Michigan Wolverines Hockey

[DennisT]

Fire Borges.

[UMStan White]

Hyuck Hyuck Damn you so funny Dud!

[lineygoblue]

I saw the hockey game this past Wednesday at Yost against Bowling Green.

This team is bad.

They beat BG 3-1 but this is nowhere near the kind of Michigan hockey teams we're used to seeing.

[WM Wolverine]

Talent is very thin from significant attrition. Rebuilding season it sounds like.

[Mike]

Give it to me straight, Doc. We've had "rebuilding" years before that have ended with a #1 seed in the NCAA tourney. I think we're at 23 consecutive appearances and counting. Is this in jeopardy?

[Rob F]

Maybe the hockey team has found an answer in the crease---the young kid Janecyck that manned the pipes tonight just got Michigan's first shutout of the season as U of M just beat WMU 2-0.

Berenson's teams have often started slowly, just not quite as slowly as they have this year. Still time to turn things around if this kid is the real deal.

[Rob F]

While we all hibernated for the winter (since my last post on the Michigan Hockey thread over 3 months ago, anyway) Michigan Hockey continued to flounder and frustrate, at one point until fairly recently U of M was 11th out of 12 teams in the CCHA.

Suddenly in February, though, this young and talented but way-underachieving team suddenly turned things around, starting with a sweep of sparty followed by a pair of losses at CCHA 2nd-place ND, followed by the current streak of 8-straight wins.

After sweeping thru the 1st 2 rounds of the CCHA Tournament (which U of M has to win to advance to the 16-team NCAA Tournament ) first beating 9th-place NMU twice at Yost and then 3rd-place WMU Friday and last night to move on to the CCHA Final Four at the Joe Louis Arena next weekend.


I went to the game last night in Kalamazoo---at least 20% of the fans there were loudly cheering for the Maize and Blue, while the other 80% that were Bronco fans sat mostly in stunned silence most of the night. We're finally playing consistently well at both ends of the rink, especially since Steve Racine has emerged as clearly the best of our 3 goaltenders.

Since 2 of the weekend's best-of-3 series won't conclude until tonight (Ferris vs. osu and msu@ Miami both face off at 7:05) we won't know until much later tonight who U of M will face in the semi-finals on Saturday, only that it won't be Notre Dame, who clinched a spot there by sweeping Bowling Green last night.

I'll post here later on tonight once the pairings are announced. Regardless of which teams advance, I really don't think any of them will look forward happily to facing Michigan. This is one very dangerous team that has finally jelled under Red Berenson's leadership.

[Rob F]

Michigan faces Miami on Saturday at The Joe, but game time won't be announced until sometime Monday. Miami beat spartii 4-1 to win that series, 2-1. Michigan was the lowest seed going into the tournament, so after the remaining teams were re-seeded, they drew Miami, the regular season CCHA champ.

osu beat Ferris 3-2 to win that series 2-1, the bucknuts now face ND Saturday in the other semi at The Joe.

[Rob F]

Saturday's game vs. Miami start time is 4:35. TV coverage live on FSD

[Mike]

I'm really proud of the way this team fought down the stretch. They were left for dead at something like 8-18-5 about 6 weeks ago. It actually looked like they threw in the towel. The problem all year was the goaltending. I can't remember if it was mentioned earlier in the year but Michigan had back-to-back decommits on signing day by the #1 rated goalies each year. Both opted for the OHL. Two years ago Jack Campbell (Port Huron) decommited and later was named goalie of the tournament in the World Juniors for 2011. http://209.81.87.86/sports/top-goali...e-to-michigan/

Then we got stiffed by #1 rated goaltender in North America in 2011, John Gibson. http://ducksreport.com/news/g-john-g...-heads-to-ohl/

So basically, we had the two best goalie prospects in the country bail on signing day two classes in a row and the senior Shawn Hunwick graduated after last season. Therefore, Michigan found themselves with loads of talent all over the ice (and a #3 preseason ranking) but not a single Division 1 caliber goaltender. Three different goalies have started this year and finally Racine has taken the reigns down the stretch while we've won 10 of 12.

Michigan finished the regular season as the #2 scoring team in the conference but gave up the most goals by a wide margin. Take for example the only two games they've lost down the home-stretch, 7-4 and 6-4 at ND.

At the very least I'm proud of the effort they've shown in getting to the Joe. That alone is a nice accomplishment because it's the last year of the CHAA and we've been there something like 24 or 25 years in a row. It would have been a real shame to miss out on the last one ever. But, OMG, if they can somehow steal a couple wins in Detroit and keep the NCAA streak alive that would be the greatest turnaround of any Michigan team in my lifetime and worthy of a special place in UM lore.

[Rob F]

Mike---I know you follow the Michigan hockey program more closely than most around here, have you heard any rumors about any disciplinary problems that Red had to address earlier in the season?

According to a friend of mine (a Michigan letter-winner in Track from a few decades ago who is well-connected with Schembechler Hall "insiders"), Berenson had a lot more than the usual amount of disciplinary problems with some of the younger members (mostly freshmen) of the hockey team. I don't have enough information myself to say anything more than this: supposedly Red handled most of it internally by not letting some of the kids even suit up for games until they bowed to his expectations. Apparently, the "offenders" came in with big heads, thinking they could call the shots and get away with things due to being highly sought-after recruits. Pretty much they challenged both the upperclassmen and Red and his coaching staff and it took some time to get them in line.

I know that the Michigan hockey team lost a lot of senior leadership after last season; from what my buddy told me, the upperclassmen that remained didn't exactly "step up" right away, resulting in a lack of cohesion that took quite a while to overcome. When you add this to the goaltending problems you described above, it's a recipe for disaster on the ice. And that's exactly what this team--a very talented team offensively---was, a disaster for the first 2/3rds of the season until they finally "got it" as a team, plus Racine separating himself from the other two goaltenders to finally lay claim to the job between the pipes.

What he told me when I went to a game with him and his son several weeks ago sounded pretty credible, just wondering if you had heard any such "rumors".

[Rob F]

FSD+ (DirecTV Channels 664 and 664-1) for Miami vs. Michigan Hockey CCHA Semifinals Saturday. Win and move on to Sunday and the CCHA Finals at Joe Louis Arena vs. the winner of the other semifinal between nd and osu. Lose and the season ends.

Miami looks to be in the NCAA 16-team Tournament whether they win ore lose, so they're just playing for pride and seedings in the regionals. For Michigan, it's do-or-die every game from here on in.

[Mike]

Rob, I've heard much of the same things you have regarding discipline issues, etc. Hopefully that's all behind them now.

[Mike]

6-2 winners over regular season champ Miami!!

Michigan will play ND for the title tomorrow and a trip to the NCAA tourney.

[Rob F]

6--2 VICTORy for Michigan over Miami!

Let's keep it going tomorrow vs.ND in the CCHA final Finals.

This bunch of Michigan puckers is blazing hot at the right time!