When he hit school, Mark started to break from the family pattern and broaden his interests beyond hockey.

"I was always small," Benning recalls. "I didn't have as much potential."

While hockey is not as much of a big-man's sport as football or basketball, 5-ft., 8-in., 160 lb middle brother Mark was at a real disadvantage to his six-ft brothers.

Further, he became an excellent student, so college hockey was a logical next step.

"College hockey is perfect for me," he says. "It's nice to play in front of 3500 people and go out with your friends afterward."

The first hockey sweater that Benning wore wasn't Harvard's crimson and white, it was the green and gold of the Notre Dame.

Although he had been recruited by several Ivy schools, unable to afford the high tuition and ignorant of the educational opportunities available in the East, Benning accepted a full scholarship from the Fighting Irish and headed to South Bend.

The years of dawn-to-dusk skating paid immediate dividends and Benning was named the Notre Dame hockey team's Rockie of the Year.

Furthermore, "Freshman year was a great time," he says.

But the party ended that spring. Notre Dame decided to drop its varsity hockey program.

"It was a real shock to us all," Benning says. "We really couldn't believe it."

The university told the team that it wasn't getting enough student support and it was costing the athletic department a lot of money.

Given the amount of revenue raised by the football and basketball programs, the hockey team was particularly angered by the decision.

Many of Benning's teammates transfered to continue their hockey careers, but Benning stayed at Notre Dame, despite offers from other schools, because of all the fun he had in his first year.

"Sophomore year was a tough time," he recalls.