The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN HOCKEY season with 12 goals and 13 helpers, marking the third straight year he has scored in double digits (16 apiece in 2012-13). Downing ranked second among rookie blue liners with 12 points this year, including two goals. He was fourth among freshman defensemen with 49 blocks and had a plus/minus of plus-4. Minnesota goalie Adam Wilcox was named both the Big Ten Player and Goalie of the Year, the Gophers' Don Lucia was voted Coach of the Year, and Mike Reilly was the De- fensive Player of the Year, giving the Maroon and Gold four of the five individual awards. JUNIOR ANDREW SINELLI JUST HAPPY TO PLAY Andrew Sinelli showed up to prac- tice in early November to find some- thing a bit unusual in his locker room stall — a defenseman's jersey (U-M's forwards and defenders wear differ- ent colored jerseys at practices) — and he wasn't sure what to make of it. But Sinelli donned it anyway, and then descended the staircase lead- ing to the Yost ice. Head coach Red Berenson quickly met up with him. "Coach asked me if I noticed any- thing different about the day, and I said back to him, 'Yeah, apparently I'm a defenseman.' He said, 'We'll see how well you can skate back- wards,' and that was the end of the conversation," Sinelli recounted. "I thought it might be a few games, but here we are in March and I'm still playing defense." When rookie blue liner Kevin Lo- han went down with a major injury in a 2-1 win over Michigan Tech Nov. 2, the Maize and Blue did not feel comfortable with the depth situ- ation on defense and sought out the best-fitting forward to make a po- sition change. Sinelli, who had ap- peared in only 37 games in his first two-plus seasons, was an obvious choice because of his reputation as a defensive forward. "He wasn't gifted offensively, but he played hard in our zone," Beren- son said. "In a lot of ways, it just comes natural to him to play de- fense. He's feisty. He's crusty along the boards, and plays hard and plays with an edge. He might be our light- est defenseman in terms of pounds, but he doesn't play like that. He plays hard and gritty and he's quick with and without the puck; he can jump up in the rush. "The other thing is he was in and out of the lineup for the last two years and when he got the chance to play defense, he jumped at it." A fourth-line winger/center, Si- nelli had seen the ice in only two of Michigan's first eight games before moving to defense this season. In the 26 games since, he has played in 22, recording four goals and a plus/mi- nus of minus-4. "There have been growing pains, but I'm just trying to help the team any way I can and I just want to play," he said. "It's a lot more fun playing than not playing." With Lohan back from injury, the 5-10, 182-pound Sinelli returned to