The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641955
MICHIGAN HOCKEY Quote: "We've had that vibe from the start of the year. We knew we could have a dangerous team, but how dangerous? With some of the young guys getting confidence and experience, and our older guys really contributing all the way up and down the lineup … guys believe that this push could result in something special. We have [seven] games left before the Big Ten Tournament, and guys realize this is the time we have to dig down and get after it." — Motte on competing for championships this season. MVP — Junior J.T. Compher: Take your pick of Compher, Motte or Connor. All three recorded 10 or more points during this six-game stretch, Motte put- ting up an incredible nine goals with Connor tallying 12 points. Michigan's captain and first-line center, Compher has nonetheless been over- shadowed by his linemates and doesn't receive the credit he deserves. In these six games, however, he had four goals, including a game-winner, and seven assists, and a was a team-best plus-10. Top Freshman — Kyle Connor: With four goals in Michigan's last six games, Connor had 22 on the season, the most by a U-M rookie since Jeff Tambellini had 26 markers in 2002-03. It would take a hot streak, but Connor was within range of the program's single-season freshman record of 31 goals (Bruno Baseotto, 1979-80). Connor added eight assists during this stretch and was plus-6. On The Rise — Senior Justin Selman: A move from second-line left wing to third-line center has been good for the senior. Selman had gone scoreless in the six games leading up to his change. In five games since, he has hit the back of the net three times, recording the game-winner against Penn State Jan. 30 in his debut alongside sophomore right wing Tony Calderone and freshman left wing Brendan Warren. Series To Watch — Feb. 25-26 at Minnesota: Just one point separates the top two teams in the Big Ten, with Minnesota sitting in first place after the Feb. 12-13 weekend (33 points to U-M's 32). Michigan has the more difficult schedule in March — four games against Ohio State (3-7-2 in Big Ten games) and Penn State (8-5-1) versus the Gophers' four against Michigan State (3-10-1) and Wisconsin (1-8-3) — so it's likely that if the Wolverines fall behind Minnesota after their head-to-head meeting, they won't catch up. Michigan hasn't swept the Gophers in Minneapolis since the 1976-77 season — they've only had six two-game series in Minnesota since then after playing in different conferences for more than 25 years. U-M is 1-7 in its last eight games at Minnesota, but if the Maize and Blue want to win the conference crown they have no other choice than to sweep the Maroon and Gold. — Michael Spath