MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan University athletic department is excited to announce they will be inducting five individual athletes into the NMU Sports Hall of Fame.
Phil Berger is a four-year letter winner from 1986-89, where he played in 127 career games, totaling 86 goals and 77 assists for 163 points. His 86 career goals is tied for sixth on the program’s all-time list, with a remarkable 40 of those coming in the 1987-88 campaign, the fifth-best single-season mark in Northern Michigan history. That season, his accolades included: Hobey Baker finalist, Second Team All-American, WCHA First Team, team MVP, and five-time WCHA Player of the Week. His team and WCHA record seven hat tricks that season became known as the “Berger Bundles.”
The native of Dearborn, Mich., also made the WCHA All-Tournament Team as a senior in 1989, along with a spot on the WCHA Second Team. He led the renaissance of NMU Hockey, leading Northern to its first WCHA Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth.
He went on to play nine seasons professionally in the ECHL, WPHL, IHL, and AHL. In 1991-92 with the Greensboro Monarchs of the ECHL, Berger led the league in scoring and was named the conference MVP as well as leading his team to a East Conference Championship. Berger had another monster season in 1994 with the Monarchs, totaling 139 points (56 goals and 83 assists) over 68 games. He was named a First Team All-Star.
The second leading playoff scorer in ECHL history, Berger was inducted into the ECHL’s Hall of Fame in 2011. He is the 20th hockey player to be inducted into the Northern Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.
