The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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michigan hockey you're just getting into game shape and now you're practicing a lot more than you're playing. "Injury-wise we haven't had any big ones that have really benefited from all that time off. "The positive side is I look at a team like the Detroit Red Wings and they don't have time to improve their game. They have a day of practice, a day of travel and they're playing again. We get a chance to work on things, which is the beauty of college hockey, but still it seems like we haven't played in forever." Rotating Blue Line • Junior defenseman Brennan Serville (6-3, 200 pounds) was back in the lineup for the Dec. 11 game against the Bulldogs. Serville had missed two games due to injury. He took the place of classmate Mike Chiasson while junior Andrew Sinelli — a converted forward — remained in the lineup. "Serville gives us a little size on defense," Berenson said. "He has a smart stick defensively. He's a good penalty killer. He's a player with some potential that we still haven't gotten out of him. "Chiasson has been a really good utility player, but he hasn't proven he can play game after game and play consistent." A 5-10, 182-pounder, Sinelli was moved to defense when Serville went down (and with injuries to freshman blue liner Kevin Lohan and junior defender Michael Szuma), and has stuck. "I like Sinelli's quickness," Berenson said. "He's a good skater. He goes back to get the puck and he'll win that race. He'll take a hit to make a play. And he's a defensive forward so he has good defensive instincts." Lohan is not expected back until late in the season after suffering a knee injury while Szuma is back from a concussion and skating. Burying Teams • Six times this season, Michigan has held a third-period lead only to blow it. Three times the Wolverines found a way to win, including an overtime clincher against Ohio State Nov. 29 and a 5-4 triumph over the Buckeyes Dec. 2 after U-M squandered a 4-1 lead. Michigan lost one of the six games and has tied two others. "We need to learn how to put teams away, and we need to learn how to be a stronger team in the third period, and I don't think we've shown that yet," Berenson said. "That has been a struggle for us all year — we're getting up and then we're letting teams back in the game so the biggest thing for us is discovering an intangible mentality of finding ways to put teams away," senior forward Luke Moffatt added.