Throwback Thursday: Middlebury's Legendary Two-Headed Scoring Monster of Mike Karin ('59) and Phil Latreille ('61)

 courtesy of Tad Merrick (Middlebury Magazine)

Last season we referred to Wesleyan's tandem of Keith Buehler ('14) and Nick Craven ('13) as the
"two-head scoring monster," and rightly so. The duo combined for 73 points, between Buehler's 40 (20-20, 1st in NESCAC) and Craven's 33 (16-17-33, 3rd in NESCAC).

But the Cardinal combo can't hold a candle historically to Middlebury's Mike Karin ('59) and Phil Latreille ('61). Karin, who current Middlebury head coach Bill Beaney called a "Gretzky of his time," still holds the NCAA record for assists per game in a season at 3.1. Latreille, who would go on to briefly play for the New York Rangers, set an NCAA record for goals in a season with 80.

Notice those are NCAA records, not NCAA Division III records. Prior to 1964 there were no Divisions I,II or III, as all schools, regardless of size, played in one division. Karin and Latreille even pre-date the NESCAC, as the league was not officially founded unti l971.

Karin came to the Green Mountains in 1955 from Lake Placid, where he played prep hockey at Northwood School, the same establishment that produced the Fenwicks, three brothers currently playing in the NESCAC: Andrew (Amherst '15), Chris (Bowdoin '16) and Scott (Colby '17), who recently arrived in Waterville. Before going to Northwood, Karin grew up in the sleepy upstate town of Clinton, NY, home of Hamilton College. Mike was the stick boy for the minor league Clinton Comets at Clinton Arena, a rink that still stands and hosts the Hamilton Continentals once a year. 

Latreille grew up in a working class family in Montreal and ended his high school career as one of the most coveted college prospects in North America. He had many offers from Ivy League and Big Ten schools, but chose Middlebury in 1957 because Panthers coach Duke Nelson won over Phil's mother. 

As the 2011 Middlebury Magazine feature on the Panthers pair points out, college hockey was a different, more offensive game in the late 50s early/early 60s than it is today. Goalies did not wear masks, checking in the offensive zone was not allowed and some teams still had outdoor rinks (Latreille even remembers shoveling snow off Williams' rink). 

Latreille also had an advantage in the equipment department. The wooden (yes, wooden) hockey sticks of the day did not come pre-curved like sticks of today. The Quebecois forward had two electricians- whom Phil called "Fitz" and "Fitz" - from the Middlebury heating plant slightly curve his stick for added lift. This was perfectly legal, only most players didn't think to do so. 

Even with the caveats of it being a different era and Latreille's technological advantage,  his 80 goal season - in only 21 games - is still extremely impressive.  Consider the following: only one other collegiate player has ever reached 60 goals, the Panthers modern era (post 1965) single season scoring record is 35 (Kevin Cooper, 2004) and the 2012-13 NCAA Division III scoring leader, Branden Parkhouse of Becker, had 23 goals in 25 games. 

Latreille's brilliance combined with the changing of times is why Minnesota sportswriter Rick Weegman considers the 80 goals an unbreakable record akin to that of Joe Dimaggio's 56 game hit-streak or UCLA's seven straight NCAA basketball titles (coincidentally, the second leading scorer of the Middlebury "modern era" has a last name of Alcindor). 

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