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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — As one of the goaltenders on the Greatest College Hockey Team Ever (GCHTE), Julian Baretta answered to "Sieve-y" — a nickname derived from a derisive chant aimed at opposing goalies at the Dane County Coliseum, wore contact lenses (20-400 vision), threw up in the locker room before opening faceoffs and hummed the Beatles song "Penny Lane" to stay focused when the puck was in the other end of the rink.
As the quarterback of the Greatest College Hockey Power Play Ever (GCHPPE), Craig Norwich considered leaving the Wisconsin program over Christmas of his sophomore season because of his inability to communicate with an interim head coach, specialized in free-wheeling rushes up-ice and popularized a fancy pirouette, a 360-degree spin on his skates, leaving forecheckers in his wake.
As the poster boy of the 1977 national championship game, Steve Alley didn't hear coach Bob Johnson's inspirational speech between the third period and overtime because he was in the bathroom, sitting in a stall, giving himself a pep talk and visualizing scoring the game-winning goal. A feat which he ultimately accomplished, leading the Badgers to a 7-6 overtime win over Michigan at Detroit's fabled Olympia.
Forty-years later, Alley, Norwich and Baretta will join many of their former teammates this weekend in Madison to celebrate the 1976-77 season during which the Badgers went 37-7-1 and won the Big Ten, the WCHA and the NCAA championships. Besides making a clean sweep of all the titles, this was a team (GCHTE) that converted on 39 percent of its power plays (GCHPPE), 93 of 238 chances.
"I really think we were the greatest college hockey team in history," Alley said with conviction. "Bob Johnson was not only known for power play hockey and offensive innovation, but we spent more time on defensive coverage and the defensive aspects of the game than we did on the offensive aspects.
"Through and through, we were a 200-foot hockey team. We played in both ends of the rink and we're going to match up with anybody in history on that basis. But the difference maker was the power play. We had the best power play of all-time. No college team ever had a power play like that."
True or false? Best team ever?
"It's in the conversation," said Mark Johnson, the son of Badger Bob.
True or false? Best power play ever?
"It's in the conversation," said Johnson, an integral contributor with the man advantage.
True or false? No one can match Alley's energy and enthusiasm?
"He's always fired up no matter what," said Johnson, laughing.
Forty years ago, Johnson was a true freshman and the leading goal-scorer (36) on the GCHTE. Today, he's the ultra-successful head coach of the Wisconsin's women's hockey team that will face Robert Morris in an NCAA quarterfinal game Saturday afternoon at LaBahn Arena. That night, he's hoping to reconnect with many old friends when the '77 team is honored at the Kohl Center.
"Mark Johnson should have been on the 1976 Olympic team as a senior in high school (Madison Memorial), he was that good," said Alley, who along with defenseman John Taft took a one-year leave of absence from the UW program to skate for Bob Johnson at the Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck, Austria. "Mark had a great shot and great hands. And he had a fifth gear. For a little guy, he could really skate."
On the No. 1 power play, Johnson was on the right circle, former UW coach Mike Eaves was on the left circle, Alley was in front of the net, Taft was on the left point, Norwich was on the right point. Alley described Norwich as the "special secret sauce." A two-time All-American, Norwich was responsible for breaking down the defense and keeping the puck moving. Pass, pass, shoot, score.
"He was the starting point," Johnson agreed. "Especially as you start coaching yourself, you're looking for a good quarterback, someone to run the power play, someone able to read and figure out what the other team is trying to do to defend. And, obviously, with him (Norwich) you had someone back there who was able to do it at a real high level relative to what the other team was doing to try to kill it.
"The game was different then and I understand all of that," said Johnson, noting the equipment changes for goalies, the advanced technology and scouting and a more defensive brand of hockey. "We didn't have video like we do now and if you saw us for the first time, it was going to be a challenge. I remember it drove Herbie nuts (Herb Brooks was the former Minnesota Gophers coach)."
Wisconsin men's hockey players (L-R) John Taft, Steve Alley and Mike Eaves with the 1977 NCAA Championship trophy.
Grant Standbrook, who was with Badger Bob in the Olympics and served as his top assistant that season at Wisconsin, will be among the team members recognized Saturday night along with Alley, Baretta, Norwich, Taft, Johnson, Eaves, Mark Capouch, Ron Griffin, Dave Herbst, Norm McIntosh, Brad Mullens, Ian Perrin, Rod Romanchuk, Lee Skille, Mike Dibble, Tom Ulseth and Tim Phippen.
It's the first reunion for the '77 champs. The late Bob Suter will be here in spirit. "He was pound-for-pound probably the toughest player I've ever seen," Alley said. "Bob Johnson used to say, 'He was fearless.' It was true. We'd scrimmage against his unit in practice every Tuesday and I probably had five or six fights with Bobby. That's how intense our practices could be and he was one of the reasons."
To this day, Alley also still thinks of Badger Bob. "Probably the most positive person I've ever met," Alley said. "He used to say to me, 'You've got a choice every morning. You can get up on the good side of the bed. Or the bad side of the bed.' I basically had that instinct anyway, but it cemented the importance of a positive attitude and it has helped me in my business career and my family life."
Men's hockey 1977 NCAA Championship Program Cover
Forty years later, the March from Madtown to Motown, culminating with back-to-back overtimes victories and the school's second NCAA title, is still fresh in Alley's mind. In the semifinals, Eaves used quickness and deception to beat New Hampshire's Barry Edgar on the draw in the right faceoff circle and lifted a shot over the shoulder of Dan Magnarelli, 42 seconds into the OT.
In the finals, the Badgers squandered a 5-2 third period lead to Michigan, an opponent that they had already beaten in five of six meetings that season. Before going out for the overtime, Bob Johnson gathered everyone and showed them the rings that he was wearing. One was his 1976 Olympic ring. The other was his 1973 NCAA championship ring (Alley and Taft were freshmen on that team).
Surveying the room, Badger Bob assured his players, "Winning here will mean a lot more to you 10 years from now than it will tonight. When you get down on yourself every once in awhile, you can always look at your hands (Johnson held out his hands in clear view of his team) and you've got a lot of great memories preserved in these rings — championship rings."
How did the super-charged and emotional Alley react to such motivation?
"Believe it or not, I had left the main dressing room and went into the bathroom," he admitted. "I went into one of the stalls, not because I had to go to the bathroom, but I just sat there and I was thinking to myself how we got ourselves in this unbelievable position of letting them get back into the game. All of a sudden, we were tied. And we should have won in regulation.
"I was just meditating on how I might contribute to scoring a goal. We've got to win this, right? I lost track of everything. Dick Perkins, one of our graduate assistants, was looking for me. I heard him say, 'Where's Alley?' So, I got up and they were already going on the ice. I really wasn't listening to Hawk (Johnson), which is uncharacteristic of me. But I had my own speech that I was giving myself."
Twenty-three seconds after the puck was dropped for overtime, Alley scored the game-winner.
It was a memorable goal that put GCHTE and GCHPPE in the conversation for the ages.
