The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN HOCKEY Michigan Hockey Rewind Covering Feb. 15-March 11 series, Michigan entertained a Notre Dame team fighting for its postseason life. Game one was critical and the Wolverines did their best to seize momentum, scoring 1:08 into the contest. The Fighting Irish would control most of the second and third periods, however, knotting the game at 1-1, forcing overtime. A full 20 minutes would pass without a goal, requiring a second extra session, but that one didn't last long when junior Chris Brown scored 3:11 into double OT, 82:03 after Luke Glenden- ing's goal in the opening stanza. The Maize and Blue had last played Record: 5-1 (Overall: 23-11-4, CCHA: 15-9-4) National Ranking: No. 4 Pairwise Ranking: No. 2 Best Win — 2-1 over Notre Dame: In its playoff quarterfinal in a double-overtime game in 2010, in a 3-2 Midwest Regional final loss to Miami (Ohio). The last CCHA Tourna- ment multiple-overtime game U-M participated in was a 3-2 triple-over- time defeat to Bowling Green in 1989. Worst Loss — 4-3 at Bowling ways featured a first line and a first-line center among the best lines and players in the country during Red Berenson's 28-year tenure, but that didn't look to be the case this season until re- cently — when Wohlberg lifted his play. He's had seven goals and nine assists in 16 games since Jan. 1, including four goals and a helper in U-M's past six. He's been a force as a two-way forward, helping his line to match up and best the top line of the opponents Michigan has faced recently. On The Rise — Freshman Phil Di Giuseppe: After a 14- MVP — Senior David Wohlberg: Michigan has almost al- Green: This one doesn't look nearly as bad as it did then, not after Bowling Green upset sixth-seeded Northern Michigan in a first-round playoff se- ries and then knocked off top-seeded Ferris State in a CCHA quarterfinal March 9-11. However, at the time, U-M became only the second team to fall to the Falcons in February when it blew a 3-2 third-period lead in a 4-3 loss Feb. 24. The defeat raised questions about the Wolverines' focus heading into the postseason, but those con- cerns have since been assuaged. vid Wohlberg, who won in 2009. Carl Hagelin was the most recent Michi- gan skater named the Best Defensive Forward (2011), becoming the sev- enth to earn the title. Pateryn would be the fourth Wolverine to earn the defensive defenseman honor, joining Steve Halko (1995), Mike Komisarek (2002) and Matt Hunwick (2007). Those awards will be announced March 15. Canadian Junior A National Player of the Year in 2011, and in three sea- sons with the Hamilton Red Wings he scored 102 goals with 140 assists in 160 games. Sophomore Luke Mof- fatt, meanwhile, was also a dynamic offensive performer before arriving 84 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2012 ZACH HYMAN ADJUST TO CHECKING-LINE ROLES Freshman Zach Hyman was the LUKE MOFFATT, game lull from Dec. 3-Feb. 11 without a goal, the rookie left winger is back scoring for the Wolverines, contributing three goals and three assists in the past six games. Occupying an important spot on Michigan's second line, the rookie has also been playing terrific without the puck lately, and his plus/minus re- flects his effort — he is plus-9 in U-M's last six contests, and is now plus-23 overall this year. Series To Watch — NCAA Tourna- Senior David Wohlberg has been a force as a two- way forward on the Wolverines' top line, tallying seven goals and nine assists in U-M's 16 games from Jan. 1 to March 11. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL at Michigan, and he enjoyed a solid rookie campaign in which he netted five goals and had eight assists. Both players expected to emerge ment March 23-25: Ranked second in the Pairwise entering the CCHA semifinals March 16, Michigan is a lock to earn its 22nd consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament. If the Wolverines at least advance to the conference finals, they will likely be the No. 1 seed in Green Bay, Wis., and would open the NCAAs March 23. U-M is looking for a return trip to the Frozen Four after losing in last year's national championship game. This year's NCAA semifinals will take place April 5-7 in Tampa, Fla. as first- or second-line forwards this season, but have instead been cast as checking-line forwards on the third and fourth lines. To their credit, both Hyman and Moffat have embraced their roles this year, and are playing them well. "Probably around midway through, hockey IQ and a selfless attitude, Hy- man has been a critical contributor on Michigan's penalty kill, and his success will help him in the future. "He'll grow into the kind of player when I wasn't scoring, I figured if I'm not scoring, I have to do something else to stay in the lineup," said Hy- man, who has two goals and seven helpers in 38 games. "You have to change your role, adapt to what the team needs, and I'm a team player so I was going to do whatever the coaches asked." Blessed with size (6-2 and 195 pounds), strength, speed, a high he will be, but I just felt there was a point earlier this year where he was probably putting so much pressure on himself to score," head coach Red Berenson said. "We had him on a power-play unit and it just wasn't working. "He's playing better now. He's so much more relaxed. He knows he can be better, more productive with the puck offensively, but it doesn't always happen your freshman year just because you want it to." Hyman will be better off because of his struggles someday, and is mak- ing the most of his opportunity now on the fourth line. Moffatt, who has five goals and eight assists again this