventh (5-17-2-1) in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. The losing season was Miami’s fourth straight, leaving Blasi two wins short of 400 in his career. Practice for this season started the first week of September, but Bergeron admits he still has a lot to learn about his team, which returns 16 letterwinners. He put the months before to good use.
“It allowed us to get to know them off the ice a little bit,” he said. “We had ample time since the spring, but that’s not just one way. Trust and building relationships goes both ways. It’s really tough to tell what kind of team we’ll have until adversity hits. We want to set a foundation of defending and being hard to play against. I think you can teach defending.
“There’s an anxiousness, and it’s not just because of who we’re playing,” he added. “It’s time to see where we are as a team.”
Besides getting to know his team and putting together a staff, Bergeron and his family faced the task of moving from Bowling Green to Oxford during what he described as a “crazy six months.” The task was somewhat different than he moved as a freshman into Dennison Hall 30 years ago.
“As anybody knows, the time goes by so fast,” he said. “You think, ‘Where’d the time go?’ It’s pretty astonishing. There’s a sense of déjà vu, for sure. There are a lot of new faces, but there are some familiar faces, too. There are a lot of new buildings. I don’t think the campus has ever looked better. There’s a vibe around Oxford that’s strong, and it’s one I’m proud to be a part of.
“This feels like home now.”
SUNDAY’S GAME
Bowling Green at Miami, 5 p.m., 1490
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