The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN HOCKEY rated it. The Merrill factor is a big factor, no question about that." When Merrill was originally ruled out, the hope was he would return in six to eight weeks, but it will be eight weeks when November offi- cially comes to an end and he's not ready yet. "It's going to be a long wait," said Berenson, not offering a timetable on HOCKEY NOTEBOOK EARNING THE 'A' • Senior forward Kevin Lynch was awarded an 'A' as an alternate captain before Michigan's series with Notre Dame Nov. 15-16. He joins captain A.J. Treais, and alternates Lee Moffie and Mac Bennett. "It means everything to me," Lynch said. "Any- a return. "We know he's not going to be in the lineup for weeks or maybe months." In the meantime, the Wolverines have to figure this out on their own. "We know we're close," Bennett said. "We're not hopeless. We're doing some things well. When Coach comes in and says, 'You're almost there, it gives us the extra motivation to push a little bit harder until we get there.'" STEVE RACINE TAKES EARLY LEAD IN GOALIE BATTLE time you get picked by the captains and coaches to wear a letter on your jersey, it's an honor. "I thought there was a possibility this could happen, but I wasn't just thinking about that. I wanted to come to the rink every day and prove to the guys I was a leader on the team." Lynch has four goals son has said he wouldn't rush a deci- sion on U-M's goalies, preferring to give both freshmen Steve Racine and Jared Rutledge the opportunity to prove themselves. However, in No- vember it became clear that Racine leads the current race. Though his numbers weren't Michigan head coach Red Beren- and four assists in 13 games, occupying a role as the second-line cen- ter for the Wolverines. He's been a dependable two-way forward for the Maize and Blue, and pos- sesses many of the natural intangibles that make for a good leader. "I'm learning every day what it means to be a captain and how hard you have to work to get better, and to help the team get better," he said. Senior forward Kevin Lynch, who had four goals and four assists through 13 games, was named an alternate captain in mid-November. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL A NEW DEFENSEMAN • With junior Jon Merrill and sophomore Brennan Serville out of the lineup due to injury, and freshman Jacob Trouba suspended for a game due to a hit the night before, Michigan was forced to convert senior forward Jeff Rohrkemper into a defenseman when it battled with Northern Michigan Nov. 3. "We had to improvise, told him he'd play defense." " Berenson said. "I didn't even talk to Jeff about it. We just Rohrkemper has only played in four games this season, so he was happy to oblige. "It was really unexpected because I don't have much experience at all, but it was good to get in there," he said. well. "The better he played, the more confidence it gave us, Rohrkemper hasn't seen action at defense again, but he will be ready in case the coaches face a similar situation. "I think Coach knows if he ever needs me, I'm ready, and that one game will play on the power play or on the penalty kill, but took a lot of heat off our other defensemen that were getting a lot of ice time. " give him confidence I can do it," he said. "I haven't asked about switching posi- tions, but I would be open to it, or if he needs me, I'll do whatever is best for the team." 76 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2012 Paired with junior Kevin Clare, Rohrkemper played a regular shift, and played " Berenson said. "He didn't pretty, Racine started six of Michi- gan's eight November games, go- ing 1-4-1 with a 3.33 goals-against average and an .856 save percentage. Rutledge, meanwhile, started two games and went 1-1-0 with a 4.00 goals-against average and an .857 save percentage. "Obviously it's not like Shawn Hunwick is in net; we need to build confidence in our goalies and they need to earn confidence," Berenson said. "But I don't think our team is using our goalies as an excuse be- cause they know they can play better themselves. "I would tell you flat out if it was just goalies that was the problem, but it's not." Michigan's overall team defense has been suspect all year, but the goalies — Racine has a 2.94 goals- against average and Rutledge a 4.46 overall this season — have been the scapegoats, though their teammates aren't pointing the finger. "Obviously when we had Hun- wick there were sometimes when he would steal a game for us when we didn't play that great defen- sively," senior center Kevin Lynch said. "Now we're still trying to figure out who our No. 1 goalie is. They're both battling hard to prove that and we need to do that in front of them, battle hard. "They're coming in as freshmen and we can't put everything on their shoulders. We have to start taking care of things in our defensive zone." ❑