Add this to the list of things learned over summer vacation: Red Berenson can still skate.

Berenson, the 69-year-old Michigan hockey coach, found himself alone in the left circle during Friday's 35-and-older game of the Summer Hockey Showcase at Yost Ice Arena, and blasted - well, at least lifted - the puck up into the top half of the net. Berenson’s Blue Team tied the White Team, 11-11, but few people besides the scoreboard operator seemed to keep track.

“It’s just a fun weekend,” Berenson said, while watching more recent Michigan alumni - those 35 and younger - play in the second game. More than 40 players, including nine who either will play in the National Hockey League, or at least have the chance to make an NHL roster, showed up for the event.

“That’s a great feeling,” Berenson said. “Everyone has busy schedules and lots of commitments. Guys traveled from all over.”

Brendan Morrison, 33, came to Ann Arbor in the midst of preparations for his first season with the Washington Capitals. Morrison struggled last season to come back from a torn right ACL and is working to show the Capitals - and the rest of the league - he’s back. “I think I have a lot to prove this year - that I can still play at a high level,” Morrison said.

Pressure or no pressure, Morrison said he wouldn’t miss the Michigan hockey alumni game. “It’s a great weekend,” he said. “I get a special feeling. Every time I drive here, it reminds me of the first time I got dropped off for school. It brings back tremendous memories.”

Eric Nystrom, a left-winger who graduated from Huron High School and played his most games - 76 - in the NHL last season for the Calgary Flames, said seeing college teammates is the highlight of his year.

“I get chills every time I drive down State Street,” he said. “If I could live here, I would. Once you come (to Michigan), you immediately develop an allegiance here.”

Kevin Porter, the 2008 Hobey Baker Award winner and a Phoenix Coyotes prospect, is still amazed to pick up the alumni roster when he comes back and see all the names that have come from the Michigan hockey program.

“I just looked at the lineup, and the first line is all NHLers,” he said. “You can’t beat that.”

While the alumni weekend is a fun time for recent players to get together, it also provides a good reason for the older guys keep working out - as well as a chance for Berenson to get off the bench.

“I think it’s a good motivator for them - the guys I played with in the late-60s,” Berenson said. “It’s nice to see the older guys come play.”