The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MAY 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 51 ❱ MICHIGAN HOCKEY gram," Naurato said of his team after the season. "I'm really proud of them for that. I'm proud to be a part of it." "The staff did a really good job of just recruiting guys that want to be here," said senior forward Josh Eernisse, who spent the last three seasons at U-M after transferring in from St. Thomas. "Guys have bought into our culture, our iden- tity. I think that's continued to grow over the years. You can go up and down the lineup and talk positively about each guy and what they bring to the program. "I think something that was really special about this group this year was how close we got and how quickly we came together from the start of the year. Guys understood their roles, what their strengths were, what they could bring to this team. Guys played to that. I think that's what made this group really spe- cial — each guy played their identity and brought what they could bring to the team every single night. That's what gave us a chance. … I just love this group. It's a really special group." Michigan fell to Denver, 4-3 in dou- ble-overtime, in the NCAA semifinals, marking five consecutive and nine out of 10 Frozen Four losses for the program, which hasn't captured a national title since 1998. Michigan was the favorite to beat the Pioneers, but found itself in a battle at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Wol- verines led 2-1 after the first period, then took a 3-2 lead at 11:02 in the third on a power-play goal from junior forward Jayden Perron. Denver's Clarke Caswell, though, tied the score at 17:14 to send it to overtime. Neither team scored until the second overtime, when Kent Ander- son tallied the decisive goal from the slot to stun U-M. M i c h i ga n m i sse d o p p o r t u n i t i e s throughout, committing 5 penalties (but killed all 5) and outshooting Denver 52- 26. "I thought we were outstanding," Naurato said, after giving credit to the Pioneers. "We fought the whole time. In hockey and in life, sometimes you do it the right way and you just don't get the bounces. I think that's real adversity. Then you just keep getting back up. It's how you respond. "How they respond this summer and going into next year. I know it's a lot of pain right now, but I couldn't be more proud. It didn't feel like this in some of the past losses. I felt like we deserved it. Like I said, it doesn't always happen in life, so … we'll be better for it." HUGHES AN ALL-AMERICAN, HAGE TO RETURN FOR 2026-27 Senior center and team captain T.J. Hughes was named a first-team All- American by the American Hockey Coaches Association, the 105th Wolver- ine to receive All-America recognition. Following the end of the season, Hughes signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche beginning in 2026-27. Since he was undrafted, Hughes was afforded the license to sign with any NHL franchise. The 2026 Big Ten Player of the Year prioritized staying at Michigan for four years, turning down professional oppor- tunities to return for his senior campaign. He finished second nationally with 57 points, posting 22 goals and 35 assists. Hughes had a major impact in the NCAA Tournament, tallying 1 goal and 2 assists in a first-round win over Bentley and finding the back of the net in the loss to Denver in the Frozen Four. "There's really no words," Hughes said of what it means to play for U-M. "It means everything. I tried my best to leave it better than I found it. There are so many unbelievable people within Michi- gan hockey that have impacted my life in a positive way. I'll forever be blessed, forever be grateful to call Coach [Brandon] Nau[rato] my coach and the rest of the staff my coach. "The boys from Team 101 to Team 104, all the guys are my teammates and broth- ers. Every single guy has left a positive impact on me. I'll forever be grateful to be a Michigan Wolverine." During his four seasons in Ann Arbor, Hughes saw the Wolverines make three Frozen Four appearances. Perhaps as im- pressive as anything was his ability to help Naurato turn around the program's for- tunes after an 18-15-3 season in 2024-25 to earning the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a 31-8-1 mark as the captain in 2025-26. Naurato is proud of Hughes and his se- niors and the mark they left on the pro- gram. "It's just the type of people they are," he noted. "How they treat people, how they push people. All of them, their daily habits away from the rink and at the rink have been infectious to the 15 new players and 12 freshmen." Michael Hage is following in a similar mold, staying with Michigan for his junior season next year despite having the op- portunity to turn pro. The No. 21 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft surprised the hockey world by deciding to remain in college instead of joining the Montreal Canadiens, who hold his rights and were his favorite team growing up. The Mississauga, Ontario, native has ranked second on the team in points each of the last two seasons, recording 52 (13 goals, 39 assists) this past year, standing behind only Hughes. In 2024-25, Hage was tabbed as the Big Ten Rookie of the Year. Now, the 6-foot-1, 199-pounder is set to lead the Wolverines as one of the conference's top offensive threats. "Development is not always linear, and rushing a player into the professional ranks can sometimes do more harm than good," wrote William Bourget of The Hockey Writers. "Hage choosing to stay another year at Michigan shows a level of maturity in understanding his own trajec- tory. It's not about getting to the NHL as fast as possible; it's about getting there 2026 RESULTS (31-8-1 OVERALL; 17-6-1 B1G) Date Opponent Result/Time (TV) Jan. 3 U.S. NTDP U-18 Team* W, 7-5 Jan. 9 NOTRE DAME W, 5-2 Jan. 10 NOTRE DAME W, 7-4 Jan. 16 at Minnesota W, 5-1 Jan. 17 at Minnesota W, 3-2 (OT) Jan. 30 at Ohio State W, 6-4 Jan. 31 at Ohio State W, 3-2 (OT) Feb. 6 Michigan State W, 4-3 (OT) Feb. 7 vs. Michigan State# L, 5-2 Feb. 13 PENN STATE T, 4-4 (SO, W 1-0) Feb. 14 PENN STATE W, 6-3 Feb. 20 at Wisconsin L, 4-1 Feb. 21 at Wisconsin W, 3-1 Feb. 26 MINNESOTA L, 4-2 Feb. 27 MINNESOTA W, 4-2 Mar. 5 SIMON FRASER* (exhib.) W, 8-1 Mar. 11 NOTRE DAME (Big Ten QF) W, 6-1 Mar. 14 PENN STATE (Big Ten SF) W, 5-2 Mar. 21 OHIO STATE (Big Ten final) W, 7-3 Mar. 27 Bentley (NCAA Rd. 1)** W, 5-1 Mar. 29 Minn. Duluth (NCAA Rd. 2)** W, 4-3 Apr. 9 Denver (Frozen Four SF)^ L, 4-3 (2OT) All times Eastern; * Exhibition games; # Duel in the D at Little Caesars Arena; ** At Albany, N.Y.; ^ at Las Vegas