[1] Baretta moved to Madison after spending parts of two seasons playing in Canada, winning a Centennial Cup in 1975 with the Spruce Grove Mets.
When Johnson returned for 1976–77 he brought several players with him including Steve Alley and John Taft, seniors who had played on the Olympic team.
Baretta split time in net with Mike Dibble but it was the sophomore who finished the season with a 21-2 record and a 3.08 GAA, third best in the NCAA and tops in the WCHA.
[2] Baretta paced the Badgers as they swept through the WCHA tournament, winning all 6 of their games and posted a shutout against Michigan in the championship series.
The two teams played into overtime and Baretta kept everying out of the net in the extra frame, allowing Mike Eaves to score the winning goals and send Wisconsin to the title tile against Michigan.