The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN HOCKEY the highest ranked of the seven, slot- ted at No. 9 among North American skaters. The 6-2, 193-pounder, who is currently playing for the U.S. Na- tional Team Development Program, is a projected early first-round selec- tion by CollegeHockeyPerspective. com's Robert Miller. "His stock went up significantly with his performance at the recently completed World Junior Champion- ships," Miller said. "The youngest player on the U.S. team [17], he took a regular defensive shift and never looked out of place. In fact, early on in the tournament, he was arguably one of the steadiest U.S. players on the blue line. "This draft is heavy on quality defensemen, which pushed Trouba down a bit in the rankings, but he has the skill set, and has shown the poise and ability, that easily could lead a team to take a shot at him higher than this ranking." Michigan freshman forward Phil Di Giuseppe, ranked No. 28 among North American skaters, is a pro- jected early-to-mid second-round pick by CollegeHockeyPerspective. com. In 25 games played with the Wolverines through Jan. 15, Di Gi- useppe (5-11, 176) ranked fifth on the team with 15 points while his eight goals ranked fourth. "Di Giuseppe's stock was at an all-time high earlier in the fall com- ing off his summer performance at the NHL rules camp, and then with a solid start to his freshman season at Michigan," Miller said. "He has tailed off offensively as the season has progressed and his smaller frame will be a cause for concern for some teams. His second-half performance and his projectability strength-wise will be crucial to his draft position." A prep school standout at Kent in Connecticut, forward Cristoval "Boo" Nieves is listed No. 31 among North American skaters, and is also projected to go in the second round by Miller. "Don't be fooled, Nieves' decision to prep for college at Kent doesn't remove him from the watchful eyes of NHL scouts," Miller said. "His advanced skill set, combined with a 6-3, 185-pound frame, makes him a rare center possessing those mea- surables." Miller projects defenseman signee Connor Carrick and 2013 forward Michigan Hockey Rewind Dec. 29-Jan. 15 Record: 5-0-1 (Overall: 14-8-4, CCHA: 8-6-4) National Ranking: No. 10 Pairwise Ranking: No. 5 Best Win — 4-2 over Boston College: Even though Michigan ended the first half of its schedule on a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1), it entered its Great Lakes Invitational semifinal Dec. 29 against No. 3 Boston College a heavy under- dog. Playing with something to prove, and demonstrating outstanding chemis- try offensively and defensively, the Wolverines jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead and never looked back. Four different skaters scored and fifth-year senior goalie Shawn Hunwick notched 23 saves in a 4-2 victory that sparked a GLI title run for the Maize and Blue. MVP — Senior forward Luke Glendening: Michigan's captain is not a prolific goal scorer — he has just 28 career goals in 150 games, and seven in 26 contests this season — but he's found a way to impact without putting up points this year. Pointing the finger at himself during a November month in which U-M went 1-6-1, Glendening promised to elevate his game and lead the Wolverines back to their winning ways. He's done just that, engineering a 7-1-2 stretch since Dec. 1, contributing two goals and an assist during the 10 games, which includes a sweep on the road against No. 2 Ohio State Jan. 13-15. Defensive-minded senior forward Luke Glendening contributed two goals and one assist to help the Wolverines post a 7-1-2 mark between Dec. 1 and Jan. 15. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL On The Rise — Senior David Wohlberg: Head coach Red Berenson expects his seniors to be the Maize and Blue's best players on a night-after-night basis, so when Wohlberg went seven games without a point during Michigan's November slide, Berenson called him on it. The 6-1, 203-pound forward responded to his coach's criticism, registering eight goals and six assists in U-M's 11 most recent games, including six markers in the past eight contests through Jan. 15. Series To Watch — vs. Michigan State Feb. 10-11: The in-state rivals have met three times already this year, with Michigan holding a 2-0-1 mark — the Spartans earned a shootout victory in the tie — including a 3-2 overtime win in the Great Lakes Invitational finals Dec. 30. U-M will travel to East Lansing for the first game and the two will meet at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit for a neutral site affair. Both teams are jockeying for position in the CCHA, and these games could dramati- cally determine who hosts a postseason playoff series. FEBRUARY 2012 THE WOLVERINE 75