The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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tling through inconsistency. Berenson is counting on all four to raise their games in replacing the high-level play of Jon Merrill and Jacob Trouba. "Kevin Clare should be in our top four — we're in a good place with him — so we have two really good senior defensemen," he said. "Serville has to take a step. He was injury-prone last year and never really got going. We saw glimpses of what he could be like, but we need to see the whole package. "And then Michael Szuma really came on last year. Here's a kid that wasn't supposed to play that much, but he played a lot and got better and better, and he's off to a good start this year. He might surprise some guys and go right by them." The Maize and Blue welcome four rookie blue liners, including heralded prospects Nolan De Jong and Mike Downing, and both will have the chance to crack the top six. Kevin Lohan and Spencer Hyman will add depth, though the 6-5, 202-pound Lohan could emerge to be a physical presence, especially later in the season as he adapts to the speed and intensity of the college game. If two of the freshmen can develop into solid contributors, and if Clare finally puts together a full season, and if Serville and Chiasson and Szuma become solid defenders in year three, Michigan will be fine. But that is a lot of ifs. "Everyone that has ben here and has played already, we need to take a step because we lost so many good players," Bennett said. "We need Kevin. It's me and him in terms of seniors on defense. I think he's ready to fill those shoes. "I don't think he gets the credit for how good he is. He has a lot of skill. It's not there consistently, but there are flashes. We need him to step up." Scoring Should Not Be A Problem Michigan ranked seventh in the nation a year ago in scoring with 3.23 goals per game, but 41 of their 129 goals came in the final 10 games, boosting an average that had sat at 2.93 goals per game during the Wolverines' 10‑18‑2 start. What U-M discovered down the stretch was a dominant No. 1 line consisting of sophomore center Andrew Copp, junior left wing Alex Guptill and senior right wing Derek DeBlois. The three combined for 17 goals and 17 assists during that stretch and will lay claim to top-line honors again this season. "I thought we came together real well late," said DeBlois, named an alternate captain in his final year. "Obviously there are a lot of great guys in that locker room in terms of talent and you can play with anybody. "I would love to continue playing with Copp and Guptill, but wherever I'm needed, I will help the team." Sophomore center Boo Nieves and junior left wing Phil Di Giuseppe (along with now departed right wing Kevin Lynch) also played their best hockey together over the final five weeks, with the No. 2 line registering seven goals and 17 assists, including