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Pearson reflects on coaching Huskies, Wolverines

College Hockey

By DAVER KARNOSKY

For The Daily News

HOUGHTON — When he took over the hockey program at Michigan Tech, Mel Pearson stood as a man full of promise and a man with a plan for getting his alma mater back on its feet after spending over two decades at the University of Michigan as an assistant to legendary head coach Red Berenson.

Now, as he prepares for the upcoming 2017-18 season, he does so as the man filling the skates of Berenson as the man at the top of the Wolverines program.

Only, don’t tell him that.

“I don’t have to fill his shoes,” said Pearson. “He’s basically built the path, and I just have to walk along that path and continue to extend it. I am not Red and I never will be.”

Over the course of the last six seasons, the hockey landscape changed greatly. Penn State and Arizona State both made the jump to Division I. The CCHA and the WCHA were rocked by the defections of multiple programs to join two fledgling conferences in the Big Ten and the NCHC the likes of which caused the downfall of the CCHA and a near complete reorganization of the WCHA.

Finally, Michigan Tech returned to national prominence, a state the program had not been in since the days when Pearson was a player.

Pearson delivered on much of the promise he came in with when he was convinced to make the move from the Wolverines to the Huskies. He won 13 games or more in every season, won a GLI, and twice qualified for the NCAA Tournament in a three-year span.

“I think part of that was that there were good pieces in place,” said Pearson. “I think the previous staff had identified some good players. I think there were some good people here.”

When he was first convinced by Athletic Director Suzanne Sanregret that he needed to return to Houghton, he found out quickly how difficult the task would be when he and his staff, which included former Michigan standout Bill Muckalt and former Michigan State defender Damon Whitten, attempted to do some early recruiting.

“We got a lot of nos, obviously, at the start,” said Pearson. “Once your program has success, once they see the style of play, I think that really helped us.”

However, all three came from winning traditions, and with a 16-win campaign in their first season, which was done with a roster nearly full of recruits from former head coach Jamie Russell, Pearson and his staff began building trust with recruits that Michigan Tech would be the type of place they could see themselves succeeding at.

“The last three or four years we felt like we could beat anybody on any given night,” said Pearson. “I think that was one of the big differences from when we first got there.”

That message was strengthened by the emergence of players like Jujhar Khaira, who made the jump to the professional ranks after his first season with the Huskies, and Tanner Kero and Blake Pietila, both of whom spent time in the NHL last season with the Chicago Blackhawks and New Jersey Devils, respectively.

Suddenly, that proven track record of success that Pearson, Muckalt, and Whitten, and then later Joe Shawhan and Gary Shuchuk, had drew the attention of further quality recruits, which has helped the Huskies develop a sustainable path in which Huskies’ fans can expect the team to continue to follow.

“We turned the program around,” said Pearson. “I think the program is in great shape. I think the program is in the best shape since back when I was a player. I think we have good people coming in there in the next couple of years.”

However, it won’t be with Pearson at the helm.

As the university continues its search for Pearson’s successor, Pearson has begun the process of heading out on the recruiting trail for the Wolverines.

The Big Ten already features Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State. This season, they add Notre Dame to the mix.

As a hockey conference, the Big Ten struggled for the first few seasons, but the 2016-17 campaign saw the Golden Gophers earn a No. 1 seed, the Nittany Lions clinch an NCAA berth, and a very competitive season from the Badgers under first-year head coach Tony Granato.

The Big Ten stands poised to take its place among the top leagues in the country, and that was part of what interested Pearson in the top job at Michigan.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to join a great league like the Big Ten,” said Pearson. “I think last year you really saw the growth of the Big Ten and I think it is going to continue to grow.”

It also helped that family ties to Ann Arbor are deeply rooted at this point.

“First and foremost is my family,” said Pearson. “I have two daughters who live down in that area. We are expecting our first grandchild. I’ve sacrificed a lot of family time to coach and be on the road.”

On the recruiting side, Pearson believes that the tradition of winning that Berenson built will help him land recruits.

“Michigan will sell itself,” said Pearson. “It will sell itself on its reputation and the history of the hockey program. Regardless of who is coaching there, I think you are going to find players who want to come there and put on that jersey.”

While that is a good thing, it also tends to lead to the challenges of losing multiple players early, not unlike what the next Huskies coach will deal with thanks to the losses of Matt Roy and Angus Redmond to NHL contracts.

One other problem Pearson will run into with the Big Ten is the scheduling issues the conference is going through, where television contracts and football dictate the way games are scheduled. However, it might lead to differing in-game decisions that could be beneficial if managed properly.

“I think a lot of things go on with that: what days you can practice, how much you can practice,” said Pearson. “You probably can play a shorter bench and get your best players on the ice more.”

Pearson knows that Ann Arbor is not Houghton in that the scrutiny of his decisions will be handled by a larger media pool than what he often saw in the Copper Country. However, he feels that the community actually helped prepare him for what is to come.

“Wherever I went in Houghton, I would run into somebody, whether it was at the bank, or the grocery store, or a restaurant, or local watering hole, and people want to talk about hockey,” said Pearson. “The Copper Country people are educated on their hockey. They want to know and they have questions. I loved that. Good, bad, or indifferent, they want to talk about hockey.”

As for Houghton, Pearson leaves with lasting memories that will carry him long beyond whatever tenure he will accrue in Ann Arbor.

“I spent 16 years up there between being a student athlete, an assistant coach and a head coach,” said Pearson. “I’ve got a ton of great friends there and life-long memories from our experiences there.

“I would just like to really thank the community for everything they have done for my wife and I, making it feel so inviting for us. I was so excited to have some success and to have them enjoy that because they had gone so long without having that.”

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