The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN HOCKEY Michigan Looking To Rebound From Rough Stretch M ore than a decade ago, during the 1998-99 season, Michigan went 0-4-4 from late January through late February. The Wolverines would close out the regular season 3-1 and sweep the CCHA playoffs to earn an NCAA Tournament berth, but the concern during that eight-game winless streak was considerable. Heading into a weekend series at Alaska Dec. 2-3, the current Maize and Blue are eager to end a six-game win- less streak (0-5-1) of their own, a stretch in which they were outscored 23-14, went from No. 5 to unranked in the coaches poll and fell from fourth to seventh in the CCHA standings. "I don't think we're far off," head Five Questions With Assistant Hockey Coach Billy Powers Michigan announced its six-man recruiting class in No- vember, and with longtime colleague Mel Pearson now the head coach at Michigan Tech, assistant coach Billy Powers was largely responsible for bringing the class together (see note on the signees). How did Michigan fare addressing its needs with this class? "In a perfect world, you would actually have six kids in every class. I like the balance of three forwards, two defense- men and a goalie, but that just doesn't happen very often in our hockey world. "To look at this class, and what we're bringing in, it will be a group that fits in well and will provide some value from day one." Did the coaching staff emphasize adding a high-end skill set? "As you recruit, you always look for an element of skill, because it's hard to teach. Some kids have it and some don't. But if you look at our team right now, we could fin- ish top five or 10 in the country in scoring, so I don't think we lack skill. But certainly you're always trying to add that element. "Certainly [forward] Boo Nieves is unique because we've never had a center as big as he is, at 6-3, who possesses the skill and speed that he has. I think [forward] Justin Selman is more of an Eric Nystrom-type player. He'll be a guy that chips in, but he'll bring a boatload of character; he's a very conscientious player. And then [forward] Daniel Milne had 65 goals in midget minor. "I think they will provide a bit of skill." Was there a little luck in picking up a top goaltender 80 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2011 only a month before recruits could sign letters of intent? "I think so. We were probably lucky that Jared Rutledge was a kid still navigating his options, and hadn't jumped into anything to soon. Because usually every kid on the U.S. Na- tional Development Team either commits before he arrives at the program or commits very soon after. "You could definitely say it was a little lucky that he took his time." Does Rutledge, with the departure of senior Shawn Hunwick, have the potential to be a four-year starter? "I think he does. In today's hockey world, even with the experience these kids are getting, you never know, but he is definitely a guy that fits that four-year mold." How does defenseman Jacob Trouba, a potential top- 10 pick in next June's NHL Draft, compare to some of the best Michigan has recruited? "He reminds me of Jack Johnson because he has really good offensive instincts. The one thing about Mike Komisarek was he was a defensive de- fenseman, and he was great at it, but Jacob is a guy that can quarterback a power play. He can be a shooter on a power play. He will be joining the rush five on five, and if he sees an opportunity in the neutral zone to catch someone with their head down, he steps up and hits you to hurt you. "He has a meanness and nastiness to him, but he has a real high-end skill package to go with it. And the last player we had with that combination of forward-type offensive skills and then strength and power as a big-time physical defen- seman was Jack." — Michael Spath coach Red Berenson said. "We're not a hopeless team. I think we have players that will play better, lines that will play better, defensemen that will play better, and I think our goalie will play better. "When we played really well last year, [goaltender] Shawn Hunwick was our catalyst. He made up for all of our mistakes, and then we got to the point where he didn't have to play as well because we had everyone play- ing hard and playing well, and that's your goal. "We're going through a tough time and we have to get out of it. We have to believe in ourselves, No. 1, and I think we do. But there are points where things are going against us While Michigan struggled to a 7-7-2 start this season, head coach Red Berenson still sees potential in his squad, saying, "I don't think we're far off. We're not a hopeless team." PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL