The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Michigan's captain. "We've been able to count on our offense, but we've also been resilient, we've battled through adversity, played with com- posure and have had a good attitude. "We have a lot of pieces in place and a big part of getting ready for the playoffs is improving our defense because it's going to take offense and defense to win a championship." ❏ PAST 10 NCAA CHAMPIONS' TOURNAMENT PRODUCTION While the past 10 NCAA champions have averaged 4.4 goals in the final, they ad- vanced through the Frozen Four and won their championships because of defense. Combined, the 10 victors allowed an aver- age of just 1.78 goals per game in their four wins to capture a national title. "There is no perfect formula for winning, but if you look at any level of hockey, the win- ning team is usually one of the best defen- sive teams," said former Wolverine T.J. Hensick (2004-07). "As the games get bigger and more important, you're going to have to find a way to limit your chances against because NCAAs is a one-game knockout and if your offense goes dry, you're going to have to rely on the defense and goaltending. "Hopefully for Michigan this year, it never goes dry, but I bet it's pretty rare to see the national champion over the last 10 years or so give up a lot of goals and outscore their mistakes." Year Champion Score GPG GAA 2015 Providence 4-3 4.75 2.50 2014 Union 7-4 5.00 2.75 2013 Yale 4-0 3.50 1.25 2012 Boston College 4-1 4.00 0.50 2011 Minnesota Duluth* 3-2 (OT) 3.50 2.00 2010 Boston College 5-0 6.00 2.25 2009 Boston University 4-3 (OT) 4.75 2.75 2008 Boston College 4-1 4.75 1.75 2007 Michigan State 3-1 3.50 1.25 2006 Wisconsin 2-1 3.00 0.75 *beat Michigan Head coach Red Berenson's team was finding the back of the net at a clip of 4.78 goals per game — the top scoring average in college hockey over the past 10 years — as of mid-February. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL