The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/495628
BY MICHAEL SPATH T here was a sense of déjà vu for the largely pro-Michi- gan crowd filing out of Joe Louis Arena March 21 af- ter watching the Wolverines fall 4-2 to Minnesota in the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament. Two years earlier, in 2013, U-M faced the prospect — like in this season — of needing to win its con- ference tourney to make the NCAA Tournament. That year, the Maize and Blue swept two CCHA playoff series and upset Miami (Ohio) in the semifinals only to lose to Notre Dame in the championship matchup. This year, Michigan steamrolled Wisconsin (5-1) and Michigan State (4-1) in the first two days of the Big Ten Tournament before falling to the Golden Gophers. The end result was the same it had been in 2013: there was no reason for the Maize and Blue to watch the ESPNU broadcast of Selection Sunday, knowing their at-large berth résumé was not good enough to qualify for the postseason. "Anytime you don't make the NCAA Tournament, it's an unsuc- cessful season," said former U-M goalie and current Michigan analyst Noah Ruden (2003-06). "Anyone that says differently is not cut from the Michigan hockey cloth, because that's the expectation. "It wasn't a total loss in that we saw some great performances from freshmen that you hope they can build on for the future. You saw some grit and grind towards the end to make it to the Big Ten championship game, and you saw flashes of a really good team, but overall they didn't meet their goals." The Maize and Blue finished third in the Big Ten, but could have tied Minnesota for the league crown had Back To The DRAWING BOARD Michigan Faces An Uncertain Future After Failing To Make The NCAA Tournament For A Third Straight Year