The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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hockey back or does it have to start up again and generate excitement with a group of young players? "These are the guys that, let's face it, will drive the bus." Then, Motte signed and then Con‑ nor, and while Compher has not yet, a source inside the hockey program said he was "not overly optimistic" he would return for another year. The defensive corps, however, should be a strength even with We‑ renski and Downing leaving. Fresh‑ man Nick Boka was, arguably, U‑M's best blue liner not named Werenski over the final six weeks, while class‑ mate Joe Cecconi was a hard to play against defender because of his physi‑ cality and temperament. The Wolverines also return two seniors, led by Nolan De Jong, and two juniors, and are bringing in three freshmen. An off‑and‑on starter in three sea‑ sons, Nagelvoort could be U‑M's goalie his senior year, though he will face stiff competition from touted re‑ cruits Jack LaFontaine and Hayden Lavigne, who were a combined 49‑17‑7 with a 2.19 goals‑against av‑ erage and a .918 save percentage this past year. Up front, Michigan could be in trou‑ ble, though, especially if Compher departs; the Maize and Blue have al‑ ready lost five of their top seven point producers and that would rise to six if Compher exits. Combined, the six accounted for 66.3 percent of Michigan's goal pro‑ duction this past year. U‑M would likely begin next sea‑ son with a No. 1 line featuring rising senior left wing Alex Kile (16 goals), rising sophomore center Cooper Ma‑ rody (10 goals) and rising junior right wing Tony Calderone (11 goals). They could surprise, though; after all Michigan's top line this year of Compher, Motte and Connor totaled just 21 goals in 2014‑15 before combin‑ ing for 83 this season. "A good portion of the media called us out after we lost 75 percent of our offense from last year, and yet we ac‑ complished more as a team this sea‑ son," Compher said. "We have some good players coming in, and no mat‑ ter who is here next year, guys will step up, just like they did this past year. "When you recruit high‑end tal‑ ent, guys have the ability to go play professionally, but whatever team is here next year, the groundwork is set to win, and the culture is a winning culture. "Everyone on the team, freshmen to the going‑to‑be seniors have a taste of what it will take to be win bigger hockey games." Even if Compher leaves, Michigan will feature a roster next season with six seniors and six juniors. With the exception of Kile, those veterans have not produced at a consistent clip but there are breakout candidates with rising seniors Max Shuart and Evan Allen, and rising juniors Dexter Dancs and Calderone. "Nolan had his best year, and I think the sky is the limit with Alex Kile," Berenson said. "I thought Evan Allen maybe salvaged his develop‑ ment and maybe he's turned a corner. Nagelvoort is a rising senior that, if he