The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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michigan hockey a good feeling and you want to keep it going because life is more enjoyable. School is even more fun when you're winning. "It's contagious, and gives you confidence for every game you play." A year ago, Michigan lost its opener to RIT, blowing a 4-2 thirdperiod lead to lose in overtime 5-4. This season, the Maize and Blue upset Boston College in the highly anticipated opener, and have been rolling forward ever since. "It was nice to having that first game be Boston College, because we were going to find out really early what kind of team we had," DeBlois said. "We wanted to be a team to be reckoned with, and even though we believed it, you still don't know until you step out on the ice. "Once we won, we knew we could compete with the top dogs." Two of Michigan's Big Ten competitors — Minnesota at No. 1 and Wisconsin at No. 12 — also rank among the top-20 teams nationally, so the fun has just started for the Wolverines. "I think everyone knows it's early in the year and we can't get too excited about where we're ranked just because we've won a few games," DeBlois said. "We haven't even played anyone from our conference, and in college hockey it doesn't matter if you're ranked or not because every opponent is going to be a tough challenge." DeBlois is one of three unassuming captains, along with Copp and senior captain Mac Bennett, that will keep the Maize and Blue grounded be- cause they are humble, hard-working players. "One of the reasons we are where we are is our leadership," head coach Red Berenson said. "They've had a good influence on our team. "It's probably too much too soon for our young team to be ranked this high, but we just have to deal with it. What matters is what we do with our next 10 games, and then the next 10 games. "We're in a better position now than we were a year ago. We're off to a good start for a reason, but we have a long way to go." InjurY Creates Opportunity For Mike Chiasson Freshman defenseman Kevin Lohan had been one of the early surprises of the new season. The 6-5, 202-pounder was considered a bit of a project, having skated at an elite level for just one season prior to joining the Wolverines, but he earned a spot among the six-defenseman rotation and played in the first seven games. "I thought he was playing solid," head coach Red Berenson said. "He had some tough moments but was more ready to play games against good teams than I thought he would be, coming from where he'd been. "He tried out for a team last year and didn't make it. We're looking for dominant players — not guys that get cut. But the second half of the year, he was one of his team's top four defensemen.