North Dakota's Brad Berry and Cornell's Mike Schafer Share CCM/AHCA Division I Men's Coach of the Year Award
It is just the second tie in the history of the Spencer Penrose Award
For leading the University of North Dakota and Cornell University to spectacular success throughout the truncated 2019-20 season, Brad Berry and Mike Schafer have been chosen co-winners of the 2020 Spencer Penrose Award as Division I Men's Ice Hockey CCM/AHCA Coach of the Year. The honor is a first for both coaches and represents just the second tie in the award's history. In 1966, Amo Bessone of Michigan State and Len Ceglarski of Clarkson shared the honor.
Brad Berry was also selected by his peers as the top bench man in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, winning the NCHC's Herb Brooks Coach of the Year award for the second time in his five years as head coach. Berry led UND to a resurgent 2019-20 campaign that saw the Fighting Hawks pile up an impressive 26-5-4 overall record, the NCHC's regular season title (17-4-3) and the top spot in both the national polls and the NCAA Pairwise for the bulk of the season.
Included in the memories were a Thanksgiving weekend sweep of the rival Minnesota Gophers, the first series taken at Denver in over a decade, and an incredible 18-1 mark at home. His team was among the top scoring teams in the nation and was the best in fewest shots on goal allowed on the other end.
Berry now owns a career record of 116-57-23 (.651) in his five seasons behind the bench at North Dakota. Berry himself was a standout defenseman as a player, first at UND where he collected 74 points (12 goals, 62 assists) in 112 games from 1983-86 under legendary head coach John "Gino" Gasparini. Berry also won a gold medal with Canada at the 1985 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. Before returning to UND prior to the 2012-13 season, Berry spent two years (2010-12) as an assistant coach with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets.
Berry had recently completed his ninth season as an assistant coach at UND in 2014-15. He served two stints in that role, first from 2000-01 through 2005-06 and again from 2012-13 through 2014-15. He also previously spent time as an assistant coach with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets (2010-12) and the AHL's Manitoba Moose (2006-08).
second-round draft pick (29th overall) of the Winnipeg Jets in 1983, Berry went on to play in 241 NHL games over eight years, including stints with Winnipeg, Minnesota and Dallas. His professional playing career also included stops in the Swedish Elite League and the International Hockey League (IHL). While with the IHL's Michigan K-Wings, Berry was a three-time IHL All-Star and was named the K-Wings' Defenseman of the Year three times.
After his playing career ended, the Bashaw, Alberta, native was a professional scout with the 1999-2000 Dallas Stars team that advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Assisting Berry this season were Dane Jackson, Karl Goehring and Jason Ulmer.
Leading a Cornell team that was ranked No. 1 in the country for large portions of the season, Mike Schafer put together one of the best seasons in Big Red history. Cornell finished 2019-20 with a record of 23-2-4 (18-2-2 ECAC Hockey), and won nine straight games down the stretch. They went 9-1-2 this season against teams that finished the season ranked in the Top-20 or receiving votes. His ECAC peers recognized him with his fifth Tim Taylor Coach of the Year Award, the most ever for any ECAC coach.
When Mike Schafer returned to his alma mater as the 12th head coach in Cornell men's hockey history in the summer of 1995, his goal was to return the Big Red program to a position of national prominence. Having now completed 25 seasons and compiled a record of 481-261-99, he has clearly accomplished that objective. Schafer, who played his collegiate hockey at Cornell under Lou Reycroft, was a defenseman during his playing days, and he has brought that same emphasis to the defensive end to his coaching career.
In 1990, Schafer became an assistant at Western Michigan and he was promoted to associate coach in 1994. At Western, he was recruiting coordinator, handled team administrative responsibilities and had on-ice duties working with the defensemen.
A 1986 graduate of Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences with a degree in business management and marketing, Schafer was a four-year letterman for the Big Red and a two-year captain. He capped his collegiate career by leading the team to the ECAC Hockey championship and a No. 5 national ranking as a senior. After graduation, Schafer was named a Big Red assistant coach in September 1986. During Schafer's initial coaching tenure with the Big Red, the skaters had ECAC Hockey Final Four appearances in 1989 and 1990.
During his playing career at Cornell, the Big Red won a share of the Ivy League crown for three straight seasons. Schafer appeared in 107 games for the Big Red, scoring 70 points on 10 goals and 60 assists. In 1985-86, Schafer received ECAC Hockey honorable mention and All-Ivy second-team honors for the second consecutive season.
A native of Durham, Ont., Schafer played junior hockey with the Guelph Jr. A Holody Platers, finalists in the Centennial Cup for the national championship in 1982. Assisting Schafer this year were Ben Syer, Sean Flanagan and Mitch Stephens.
The Spencer Penrose Award is named in memory of the Colorado Springs benefactor who built the Broadmoor Hotel Complex, site of the first 10 NCAA championship hockey tournaments. The CCM AHCA COACH of the YEAR AWARDS are sponsored by CCM HOCKEY and chosen by members of the AMERICAN HOCKEY COACHES ASSOCIATION. CCM is the legendary hockey brand dedicated to the endless pursuit of performance by delivering game-changing, head-to-toe innovative hockey equipment to players worldwide.
| Winners of the Spencer Penrose Award | |
| 1951 | Edward Jeremiah, Dartmouth |
| 1952 | Cheddy Thompson, Colorado College |
| 1953 | John Mariucci, Minnesota |
| 1954 | Vic Heyliger, Michigan |
| 1955 | Ralph "Cooney" Weiland, Harvard |
| 1956 | William Harrison, Clarkson |
| 1957 | Jack Riley, Army |
| 1958 | Harry Cleverly, Boston University |
| 1959 | John "Snooks" Kelley, Boston College |
| 1960 | Jack Riley, Army |
| 1961 | Murray Armstrong, Denver |
| 1962 | Jack Kelley, Colby |
| 1963 | Tony Frasca, Colorado College |
| 1964 | Tom Eccleston, Jr., Providence |
| 1965 | Jim Fullerton, Brown |
| 1966 | Amo Bessone, Michigan State Len Ceglarski, Clarkson |
| 1967 | Edward Jeremiah, Dartmouth |
| 1968 | Ned Harkness, Cornell |
| 1969 | Charlie Holt, New Hampshire |
| 1970 | John Maclnnes, Michigan Tech |
| 1971 | Ralph "Cooney" Weiland, Harvard |
| 1972 | John "Snooks" Kelley, Boston College |
| 1973 | Len Ceglarski, Boston College |
| 1974 | Charlie Holt, New Hampshire |
| 1975 | Jack Parker, Boston University |
| 1976 | John Maclnnes, Michigan Tech |
| 1977 | Jerry York, Clarkson |
| 1978 | Jack Parker, Boston University |
| 1979 | Charlie Holt, New Hampshire |
| 1980 | Rick Comley, Northern Michigan |
| 1981 | Bill O'Flaherty, Clarkson |
| 1982 | Ferny Flaman, Northeastern |
| 1983 | Bill Cleary, Harvard |
| 1984 | Mike Sertich, Minnesota-Duluth |
| 1985 | Len Ceglarski, Boston College |
| 1986 | Ralph Backstrom, Denver |
| 1987 | John "Gino" Gasparini, North Dakota |
| 1988 | Frank Anzalone, Lake Superior |
| 1989 | Joe Marsh, St. Lawrence |
| 1990 | Terry Slater, Colgate |
| 1991 | Rick Comley, Northern Michigan |
| 1992 | Ron Mason, Michigan State |
| 1993 | George Gwozdecky, Miami |
| 1994 | Don Lucia, Colorado College |
| 1995 | Shawn Walsh, Maine |
| 1996 | Bruce Crowder, UMass Lowell |
| 1997 | Dean Blais, North Dakota |
| 1998 | Tim Taylor, Yale |
| 1999 | Richard Umile, New Hampshire |
| 2000 | Joe Marsh, St. Lawrence |
| 2001 | Dean Blais, North Dakota |
| 2002 | Tim Whitehead, Maine |
| 2003 | Bob Daniels, Ferris State |
| 2004 | Scott Sandelin, Minnesota-Duluth |
| 2005 | George Gwozdecky, Denver |
| 2006 | Enrico Blasi, Miami |
| 2007 | Jeff Jackson, Notre Dame |
| 2008 | Red Berenson, Michigan |
| 2009 | Jack Parker, Boston University |
| 2010 | Wayne Wilson, RIT |
| 2011 | Nate Leaman, Union |
| 2012 | Bob Daniels, Ferris State |
| 2013 | Norm Bazin, UMass Lowell |
| 2014 | Rick Bennett, Union |
| 2015 | Mike Hastings, Minnesota State |
| 2016 | Rand Pecknold, Quinnipiac |
| 2017 | Jim Montgomery, Denver |
| 2018 | Jeff Jackson, Notre Dame |
| 2019 | Greg Carvel, Massachusetts |
| 2020 | Brad Berry, North Dakota Mike Schafer, Cornell |
