The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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2014 HOCKEY PREVIEW 2015 HOCKEY PREVIEW and lot of good leaders. We got some luck along the way, but for the most part, our team was a top‑10 team in the country. Those are the teams that get into the tournament." Now, he's looking to bolster the Wolverines into becoming, once again, that sort of squad. Improvements will be needed in goaltending and team defensive play. Finding the offense to replace departing players and, likely most importantly, receiving the leadership to blend the off‑ice and on‑ice com‑ ponents will be crucial. Berenson also doesn't harbor any illusions regarding the teams of the past two seasons. "We haven't been that team in the last two years and we didn't deserve to be in the tournament," Berenson pointed out matter‑of‑factly. "Simple as that." Settling for falling short of the mark isn't a simple matter, Berenson as‑ sured. He's intent on building a team that once again removes all doubt. "I think all programs have high ex‑ pectations, and when you don't meet them, obviously that's a challenge," Berenson said. "And for me, it wasn't about whether we made the tourna‑ ment, it was whether or not we de‑ served to make the tournament. Did we have that kind of season? "It really comes down to your team and what kind of season you've had. And when you deserve to make it, then you expect to make it, and when you don't, then you don't. I mean, I had no complaints about not making the tournament. Our team didn't de‑ serve to. Yet we nearly did." The challenge of the new season for the coaching staff will be to take the returning players and blend them with a talented crop of incoming freshmen. The raw material of talent remain‑ ing among the returning players is substantial. Even amid last year 's disappointing results, the Wolverines took strides forward. "If you're as good as your last game, we weren't very good last year," Berenson pointed out. "But we like the improvement of some of our young players. We like our fresh‑ man class coming in. We're really a freshman‑sophomore dominated team by numbers." Wiseman cited several individuals on the verge of breaking out in the upcoming season. "On offense, you look at a [senior forward] Zach Hyman," Wiseman said. "He had a nice progression last year from his freshman and sopho‑ more year. We're anticipating he can take another step because his of his work ethic. The way that he ap‑ proaches practice is going to allow him an opportunity to do that. We're encouraged about what he will bring in point production. "Also, guys like [sophomore for‑ ward] Alex Kile, and [sophomore for‑ ward] Tyler Motte, can elevate their games offensively. Add into the mix talented players like [freshman for‑ ward] Dylan Larkin and [freshman defenseman] Zach Werenski. We're not placing goals and expectations on such a young guy coming in, but he's as talented as they come. With guys taking that step forward and