The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/447116
and Nagelvoort posting a combined .912 save percentage. Looking forward, Downing knows the importance of continued vigi‑ lance on the defensive end of the rink. "We have to be better at getting pucks out of our zone," he said. "You just can't mess around with the puck in your own zone. We need to box out better, not let guys get second or third shots on our goal. We need to make plays quicker, especially against teams in the Big Ten. We just have to bear down and get pucks to our forwards." "Our goaltending is improving. Our penalty kill has improved," Ser‑ ville said. "A few of our guys can balance being rock solid on defense while contributing offensively, too. "We just can't get too much ahead of ourselves. Our top priority has to be keeping pucks out of our net." ❏ Former NHL Standout Returns To Lend A Hand Defensively When Mike Komisarek left Michigan after his sophomore season in 2002, he did not know if he would ever return to Ann Arbor. Komisarek spent 11 years in the NHL, playing in 551 career contests for the Montreal Canadiens (361 games over six seasons), Toronto Maple Leafs (158 games over four years) and Carolina Hurricanes (32 games in one season). The defenseman was named to the NHL All-Star Team in 2007-08 during, arguably, his best profes- sional campaign, registering four goals and 13 assists and a career- best plus/minus of plus-9. Returning to Yost Ice Arena here and there over the past decade when the Canadiens, Maple Leafs or Hurricanes were in town to play the Detroit Red Wings, Komisarek would sometimes think on his fu- ture, and when his playing career came to an end after the 2013-14 season, he made the decision to return to the University of Michi- gan to finish his degree. "You start thinking about your next chapter and what you're go- ing to be doing, and coming back Mike Komisarek, who left U‑M after his sopho‑ more campaign in 2002 to play in the NHL, returned this year to finish his degree and then signed on to become a volunteer assistant coach. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL