Phil Berger

Philip Berger (born December 3, 1966) is an American former professional ice hockey right wing and coach who was an All-American for Northern Michigan and a member of the ECHL Hall of Fame. Northern Michigan returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 8 years but were knocked out of the first round 1–2.

The following season, Berger began his professional career in the IHL but soon found himself demoted to the ECHL. He soon grew accustomed to the league and led the Greensboro Monarchs in scoring despite missing 14 games. He led the team on a run through the playoffs with 11 goals, 6 more than the next highest Monarch, and captured the Riley Cup as league champions. Berger got a brief promotion to the AHL the following year but spent the bulk of the year back in Greensboro. His scoring dropped for the regular season but his playoff performance was even more impressive, finishing 3rd overall despite Greensboro losing the championship.

In 1992, Berger Put together a spectacular season, averaging a goal per game as he played the entire year in Greensboro and led the league in scoring. He was named the ECHL MVP and led the Monarchs to the East Conference Championship. He was a force in the postseason again, leading his team in goals, assists and points, but Greensboro fell in the conference finals. He finished out the year with the Fort Wayne Komets, adding 6 points in 4 IHL postseason games. The massive amount of scoring he had done in 1992 led Berger receiving a promotion to the IHL in 1993 but, despite producing 7 points in 8 games, he eventually found himself back with the Monarchs. Even though he missed almost a third of the team's games he still finished second in scoring for Greensboro.

Berger had another monster season in 1994, leading the ECHL in scoring even with a brief callup to the AHL. The next season he split between Greenboro, Detroit and Schalker but a knee injury limited his effectiveness during the season. He returned in force for the postseason, again pacing the Monarchs as they marched to the Finals. In 1996, Berger briefly halted his playing career to take over as the head coach for the West Palm Beach Barracudas. He did so in part to give his knee a chance to recover and because the Barracudas' regular head coach, Bill Nyrop, had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He surrendered the reigns midseason and returned to the ECHL, however, because the Monarchs franchise had been promoted to the AHL, Berger joined the Charlotte Checkers. He played well at the end of the regular season but, as was his want, he turned up his scoring in the playoffs. He led all players with 10 goals and 27 points, helping the Checkers run through the postseason without a loss and capture the Riley Trophy.

The following year, Berger ended up playing for five different teams in three different leagues, ending up on the El Paso Buzzards. He won the inaugural WPHL championship, again as a major contributor in the playoffs, and retired after the season. Berger returned two years later when the ECHL returned to Greensboro in the form of the Generals. He lasted just 5 scoreless games before retiring for good as the league's all-time leading scorer in the postseason. He was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame in 2011.

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular Season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1982–83 Paddock Pool Saints GLJHL 4529447352————— 1983–84 Stratford Cullitons MWJHL 385555110101————— 1984–85 Stratford Cullitons MWJHL 37435295102————— 1985–86 Northern Michigan WCHA 2152720————— 1986–87 Northern Michigan WCHA 241110216————— 1987–88 Northern Michigan WCHA 3840327222————— 1988–89 Northern Michigan WCHA 4430336324————— 1989–90 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 32242————— 1989–90 Greensboro Monarchs ECHL 46384482119101131432 1990–91 Halifax Citadels AHL 41010————— 1990–91 Greensboro Monarchs ECHL 442234561121311112217 1991–92 Greensboro Monarchs ECHL 606070130158118132156 1991–92 Fort Wayne Komets IHL —————43360 1992–93 Muskegon Fury CoHL 447112————— 1992–93 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 825714————— 1992–93 Greensboro Monarchs ECHL 45334275135111226 1993–94 Cornwall Aces AHL 22130————— 1993–94 Greensboro Monarchs ECHL 685683139118835812 1994–95 Detroit Falcons CoHL 1511152629————— 1994–95 Schalker Haie 87 Germany2 20112————— 1994–95 Greensboro Monarchs ECHL 40232750114176172346 1995–96 Charlotte Checkers ECHL 23101424801610172732 1996–97 San Antonio Dragons IHL 40000————— 1996–97 Charlotte Checkers ECHL 125131824————— 1996–97 Raleigh IceCaps ECHL 203192220————— 1996–97 Hampton Roads Admirals ECHL 21232————— 1996–97 El Paso Buzzards WPHL 445969871518 1999–00 Greensboro Generals ECHL 500010————— ECHL totals 365 251 348 599 892 76 50 67 117 221 CoHL totals 19 15 22 37 31 — — — — — IHL totals 15 4 7 11 16 4 3 3 6 0

Awards and honors Award Year All-WCHA First Team 1987–88 AHCA West Second-Team All-American 1987–88 All-WCHA Second team 1988–89 ECHL Riley Cup 1990 ECHL Second Team All-Star 1991–92 ECHL First Team All-Star 1993–94 ECHL Riley Cup 1996 WPHL President's Cup 1997