The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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"I think he wants to do that … he wants to have one goalie he knows he can count on night after night, and that the team can rally around," Trainor said. "He needs one of these kids to step up and seize this job." Not Throwing In The Towel Senior forward Kevin Lynch was recently named an alternate captain to bolster U-M's leadership. photo by lon horwedel that needs a fire-and-brimstone leader right now. The Wolverines need someone that after a bad period will knock over a water cooler in the locker room and demand the team plays grittier. Senior forward Kevin Lynch, who wears an 'A' on his chest, can be that leader because he plays that style, but he's only a recently named captain and is still finding his role. Meanwhile, Moffie is struggling with his own game too much to command respect in the locker room, which leaves Bennett. The junior possesses the natural traits to lead and has been asserting himself more and more, but is also aware Treais wears the 'C.' "A.J. is doing everything he can do," said Berenson, who has confidence in his captains. "Mac Bennett is having his best year and he's a force, well respected in the locker room, and so is Kevin Lynch. "Moffie is giving us what he can but he's trying to get his game solved first. Sometimes it's hard to do a lot of talking if you're not playing that well. We have young guys trying to step up and lead, too. Leadership isn't just because you wear a 'C' or an 'A.'" Goaltending: Berenson has been quick to defend his goalies, likely protecting fragile psyches that come with the ugly numbers they're putting up — freshmen Steve Racine and Jared Rutledge have a combined 3.44 goals-against average and an .887 save percentage. Racine was brought in to be a No. 2 goalie, but Rutledge, with his 4.57 goalsagainst average and .847 save percentage, has been so bad that Racine, moderately better with a 2.94 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage, has been the No. 1 goalie most of the year. Not without fault, though, he's allowing far too many soft goals. "We're giving up bad goals at bad times and it just kills you," Berenson said. Michigan inserted third-stringer Adam Janecyk into the lineup Dec. 15, and he responded, blanking Western Michigan 2-0 while making 25 saves, but it's too early to say definitively he's the answer. With the second half approaching, U-M will want to settle on a No. 1 netminder. First-Half Vs. Second-Half Records Over Past 10 Years Year 2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 1st Half Record 6-9-2 9-8-3 10-5-4 9-9-0 11-7-0 16-2-0 12-7-0 11-5-1 13-4-1 11-5-1 Win Pct. .412 .525 .632 .500 .611 .889 .632 .676 .750 .676 2nd Half* Record — 12-2-1 13-4-0 10-8-1 15-3-0 11-3-4 11-5-1 7-8-4 13-3-2 12-5-1 Win Pct. — .833 .765 .556 .833 .722 .676 .474 .778 .694 * Begins with the Great Lakes Invitational and through the end of the regular season The Wolverines have a second-half track record. A year ago, Michigan won 83.3 percent of its games, and it has posted a .700 winning percentage or better in five of the past 10 seasons, so it's possible this team heats up and repositions itself for an at-large berth or even a shot at winning the CCHA Tournament. However, the schedule will not be kind. After competing in the Great Lakes Invitational at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, U-M will play three consecutive home games and will then hit the road for nine of its final 12 contests. Considering Michigan is winless (0‑4-2) away from Yost this year, that's not a good sign. Still, the Maize and Blue are not giving up. "This is Michigan, so your confidence never gets too low," Lynch said. "We always have that swagger. No matter what our record is, we're Michigan and we have a standard and it makes us work harder. "I don't think our confidence has been shot by a couple games. It's a long season, and teams in the past have started poorly but finished strong, and we're going to be the same. "Last year, we went on a sevengame skid. We were able to fix our mistakes and we went on a huge run. That gives us hope and something to strive for. "We can get out of this slump no matter how big it is." Anything is possible with a positive attitude, but eventually there will come a point where hope fades without some success. Michigan, which has something positive to think on for two weeks after its shutout of the Broncos, isn't there yet. "No one likes to lose," Bennett said. "But you have to bring the same work ethic to the rink every day, keep pushing in practice, and hopefully we snap out of this thing before it's too late." ❑ January 2013 the wolverine 61