Ahead of the CBC’s documentary on the 50th anniversary of the Summit Series, Summit 72, which will start airing on Wednesday at 8 PM EDT on Channel 9, MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with former University of Michigan coach Red Berenson regarding participating in the highly-charged hockey summit between Canada and Russia in 1972:
“Canada was trying to push them around, outmuscle them [early in the series],” Berenson said. “That wasn’t working. They didn’t shy away but they didn’t retaliate, so we’d end up with the penalty. They found a way to get even. They did a lot of kicking your feet out from under you and jabbing with their sticks. When they could, they got their licks in. There definitely was animosity. It just got more emotional as it went.”
Canada coach Harry Sinden faced tough lineup decisions.
“I remember talking to Harry one day and said, ‘Harry, you got to go with the guys that are playing because they’re the ones that are getting better. You can’t keep throwing guys in and expect them to get caught up to the group,’ ” Berenson said. “He settled on a lineup that was the right group and they kept getting better. We put a lot more pressure on (goaltender Vladislav) Tretiak than we did in the first four games.”
It took Canada some time to learn and adjust. Who were their best players? What kind of systems did they play?
“This regrouping and defensemen jumping in from the points and all kinds of back-door plays and one-timers that we didn’t do much in the NHL, it was like a whole different game,” Berenson said.