MINNEAPOLIS - Even when he doesn't score, Reggie Berg finds a way to affect the outcome of the game.
The former Des Moines Buccaneer, who now plays for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, used a heads-up play to prevent the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs from tying the score in the second period of Saturday night's game. With the Bulldogs already on the powerplay, referee Don Adam had a delayed penalty coming up to Minnesota. With Duluth goaltender Brant Nicklin out of the net for the extra attacker on the delayed penalty, Ryan Holmstol's shot appeared to elude Gopher goaltender Adam Hauser.
From the seventh row behind the net, the puck seemed to be about a foot behind the line when it hit the ice. However, Berg quickly scooped up the puck, clearing it down the ice before the red light went on. After referee Don Adam consulted with the goal judge, it was ruled no goal.
Gopher fans and Bulldog fans alike generally agreed that the puck was in the net, but Berg's clearing shot was so quick that both the referee and goal judge missed the goal. Regardless, it was a heads-up play, and one that shifted the game's momentum. From that point, the Gophers went on to kill off the 5-on-3, and dominated the rest of the game.
It certainly was not the first time that Berg has made the papers in the Twin Cities. As the top scorer on the Gophers after the first two weeks of the season, Berg is in the spotlight of the state's largest metropolitan area.
Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, but once winter arrives, it turns into the land of 10,000 frozen ponds. Four of the state's universities play NCAA Division I hockey. Three of those schools have built new arenas since the late 1980s. Virtually all of the schools that don't play Division I field a team at some level. High school hockey is just as big, with the majority of the state's high schools fielding a team.
Playing for the Gophers is the dream of many Minnesota youngsters. Although the state has four Division I programs, the majority of media attention is focused on the Gophers. Playing in the Twin Cities metro area means most of the Gophers' games are on Midwest Sports Channel, their game stories receive prominent placement in the city's newspapers, and their tickets are perhaps the toughest in the state.
The pressure of playing in a fish bowl hasn't seemed to affect Berg. Last season, Berg scored 20 goals and added 19 assists for 39 points in 39 games. Through the first four games of 1998-99, he has scored 2 goals and added 4 assists for 6 points. Perhaps the most amazing statistic is that the Gophers are 26-1-0 when Berg scores more than one point.
Berg played in Des Moines during the 1994-95 season, when the Bucs captured the Triple Crown -the Anderson Cup, the Clark Cup, and the Gold Cup. He scored 30 goals and added 35 assists for 65 points. From there, he went Minnesota, where he posted 23 goals and 11 assists for 34 points in 40 games as a freshman. In his sophomore year, Berg posted 11 goals and added 26 assists for 37 points.
The best might be yet to come for the 5'11" forward from Anoka, Minn., however. Berg's NHL rights belong to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and with another strong season this year, he could find himself in an NHL uniform before long.
In the meantime, he will continue to score goals for the Gophers. And he might find a way to prevent the occasional goal as well.
October 1998
