The Wolverine

INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Junior defenseman Mac Bennett on his motivation this season, which begins Oct. 11-12 versus RIT "Making the NCAA Tournament is great, but it's about time we win a national championship. To see Boston College win it year after year just reminds us that we're getting close but not get- ting all the way. And it's our time." THEY SAID IT "I felt that, if I could help the team in that way, then I was definitely go- ing to do that for Michigan. I was already a bigger back anyway, so it wasn't too big of an adjustment. I didn't really have to gain any weight. I've always been a very aggressive runner, too, so the blocking part came pretty naturally to me." — Ju- nior Stephen Hopkins on his transition from tailback to fullback during the past two seasons around at night, just running into him, hitting him as hard as I could. I was only 7 or 8 years old, so it was nothing to him. He would just absorb it, and go back to the wall. It was one of those things where I was just trying to hit him and give him everything I had, and I've carried that over into football." — Sophomore linebacker Des- mond Morgan on how roughhousing with his dad when he was younger helped him become a punishing tackler "Nothing full speed, just joking PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL "We're going to make the most out of what we have, and we're not go- ing to cry about who we don't have or who we lost. This is our team, and we're going to go for it." — Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson on gearing up for another season after a summer of graduation and two early departures To step into Yost Ice Arena in the spring and early summer was to be transported to a different era, when a sheet of ice was not at the center of the brick building constructed in 1923. Yost was gutted, its bleachers along the east and west side- lines torn out completely, as construc- tion began on a $14 million renovation intended to update the amenities, con- courses and viewing experience, while also adding luxury boxes (to the west side) and a new press box. "I'd step out there, and it reminded me of what it looked like before, coach Red Berenson, who knew it as a field house during his U-M career from 1959-62. "When they played basketball in here, I remember a track that went around the court. So seeing it empty, it looked like the old Yost. It just looked like it looked in here 50 years ago. " said head The field house was converted into an " 16 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2012 ice rink in 1973, and since then has un- dergone numerous renovations, begin- ning in 1992 with a $1 million project geared toward improving the ice and infrastructure. A $5.5 million renovation occurred "Yes, I'm definitely a quarterback." Junior Devin Gardner, currently a wide receiver, on whether he will compete for the vacancy created by Denard Robinson's departure in 2013 or remain at receiver "If they're out there on the field, that means the coaches trust them. The coaches won't put players out there that they don't trust. It's all about competition. Doesn't matter if you're a fifth-year senior or a fresh- man, there's competition throughout the entire year, not just camp, so you have to come on a week-to-week ba- sis ready to compete for your job." — Redshirt junior free safety Thomas Gordon on the abundance of true fresh- men playing prominent roles this year "It's tough to beat the one-two punch of Jacob Trouba and Boo Nieves for an incoming freshman class. Trouba's highly publicized decision to stay the course to Ann Arbor when Kitchener of the OHL came calling overshadowed a lit- tle of the glee that Michigan fans should have gotten from the blue- chip defenseman coming to campus, but once he's on the ice, and possi- bly paired with buddy Jon Merrill, all will be forgotten." — The Hockey News naming U-M a team to watch this season Yost Renovation On Schedule To Open 2012-13 Season prior to the 1997 season in which light- ing, sound and scoreboards were up- dated, and a second-floor addition was built to create a home locker room, weight room, coaches' offices, a players' lounge, meeting rooms and more. Further facelifts in 2001, 2006 and 2012 added new seats, balconies, restrooms, stairwells and improved handicap ac- cess, built visiting locker rooms and installed a high-definition video board over center ice. Over the last decade, Michigan has de- molished and built brand-new baseball and softball stadiums, a soccer complex, wrestling and women's gymnastics prac- tice facilities, a new indoor football field house and renovated Michigan Stadium, but it has chosen not to knock down Yost and start from scratch, and Berenson is thankful. "In terms of newness or in terms of ca- pacity, I can't say Yost will rival some of the rinks out there, but when you look at the building, this is the first indoor field house of its kind — it is tradition," he said. "No one intended for it to be a rink, but what a hockey rink it has become. "I think it's a special rink. It's not the big- gest, it's not the newest, it's not the best, but it's special. There is something about Yost that the new buildings will never have, and something you can't rebuild when we do eventually get a new build- ing. People will say, 'It's not like Yost. I'm really impressed our administration has put this kind of effort and money into upgrading and maintaining Yost. " ' And

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