Whether it’s long division or the power play, Mike Brenneis is always teaching.
During the day, the Glendale native is in the classroom with fourth graders at PS 7 in Elmhurst, and at night he’s on the ice with the Monsignor McClancy hockey team. And for leading the Crusaders to the CHSHL ‘C’ division championship series, where his team fell to Xavier 2-1 in a memorable three-game series, Brenneis is the TimesLedger CHSHL Coach of the Year.
Instilling a blue-collar mentality in his team, Brenneis’ Crusaders — all 11 skaters and one spectacular goalie in Sean Rock — went further than any team in the program’s history, finishing one goal shy of the ‘C’ division title.
“Unfortunately we have never had an enormous amount of kids who come out for the team,” said Brenneis, a Christ the King graduate who lives in Lynbrook, L.I. “But I try and take the 11-13 who do come out and mold them into players we need to succeed. We work from the bottom up.”
Like many hockey fans who grew up in Queens, Brenneis’ start in the sport was on the asphalt, playing roller hockey in the 104th Precinct League. He then turned his attentions to coaching, where he was an assistant with the New York Stars organization before former McClancy coach Jim Kropf asked Brenneis to join him on the bench for the Crusaders’ inaugural team in 1996-97.
Always striving to become a better coach, Brenneis made a pair of trips to Windsor in Ontario, Canada to learn coaching tips from former Rangers coach Roger Neilson at Roger Neilson’s Coaches’ Clinic.
“It’s like being a chemist,” Brenneis said of coaching. “You’re always trying to get the right combination, get a good mix.”
It hasn’t been all roses for Brenneis at McClancy, though. The Crusaders struggled near the basement in the ‘C’ division until last year, when McClancy made the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Holy Cross in the quarterfinals.
With much of last year’s team back and with the addition of Rock in goal, Brenneis’ team continued to improve, becoming one of the top teams in the ‘C’ division. McClancy finished third in the regular season, but swept second place Cardinal Spellman in the semifinals before taking on a Xavier team that beat the Crusaders twice during the regular season.
McClancy dropped the opener, 4-2, but rallied to force a deciding third game by beating Xavier, 4-2, in Game 2. Despite coming up short in Game 3, which Brenneis calls “the greatest game I’ve ever been associated with,” Brenneis and the Crusaders are optimistic about their chances next year.
“It was very rewarding,” Brenneis said. “Although we didn’t get there — we did get far — [the championship] is a goal we’re going to reach for again in the beginning of November.”
