The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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points, fellow junior Tyler Motte tal- lied 32 goals on his way to 57 points, and Kile totaled 16 goals and 18 as- sists. Only Kile will return next year. Con- nor, Compher, Motte and Werenski all signed professional contracts after each earned AHCA/CCM All-Amer- ica honors, including first-team lau- rels for Connor, Motte and Werenski. "We were a very tight knit group," Kile said. "It was tough seeing those guys graduate and sign, but I wish them all the best. We are all great friends, and seeing what Kyle, JT and Tyler did this year, that's something you don't see every day. "Kyle and JT up for the Hobey Baker Award [given to the NCAA's top hockey player] — it was just un- heard of. To see those guys do so well is something I'll remember for a long time." The NCAA Tournament perfor- mance will also be hard to forget. Kile came in a year after the Wolverines made the NCAA championship game, losing to Minnesota-Duluth in the fi- nal, and just assumed he'd be a fre- quent flyer in the postseason. "I committed expecting to do that, go to the tournament and make a run for a national championship," he said. "Honestly, that was probably our No. 1 goal. You never know what can hap- pen when you get to the tournament. It's winner take all, one game, get a hot goalie or line, anything can happen. "Beating Notre Dame in the tourna- ment [3-2 in overtime], that was one of the craziest games I've ever played in. I'm probably going to remember that game the rest of my life. It was crazy, definitely a different feel, especially on the ice. The intensity was way higher. Everything was so detailed. If you make one mistake it could be the end of your season, so the game itself was very intense." Motte buried the game-winning goal at 8:19 of overtime, while Weren- ski and senior forward Justin Selman also scored. Racine made 28 saves to help earn Michigan its first NCAA Tournament win since a 2011 Frozen Four victory against North Dakota (2- 0, April 2011). U-M reached the 25-win mark for the 21st time in Berenson's career and the Wolverines notched their highest winning percentage (.724) since the 2007-08 campaign. Next year will be the latest in a se- ries of rebuilding years, but Kile isn't ready to concede anything, especially with Berenson agreeing to return for another year. "I feel like we get asked the same question every year because Michigan is a school where guys sign early ev- ery year," Kile said. "Michigan is also a great school that consistently brings in top talent. People can write us off, and that's just fine. "It's something we are still trying to figure out, but guys are figuring out their roles right now, going to take it upon themselves to put themselves in position to do well, and having [Be- renson] back is huge. He loves Michi- gan, loves being here, so it's pretty cool to see how passionate he is about us and how well we do whether it's hockey, school, whatever it may be. "Having him stay for next year is something I'm going to remember." ❏