The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 55 BY CLAYTON SAYFIE M ichigan made three straight Frozen Four appearances from 2022-24 but missed the NCAA Tournament in 2025, sparking head coach Brandon Naurato to vow that the Wolverines would turn things around. Changes were made with the staff and the roster, and there was an increased em- phasis on bolstering the culture. "Cul- ture" is a challenging word to define, but those inside an organization know when it's good or bad — and it was great in 2025- 26. The Maize and Blue backed up their coach's words, increasing their win total from 18 to 31, winning the Big Ten Tourna- ment and making the Frozen Four for an NCAA-record 29th time. "Really proud of the bounce-back sea- son from the program in general, doing what we did with 15 new players," Naurato told The Wolverine. "Obviously, the one-seed in the Frozen Four, but the highlights have to be just the opportunity to host that [Big Ten Tourna- ment championship] game at Yost and win it [over Ohio State] in front of the home crowd. Oh, man, I'm getting goosebumps. I don't know if I've ever heard Yost that loud in my life. It was so awesome. We had to peel our guys off the ice two hours later and still wonder where everyone's at. But that was a great, great experience." Heading into 2026-27, it's all about building on the success and working to- ward being the ones to lift the trophy April 10 in Washington, D.C. The return- ing players and coaches have had the 4-3 overtime loss to Denver in the back of their minds as some extra motivation. "Going into this year, it's seven fresh- men, and we're really excited about the freshman group. But all these returners are coming back, nine of our top 10 scor- ers and a ton of success last year," Naurato pointed out. "But major pain from that Denver game. All credit to them and respect for their program, but it was one where the hockey gods just weren't on our side, and we felt really good about our game. "So people ask, 'Well, what would you do differently?' And without diving into crazy detail, I was really happy with where we were. Like, maybe one more play one way versus the other. And the process has been great, and just trying to get over that hump and bring a national championship back to Michigan." That breakthrough is coming one of these years. The Wolverines have had the teams to do it in the past and might again in 2026-27. It's just all about getting in position — which hasn't been the problem — and, more importantly, finishing the deal for the first time since 1998. MICHIGAN CULTURE, CONTINUITY PAYING DIVIDENDS T.J. Hughes, who's off to the pros, was the team's captain a year ago, and now it's senior forward Garrett Schifsky's turn to wear the "C" on his sweater, after record- ing 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) a season ago. "All of those guys, Schifsky included, are just winning people," Naurato said of his leadership group. "When you talk about winning hockey players and what it takes for Michigan to get to those spots again to have a chance to do it for the first time since '98, those guys are going to show you how to do it the right way by doing it themselves. They're not going to talk about it. So it's going to be fun." That's an element that attracted the top-rated recruit in his class, freshman defenseman Landon DuPont, to Ann Ar- bor. The Calgary, Alberta, native is the consensus favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. "I think he's more worried about help- ❱ MICHIGAN HOCKEY New Season Brings Championship Expectations Junior forward Michael Hage (13 goals, 39 assists) is among the Wolverines' top returning scorers from the 2025-26 season. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS