The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/402034
2014 HOCKEY PREVIEW 2015 HOCKEY PREVIEW to play, how to behave, how to work and all the little things that go into being a student‑athlete at Michigan." Wiseman summed up the feeling of anticipation of heading into a new season fresh from the burdens of the past two non‑tournament seasons. "We sense the excitement in the players and even as coaches — it's not fun not playing hockey beyond the Big Ten schedule," Wiseman said. "With the group we have, we're ex‑ cited — especially with the leader‑ ship we have." The Big Ten head coaches have noted the improvement expected from this season's Wolverine squad, tabbing Michigan to finish second in conference play. The onus is now on the coaches and players to put the leadership component together with the im‑ provement in team defense and con‑ tinued offense to fulfill the expecta‑ tions of the preseason predictions of the Big Ten coaches. They want it, and Berenson insists that they deserve it. ❑ Big Ten Preseason Poll Results Put Michigan Second Big Ten hockey coaches expect the Wolverines to rebound nicely from a sub- par opening campaign of conference play. They're not picked to win the title, but they're not far off, either. Here are the results of the preseason poll, with last year's results in parenthe- ses. BIG TEN HOCKEY CONFERENCE 2014-15 PRESEASON COACHES' POLL 1. Minnesota (2013-14 finish: 1st, 14-3-3, 45 points) In addition to returning first-team All-American defenseman Mike Reilly, plus second-team honorees forward Kyle Rau and goaltender Adam Wilcox, the Golden Gophers typically reloaded with a strong freshman class, including highly touted defenseman Jack Glover. 2. Michigan (3rd, 10-8-2, 33 points) After leading the conference in goals scored, Michigan returns junior forward Andrew Copp and sophomore forward J.T. Compher to headline the offense. The Wolverines will count on the continued maturation of two key sophomore defensemen, Michael Downing and Kevin Lohan, to keep the puck out of their own net. 3. Wisconsin (2nd, 13-6-1, 30 points) Winners of the first Big Ten Tournament, the Badgers lost their top five scor- ers from last year. Second-team All-American senior netminder Joel Rumpel will be counted on to continue his stellar backstopping in support of a huge 11-member freshman class.