Yes ladies and gents, it's almost crunch time in the B1G hockey season, which means I get to rant about Michigan hockey for several paragraphs and pretend to know what I'm talking about. Let's take a look back on what's been happening this season thus far, and what the next couple of months will hold.
Early Disappointment
The title of this little section is "Early Disappointment", because duh, the beginning of the season was a disappointment! Talk about inconsistency (again!). The season started out on Oct.4th with a visit to Big Rapids against the Ferris State Bulldogs. And boy did it start on an awful note. 27 seconds in to the game, before I could even get a decent feed on my WCHA stream (which btw, what an awful experience that was. I hope they've improved the quality of their streams, but I'll never find out because I'm not going to shell out coin for such poor quality). Then about 30 seconds later, the Wolverines found themselves down 2 goals. The fresh season was already off to a rocky start, with Michigan trailing 3-0 after the opening period. It almost felt as if it was going to be another one of "those" years, that we Wolverine faithful have seen so few of in the past 20 years. We eventually battled back, dropping the opening game with a 4-3 final, but still, it was a tough way to start the year.
Following the Ferris loss, Michigan ran over the USA - NTDP, something a few other programs struggled to do, and also handled Wilfrid Laurier in a sloppy win. Then came the UNH series, an early season test that again showcased Michigan's inconsistencies. Dropping the first game 5-1 and then bouncing back for a 2-1 win on Saturday, it left many scratching their heads. The following weeks only left more questions around the Maize and Blue...an 8-4 drubbing of UMass-Lowell and a tight game against BU with some questionable calls, many, including myself thought we were snake bitten and not actually inconsistent! Fast forward past a sweep in Houghton, where Mel Pearson's team dismantled the big bad Wolverines, and a shaky weekend against AIC, in which Michigan found a way to simply get it done. There were still many questions to be answered. The top three lines were changing on a regular basis, the D-core was being switched up regularly as well, and the goaltending was less than desirable. I was fortunate enough to in attendance for the PSU series. Keep in mind, PSU had our number last year, and on Friday night, more disappointment. Things got off to a great fast start, exactly what Michigan wanted to do, control the tempo. They were buzzing from the get go and ended up striking first. Then allowed three unanswered goals in a 3 minute span, where the defense looked simply awful. The comeback effort fell a little short, and if it's one thing we learned from last year, it's that you can't not take any points on home ice. This league is competitive, believe it or not, and you need to win on your home ice. The following night was a completely different showing...nothing could go wrong for the Maize and Blue as they destroyed Penn State 8-1! Everything was clicking for them that game and you got a sense that things were starting to turn around. You could see the confidence boost, goal after goal that night...it was fun to watch.
The Turning Point
The following weekend was a character weekend for the team...a late come from behind win against RPI, followed by another onslaught of goals, a 6-0 win on Saturday. Last Friday Michigan trounced Ohio (heh), and are now scoring 4.07 Goals/game (2nd in the nation). The team looks completely different, from the start of the season, they have confidence now and need to continue the momentum in the coming weeks.
What Lies Ahead
Big Blue has one game slated for this weekend, a tough OOC match-up with Boston College, a team that is still struggling to find their identity as well. It's going to be a big weekend for multiple reasons. The first being, they've already proven they can score, and score often. Now they need to compete with the "big boys". Taking down a big time program like BC will further boost the teams confidence as they head into the GLI (a tournament in which they might be missing 5 players to the National Junior roster).
Following the BC game, the 50th GLI at the Joe! This will be a great test for Michigan as they face Michigan Tech for the third time this season, and as I mentioned earlier, they could be with out 5 impact players for the world junior tournament.
Starting off the new year at home against a talented Minnesota team. Taking one of those games will be vital if they want any chance at winning the regular season B1G championship. Either way, the next 5 games are going to be pivotal in what type of team Michigan wants to be moving forward.
Personnel
Michigan has plenty of talent to be a top 10 team this year. But without cohesive units, they're destined to struggle. Here's a quick glimpse at who I like this year and how I imagine them impacting the rest of the season.
- Dylan Larkin, FR - 2g, 13a - 15pts. Larkin hasn't been a big goal scorer this year, but his presence is definitely felt on the ice. He's got a knack for the puck and has great vision, there's no doubt he's high end talent, and is going to be critical to Michigan's success. Gee, wouldn't it be nice if we could keep him for another year (or two)?
- Zach Hyman, SR - 7g, 10a - 17pts. Hyman has been Mr. do-it-all this year. He's been fun to watch. Seems to be all over the ice and has quietly (IMO) amassed 17pts thus far. He'll need to keep the pedal to the floor if the Wolverines want to make it to the NCAA tournament.
- Tyler Motte, SO - 5g, 9a - 14pts. Motte has came up huge for the Maize and Blue this year. His unique combination of speed and skill have landed him on the top line and also garnered him an invite to the US national roster tryout. He's a goal scorer and needs to keep this pace if the Wolverines want to make a deep push into the playoffs this year.
- Andrew Copp, JR - 7g 6a - 13pts. Andrew is one of those guys that hardly gets out worked. He's a Zach Parise kind of captain, and leads by example. The Junior captain is an integral part of the offense, but more importantly, is a huge defensive help as well. A pure two-way player, and you know he's hungry to get back to the NCAA tourney.
- JT Compher,SO - 3g 8a - 11pts. It's been nice to see JT heat up again. He gained a lot of respect from the World Junior tournament last year and and a big impact in his freshman campaign. I hope to see more form JT in the coming weeks, but he's one of those guys that needs to bring his "A" game each night.
- Zach Werenski, FR - 3g 9a - 12pts. This kid is the real deal. And I do mean kid. the 17 year old has already made a huge impact on the blue line. He reminds me somewhat of Kris Letang with the puck, wheels and hands to match, he's going to be special. Again, lets hope we get to keep him for another year or two as he develops.
- Boo Nieves, JR - 4g 7a - 11pts. Boo has been coming on as of late, which is always a good sign. After a breakout freshman year, Boo went quit for most of last season. He's a big power forward with soft hands, which makes him especially fun to watch (See goal vs. PSU for example). He's defintely capable of scoring goals, and that's just what the Wolverines will be counting on him to do for the remainder of the year.
- Zach Nagelvoort, SO - 2.65 GAA, .908sv%. Will the real Zach Nagelvoort please stand up? Zach is one of the best goalies to come through the UofM. There's no denying that. But the team lives and dies with his backstopping. He's been coming on as of late, but the inconsistency in nets has been reflected with the team. When he's on, he's amazing, but when he's not, we're not. Here's to hoping he's settled in and won't be relied upon as heavily as he was last year down the stretch. If the D can get comfortable playing for him, we'll be okay. We can't expect him to carry the entire load this year, but there are going to be opportunities in every game where we'll need Zach to stand on his head...maybe not for the entire game, or period, but there are probably going to be a couple of stretches where we need Zach to play to the best of his abilities. There can't be any "turning it off", he has to be dialed in every game.
Well that's all I've got for now! Let's hope the second half is better than the first...and as always, GO BLUE!
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