Hockey Returns

Oh happy day, hockey season is back.  Michigan already has three game-like substances in the books, though only one actually counts.  In an odd road opener at Ferris State on October 4, the Wolverines dug themselves an early hole, first hanging Nagelvoort out to dry on a breakaway and then leaving a Bulldog unattended at the point, all within the first 2 minutes of the season, and Ferris added a power-play tally to make it 3-0 at the end of the first period. Tyler Motte scored immediately to open the second period, but an ill-timed pinch gave up a short-handed goal to push Ferris's lead back to 3.  Michigan carried play for most of the third and clawed back with a pair of goals, but ultimately came up short, losing 4-3.  If I was told prior to the start of the game that Michigan would drop its road opener to defending WCHA champion Ferris State 4-3, I would take it.  Falling behind 3-0 is somewhat more disappointing, but this was overall a good result.

The USNTDP came over to Yost just two days later for an exhibition game, and Michigan pulled away in a wild one to win 7-4. Given that the Under 18s have won the last two meetings with the Wolverines, this represents significant progress.  Michigan then played their third game of the week on Thursday when they welcomed Wilfrid Laurier as their annual Canadian collegiate opponent. For the first time this year, Michigan scored first. The Wolverines pushed their lead out to 3-0 by the end of the first period and were up 4-0 before the Golden Hawks put one in the net. The game ended 5-2, with Steve Racine taking over for Nagelvoort after the second intermission and posting a clean sheet.

On Friday, New Hampshire pays a visit to Yost in return for the Wolverines' trip last year. Both games went to overtime, with UNH stealing one and the other ending in a tie.  Michigan and New Hampshire find themselves in similar situations this year: Both teams had up and down seasons last year with records of over .500, but neither of them reached the NCAA tournament.  The Wildcats lost their exhibition game with Canada's St. Francis Xavier 2-0 and their first non-conference game of the season to Union, the defending NCAA Champions, 3-1.

Too late...

There are those who are, angry, frustrated, upset, that Michigan's 22 year Streak of NCAA tournament appearance has ended.  I get that.  It's a natural reaction.  There are others who would rather celebrate what was rather than examining the particulars of how and why it ended.  I get that too.  The nature of history calls for that.  There are still others who want to focus on the redemptive aspects of the run at the end of the season.  I get that, try and find the positives in what is, ultimately, a negative result.  Ultimately, our reactions to this hockey season will be a mirror to who we are as both people and fans.

So my reflection is going to be a mirror of myself, as a high school teacher.
Little known fact by many of you, but the provisions of the Michigan Merit Curriculum say that even if you fail both marking periods of a course, if you pass a district approved (and state required) Common Assessment/Final Exam at 80%, you pass the class.  You don't get a grade, but you get the credit for passing.

Some of you already see where I am going with this.

I have seen many many talented students over the years.  I have seen many lazy students over the years.  You know what, lazy is unfair.  I have seen students who lack outward signs of motivation and engagement towards their academic success.  The scariest, most maddening type of student in my experience is the talented but undermotivated student.  They do exist.  And this kind of student is a nightmare, because you know that the student can do it, you know that the ability is there, but you need to understand why this student doesn't have the motivation.  So for the first three-quarters of the semester, you watch the student and you see the student doing work that earns a D- or E.  The student fails the first marking period.  So, responsibly, you have interventions, the two of you talk, you cajole, you try different motivational techniques, and as much as you have tried, nothing appears to be getting through.  So at that point, you keep fighting, but you have read this story before and you know the way the book ends.

Then suddenly, as if out of nowhere, our student friend has what our Southern friends refer to as a "come to Jesus" moment.  Call it an epiphany, call it a near death experience, call it a flash of insight, but the student has that moment where he or she understands what the stakes are, and he or she realizes that more than likely, he or she has blown it, but by the same token, he or she does have one shot to pass, if he or she passes the final with an 80%, he or she can still earn credit.  He or she would pass.  So the student makes a good faith effort, a truly sincere effort.  The student is showing you progress, the student is listening to your advice, the student is doing now what you always knew the student could be capable of the entire semester.

So then it comes to the final exam.  You believe in the student.  The student believes in his or herself.  The student uses the entire 100 minutes.  The student answers every question.  The student double and triple checks the answers.  The student turns the test in.

You grade it.  78%.

How do you react?  What is your conversation with the student at that point?

On one level, more than anything else, you must acknowledge that they did not reach the end goal.  If you want to call this a failure, you would be within your rights to do so.  No one could disagree.  But is that the main point here?  There will be consequences for the failure, ones which will need to be dealt with.  Or do you focus on the fact that this is a learning moment, that while the effort in the last five weeks may have fallen short of the ultimate goal, no one can take away the work put in, no one can take away from the student.  You focus on the idea that going forward, the lesson is that you can never trust everything on continuing to roll sevens every time you need them to come up.  You don't waste your margin for error until you have no margin left.  You woke up too late and there is a price to be paid.  So you pay it, you pay the price and you move forward to the next thing, hopefully smarter and wiser for the journey.

So, was it a failure?  Yes.  Did the team redeem themselves down the stretch?  I guess that depends on your threshold for redemption.  I will say yes, others have the right to disagree.  But as I wrote this piece, I was reminded of something I wrote five years ago, under circumstances that were both hauntingly similar and completely unfamiliar:

It's a scar, but a well-won scar; earned in battle in part because we stayed until the last man. Our numbers were diminished, but they were there. The loyal remained, the faithful held fast against the sweeping currents of reality and negativity. We could not change what had happened, we could not spin the results as hard as we tried. We looked to where all of college football lives, the past, and the future. The present is so fickle, so transient that meaning is lost as soon as the moment passes. So we examine what has been and what we hope shall be. We look for meaning in the past in a dire attempt to draw parallels to the future. But the past cannot change and soon this season shall reside there. We will tell the stories; sometimes when prompted, other times with motivations never necessarily clear to us, of what transpired this season. We will remember this season, in a context of which we are unsure now and may not know for a while, however long a while is anymore. But somewhere along the line, the memory will seep in and you won't even realize it was there until after it was gone. All you're left with is a scar, and a story about how you got it, and perhaps in the telling of the story, you can find peace with whether or not the scar was worth it.

RIP The Streak: 1991-2012

Know of Foe: University of Ontario Institute of Technology

So if you’re excited for Michigan hockey season (and you damn well should be), you may be wondering if there’s some misprint regarding the first exhibition opponent. The University of Ontario Institute of Technology? Is that some kind of bad Russian or Chinese mistranslation? No. UOIT is a real school with a horrible name. With apologies to the M-Zone, we provide a “Know of Foe” for North America’s leading institute of higher misuse of prepositions.

You owe it to yourself to read this informative, entertaining, and otherwise pun-free post.

Although UOIT was founded in 2002, the story of its origin goes back to 1921, when the province on Ontario established a Grade 13. In 1984, Grade 13 became known as “Ontario Academic Credit” (OAC). Think of Grade 13/OAC as the equivalent of Advanced Placement courses - originally, by taking these courses, students would receive university credit. Of course, over time, Grade 13 became mandatory for getting into university instead of merely helpful. This is the same trajectory you can see in the US with AP.

The Hardest Part

I'll make this quick. The hardest part about the National Championship game last night was that there's no new lesson to glean from it. When you take penalties, you're going to have a hard time winning. When you can't get the puck into the opponent's zone, you're going to have a hard time winning. When you can't get a change in overtime, it's going to be almost impossible to win.

In the long run, maybe it's a lesson about rising expectations. When Michigan won the West Regional, I did not see how, realistically, Michigan could beat North Dakota. I hoped they would, I put together scenarios on how they could, but I just could not see it. But, after 60 minutes of panic and fear, Michigan was one game away from being national champions. I saw all of the old ghosts, the shutout in the national semi-final, wearing the maize jerseys, all of those things, and presumed that fate was going to intervene, especially when it was 2-2 going to overtime. But, alas, it was not to be.

So let's sum up in the best way we can. Hats off to Minnesota-Duluth, a worthy champion. Hats off to Red, for being Red, my favorite coach ever. Hats off to this senior class, because you were probably the most fun group of seniors since the 1997 senior class. Hats off the the Children of Yost, for being the best student section in any sport anywhere in America. Hats off to the Michigan Hockey blogger community, for being passionate, articulate, and an awesome read throughout the season. Hats off to the Michigan Daily's hockey coverage, one of the absolute best groups of writers I have ever read. Hats off to Geoff for driving us to cover Hockey Christmas once more in the way we knew we could. Hats off to all of you for being a part of Hockey Christmas.

Last and certainly not least, Next Year in Tampa Bay.

Let's Go

It's only a few hours before the puck drops on Michigan's first appearance in the national championship game since 1998, and I find myself totally incapable of coming up with anything that's worth reading. If you want a preview, go over to Yost Built, MichiganHockey.net, mgoblog, or a few other places. Even the preview I wrote in 45 minutes three weeks ago might be worth it.

I saw my first Michigan hockey game in 1993. I was 12, and my family went to see the very first College Hockey Showcase at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Almost by mistake I stumbled on the '96 and '98 national title games in overtime, and in between I went to Day 1 of the '97 GLI. But I can pinpoint the moment that everything changed for me: January 29, 2000.

My friend Sara was a huge Mike Comrie fan, and for her birthday party we all went down and got standing room tickets at Yost. We climbed up and up into the rafters in the north end zone. The game was against Ohio State, and there was a t-shirt giveaway. I wore it for the UNO game just a couple weeks ago. The game was one of those classic ones where the better team takes a ton of shots, but can't get many quality chances. Michigan's Sean Peach scored early, but OSU got one back in the 3rd, and that's how it ended. But not for me.

I think that's how it starts for a lot of Michigan hockey obsessives – You see a game at Yost, and you want more of that. By next season, I was traveling to the CCHA Super Six, and skipping out of a UAC meeting early to watch Michigan die like Vikings against Minnesota in the Frozen Four.

I've never witnessed this moment for Michigan hockey. I've watched three championships in person – '05, '08, and '10 – and none of them featured Michigan.

It's been 13 years since Michigan last made it to this point. I remember the exit in '01 to BC and Brian Gionta (the OG of magic midgets), the furious comeback against Minnesota in '02 that wasn't enough, that horrible thing in '03 to Minnesota where you thought they might just might do the thing but Thomas Vanek is soul-killingly good at hockey. In '04 it was BC again, when scoring chances just seemed to melt away and whistles ceased to exist for vast stretches of the game until it was Ben Eaves connecting on a mid-air rebound and it was over, then in '05 Al Montoya and the rest of the team imploded and let a 3-goal lead to CC evaporate. '06 was a NoDak bludgeoning; '07 was a NoDak bludgeoning where a frustrated TJ Hensick said the magic words and somehow Eric Ehn is walking out of there with his Hobey Baker. I was there in '08 sitting right in front of Brian when Billy Sauer let in a couple soft goals, and one of my favorite Michigan teams ever just ran out of gas in an overtime loss. '09 was Volkening stealing one for Air Force. '10 was Waterloo, Indiana. And even this year: What are the chances we win that game against UNO if the review goes the other way?

My point is this: The best team doesn't always make it this far, the best team doesn't always win, but Michigan has made it this far and they have that chance. And it's almost hard to believe that it exists. I hope they take it.

Michigan 2, North Dakota 0

Sometimes that happens. It's a product of the tournament, it's a product of the sport, it's a product of the fact that you are capable of spectacular things every once in a while. Shawn Hunwick flat out robbed North Dakota on any number of high quality chances, and even giving up 40 shots the defense didn't hang him out to dry. Ben Winnett had 3 goals coming, 4 coming out, and that was all that was necessary tonight. Michigan held a team that was averaging 5.88 goals per game in the last month to ZERO goals in this game, including something like five power play opportunities. It was by far their best performance of the year on the biggest stage against the baddest opponent. We hope they kept something in the tank for Saturday against Duluth, but tonight we can revel in our victory over a despised foe. As Craig said on Twitter, "My Michigan brethren, I want to hug all of you." Go Blue.

Frozen Four: Michigan vs. North Dakota

If you've looked around here recently, or anywhere related to college hockey, you know the basics: North Dakota is dominating, balanced, Goliath. They're near the top of every statistical category and don't have any glaring weaknesses. What Michigan has going for it: It's one-and-done hockey, and you never know when someone's going to have an off night. (Hello there, BC!)

I don't have any idea what's going to happen. Michigan's not a favorite, obviously, but not a prohibitive underdog. They don't have the same glaring weaknesses as the last couple of times they've faced NoDak, but they aren't really better than them at anything.

If the game goes like it should on paper, North Dakota wins 5-3 with an ENG. But a 3-2 Michigan win isn't an insane prediction either.

West #2: Michigan

University of Michigan Wolverines

2 seed vs. Nebraska-Omaha, West Regional (Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO)
Friday, March 25, 2011
CCHA Regular Season Champions
At-large bid from the CCHA

Record: 26-10-4
Coach: Red Berenson

Most people around here know the story of the 2009-2010 Michigan hockey team. They were inexplicably bad, getting swept by MSU and Nebraska-Omaha, and just not looking very good. Then, in a late season game, goaltender Bryan Hogan went down with a groin injury. His backup, Shawn Hunwick, was a lightly recruited undersized kid ticketed for Division III Adrian when Hogan's former backup, Steve Jakiel, left the team. Hunwick, brother of NHLer Matt, walked on and hung around getting minimal playing time. He went in against the Irish, finished off Hogan's shutout, then let in 5 goals the next night. He wouldn't let in more than 3 the rest of the year. Hunwick led the 7th place Wolverines on a Cinderella run through the CCHA tournament to beat Miami in the championship and keep the NCAA tournament streak alive. Michigan beat Bemidji State in the opening round, but a quick whistle cost the Wolverines a trip to the Frozen Four.

Fast forward to 2010-2011. Hogan has recovered from his injury and is now splitting time with Hunwick -- Hunwick usually gets Fridays, Hogan on Saturdays. For some reason, Michigan on Saturdays is playing a lot better than Michigan on Fridays, and it's looking like Hogan is going to be the guy again. Everything is set, leading up to the biggest hockey game ever played, the Big Chill at the Big House. Hogan is named the starter...but then he injures his groin in warmups. Hunwick is called in. He stops everything Michigan State can throw at him and walks out with a 5-0 shutout in front of a Guinness-certified 104,073 paying customers.

Since that time, Michigan has been playing solid, if not great, hockey. Their only sweep of the season came at the hands of Miami down in Oxford, and they've swept 8 series of their own. They beat Colorado College to win the GLI again over the holidays in a wild 6-5 game, and they're 2-1 against Notre Dame this year, including their 4-2 win in the CCHA tournament third-place game after falling to Western in the semifinals. It feels like there haven't been a lot of highs this season, but not a lot of lows either. They don't have many bad losses, but they don't have a lot of good wins either. If you told me they would lose to UNO in the first round, I wouldn't be surprised. If you told me they made the Frozen Four...OK, maybe a little surprised, because BC is a terrifying team this time of year.

The 2010-2011 Wolverines don't have any 20+ goal scorers. In fact, they have only one with more than 15, senior Carl Hagelin (18-30--48), but they have 13 skaters with at least five, and the only Wolverines without goals are the goalies and lightly-used freshman defenseman Kevin Clare. Hagelin is also the leader in points and assists, with fellow senior Matt Rust (5-20--25) having some trouble scoring goals, but not having problems getting assists. Converted defenseman Scooter Vaughan has come out of nowhere to go from 2 career goals to 12 goals this season as a senior.

Other guys to watch: Sophomore wing Chris Brown doles out a lot of punishment and can be found crashing the net. Freshman defenseman Jon Merrill has immediately become an excellent two-way player. And watch Hagelin some more, just because his skating is unreal.

Bryan Hogan has returned from injury, but has only played a few minutes in net since then, so his .924 SV% and 2.08 GAA should be taken with a grain of salt. Hunwick was named CCHA goaltender of the year, posting a .921 SV% / 2.31 GAA and is the presumptive starter, barring injury.

Speaking of injuries, the Wolverines are dealing with some significant ones. Senior Louie "The Love Expert" Caporusso came back from a knee injury in time for the CCHA playoffs, but David Wohlberg, the team's second leading scorer after Hagelin, broke his collarbone against Bowling Green and is out for the season. Meanwhile, junior defenseman Brandon Burlon came down with a bad case of strep throat, then suffered a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics he was taking. This landed him in the hospital before the CCHA tournament and is still an ongoing problem, He's down with an "inflamed esophagus" and has reportedly lost 15 pounds and is definitely out for today's game, and I'd be shocked if we saw him on Saturday should the Wolverines win today.

2011 NCAA Hockey Christmas Tournament Challenge

Is your NCAA Tournament bracket busted? Are you looking for a shot a redemption? Don't want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard? Well, I present the 2011 NCAA Hockey Christmas Tournament Challenge.

Instead of picking a bracket, in this Tournament Challenge, you pick four schools. Any four schools in the tournament. You want to pick all one seeds? You can do that. You want to pick four schools all in the same region? You can do that? You pick four teams. For each round that a team wins, you multiply their seed by their round score. Round scores are:

Regional Semi-Final: 1 point
Regional Final: 4 points
National Semi-Final: 8 points
National Championship: 32 points

So, if you would like to play, just submit to me, via message, in the comments below, or by some other means, by Friday at noon, your four teams. No money, no prizes, just for pride. Also, please, by all means, tell your friends.

Enjoy, and a Merry Hockey Christmas to all!

Midwest Regional (Green Bay, Wisconsin)
(MW1)North Dakota (WCHA Regular Season and Playoff Champions)
(MW4)Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) (ECAC At-Large)
(MW3)Western Michigan (CCHA At-Large)
(MW2)Denver University (WCHA At-Large)

Northeast Regional (Manchester, New Hampshire)
(NE2)Merrimack (Hockey East At-Large)
(NE3)Notre Dame (CCHA At-Large)
(NE4)New Hampshire (Hockey East At-Large)
(NE1)Miami University (CCHA Playoff Champion)

East Regional (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
(E1)Yale (ECAC Playoff Champions)
(E4)Air Force (Atlantic Hockey Playoff Champions)
(E3)Minnesota-Duluth (WCHA At-Large)
(E2)Union College (ECAC Regular Season Champions)

West Regional (St. Louis, Missouri)
(W2)Michigan (CCHA At Large, CCHA Regular Season Champion)
(W3)Nebraska-Omaha (WCHA At-Large)
(W4)Colorado College (WCHA At-Large)
(W1)Boston College (Hockey East Regular Season & Playoff Champion)

East and Northeast play in one National Semi-Final, West and Midwest play in the other.

College Hockey Closer: Day 2

RIT 6, New Hampshire 2: A 1-1 game quickly became a decisive 4-1 advantage midway through the second period. RIT capitalized three times in 94 seconds to put away the Wildcats. They extended their lead to 5-1 at 10:01 in the third before letting UNH get one back at 17:31. The final tally was an ENG. RIT becomes the first Atlantic Hockey team to reach the Frozen Four, and have done so in just their fifth season of D-I hockey.

Boston College 3, Alaska 1: You have to hand it to the Nanooks. They hung tough with the Eagles all game. It was a shorthanded goal by Matt Lombardi that put BC up 1-0 midway through the first, and a power play goal from Andy Taranto that tied it up late in the second. BC scored the game-winner 3:46 into the third and added an empty-netter to seal the victory.

Yale 3, North Dakota 2: North Dakota may have overcome a 2-goal deficit to St. Cloud State in the WCHA final, but giving up a 3-goal lead to Yale was too much to overcome. It wasn't the sort of furious rally that RIT blitzed UNH with, but a steady build, with goals at 5:48 of the 1st, 12:49 of the 2nd, and 17:46 of the 2nd. North Dakota mounted a comeback effort with goals in the early 3rd from Brett Hextall and Matt Frattin, but the Elis held off the Sioux for 16 minutes to win their first NCAA tournament game since 1952.

Wisconsin 5, St. Cloud State 3: Four goals in the 1st, four goals in the 3rd, and an empty 2nd period. Wisconsin went up 3-1 in the first, and so it stayed until Jared Festler's shorthanded goal cut it to 3-2. Just under 3 minutes later, John Mitchell extended the Badgers' lead, but 10 minutes after that, the Huskies made it a one-goal game again. Aaron Bendickson's empty-netter finally put the Huskies away.

Miami 2, Alabama-Huntsville 1: Miami's speed and size were far too much for UAH, but the Chargers acquitted themselves well. They just couldn't stay out of the penalty box. They were assessed 4 minors in the first, 3 in the second, and 3 more in the third, and it looked like Miami was on a power play even when they weren't. When Miami made it a 2-0 game 6:06 into the 2nd on Cameron Schilling's power play goal, it felt like the game was out of reach for Huntsville. They finally got on the board with a power play goal of their own (Fun fact: All goals in this game were on the power play) and made it a one-goal game, but there were only 38 seconds left in the 3rd at that point.

Michigan 5, Bemidji State 1: If Huntsville spent a lot of time in the box, Michigan set up camp there. The Beavers took the first penalty of the night, which Michigan took advantage of. 5 seconds after Dan MacIntyre was let out of the box, Luke Glendening tipped Chad Langlais's shot from the point past Dan Bekala. After that, Michigan took 6 minors in the next 11 minutes (one was coincidental). The penalty kill and Shawn Hunwick worked wonders, and it looked like it was going to still be a tense 1-0 going into the 3rd, but Louie Caporusso took advantage of a 4-on-4 to give Michigan a bigger lead. Halfway through the 3rd, Bemidji finally cashed in on their 6th power play of the night. They caught Michigan scrambling after a failed interception attempt and kept the Wolverines off-balance long enough to get Ian Lowe open, and he put one behind Hunwick. Just two minutes later, however, Carl Hagelin and Kevin Lynch executed a gorgeous 2 on 1, Lynch making a perfect final pass with Bekala sprawling and allowing Hagelin a tap-in. Hagelin again had a gorgeous goal 3.5 minutes later. With Jeff Rohrkemper in the box for boarding, Hagelin took a perfect pass from Matt Rust to split two defenders and give him a breakaway on Bekala which he put away with a backhand. Lebler added an empty-netter to make it a 5-1 game.

Midwest #3: Michigan

University of Michigan Wolverines

3 seed vs. Bemidji State, Midwest Regional (Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, IN)
CCHA Tournament Champions
Record: 25-17-1
Coach: Gordon "Red" Berenson

I spent last Friday night in a cowboy bar in Houston, Texas. I was with my fiancee, talking with her friends and their significant others while listening to country music and watching people dance. Don't get me wrong; I like seeing them, and I was totally in favor of the evening. But the CCHA semifinal was going on at the same time. Every so often, my phone would chime, letting me know that I was getting another text message as Craig updated his status from inside Joe Louis Arena. I was terrified to look. Nothing good has happened to Michigan's hockey team this season when I was watching. They lost to Notre Dame and Miami in the only two games I attended and seemed to lose every time I watched them on TV. So I'd stopped watching, fearing I was a jinx. The second half of the season seemed to prove that it wasn't my fault, and at this point I was just worried that the other shoe was going to drop. Hard.

Beating Lake State wasn't something that had seemed out of reach. Not a slam dunk, but not prohibitively difficult. Yes, Michigan had struggled through a disappointing season. They had losing records in November (Hi there, 5-game losing streak!) and in February (Not much of a stretch run there). Yes, they were starting a goalie who's 5'7" on a good day. But the guy had split against Notre Dame, so it wasn't out of the question. It was Lake State; even this Michigan team would be a favorite. And so they swept the Lakers and the worrying could really begin.

The second round had seemed like karmic justice. You think you had us? Well, we wanted it more, and we came to end you. But this? This was Miami, a team that had dropped all of two games in conference play and had a pair of netminders any team would kill for.

And so I sat in a bar and listened to my phone while the DVR recorded the game. I didn't look at the messages, but there were 10 of them sitting there, waiting for me. When we got home, I started watching it. It was late/early, but I couldn't wait anymore. The Tristin Llewellyn goal was a shocking thing, and it gave me hope. It was Lee Moffie's goal on the spectacular 4-1 that made me think we were going to win. I was too exhausted, and fell asleep when the second period ended, but I thought we had a chance to hang on. When I awoke in the morning, I was dumbstruck by the third period. Lynch, Lebler, and then Lynch again, pouring it on, just torching The Dynasty. And I felt something for the first time since October: Confidence.

Northern Michigan was the last thing standing between Michigan and their 20th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, and I couldn't imagine them letting the Wildcats get in the way. That doesn't mean that I wasn't worried; far from it. I was furious at the FSN Detroit stream as herked and jerked along, sometimes skipping 12 seconds of gameplay, mostly because I was terrified it was going to catch up and Northern Michigan would have put a goal in the back of the net. And so it went for almost two periods, feeling like another one of those nights where Michigan could outplay the world and have nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. But in the dying seconds of the second period, the stream lurched ahead and Louie Caporusso scored a power play goal.

In the third period, the Wolverines clung to that 1-0 lead, and in the time it took me to restart the stream, Caporusso had scored one and Michigan gave it right back. It was a long, long 9:00 to end that game, rising to a crescendo with 3.5 seconds left and Ray Kaunisto cross-checking the hell out of someone's neck. And the refs called the penalty, and the game was over and Michigan was going to the NCAAs. The streak was safe.

And now I want more. I want the same thing that I wanted when Craig and I bought our Frozen Four tickets a year ago: Michigan hockey at Ford Field. It can happen, obviously, but it's another mountain to climb after a huge weekend. Can Michigan retain its focus after that? Can the defense keep Shawn Hunwick clean? Will the puck keep going into the net for the offense? I have no idea.

For non-Michigan fans, wondering who to watch, first and foremost you should keep your eyes on juniors Carl Hagelin (17-30--47) and Louie Caporusso (20-21--41). In addition to being the assists and points leader, Hagelin is a fantastic two-way player, usually dispatched to shut down the other team's top line. He plays left wing, with fellow junior Matt Rust (13-25--38) centering and freshman Kevin Lynch at RW. Caporusso is in the middle on the second line and a big force on the power play.

The defensive pairings have been shaken up a bit due to the injury senior captain Chris Summers suffered in the CCHA first round versus Lake Superior State. A preponderance of sources think he's back for this weekend. Steve Kampfer (leader in points among defensemen with 3-19--22) is probably the second best of the D.

Shawn Hunwick is the story that everyone wants to talk about, and why not? Pint-size goalie, prone to concussions, just short of giving up hockey. But he's the brother of ex-Michigan defenseman/current Boston Bruin Matt Hunwick and he walks on when Steve Jakiel leaves the team. And when Bryan Hogan (2.33 GAA / .901 SV%) injures his groin halfway through the first period against Notre Dame, Hunwick steps in to finish the game and complete the 4-0 shutout. He also happens to have earned MVP honors at that CCHA tournament while watching a Hobey Baker finalist get benched on the other end of the rink. All eyes will be on him in Fort Wayne to see if he turns back into a pumpkin. Even if he does, I just want to say thank you to him and to the whole team for making it this far. I'll be there, cheering them on and hoping they can keep the season alive.

Happy Birthday Red

We here at HSR wanted to wish Red a happy 70th birthday and share this article with our readers.

At age 70, coach Red Berenson still going strong for U-M hockey

One note which I think would be awesome:

Don't be surprised if the Michigan student section, seated by the Wolverines' bench, gives a high-spirited version of "Happy Birthday" to Red Berenson prior to the Michigan-Notre Dame game Friday night at Yost.

As Friday is an HSR field trip, if this can be made to happen, I think it must. Signs and well wishes for Red on Friday, and hopefully a win!

Also, be sure to check out Red's top fives in the sidebar. I think you get a great deal of insight into the last quarter century of Michigan hockey when you look at Red's picks.

38 Words

As a college hockey fan, I feel fortunate that I have three very extensive, go-to sites for college hockey:

They are, in no particular order:

USCHO
INCH
College Hockey News

So when one of them says something just plain silly, I feel bad in calling them out, but these 38 words deserved it:

From today's INCH 4x4 (which previews what they think the NCAA Tournament will look like when it is revealed.)

MINNEAPOLIS: West Regional
1). MICHIGAN
Michigan could end up in GR, but I'd like to see them face North Dakota in Minneapolis to make up for those times when the Wolverines were a No. 3 seed at Yost and advanced to the Frozen.

Now, let's break this down piece by piece:

1). They don't like Minnesota's chances of making the tournament. As I understand it, this stems from the potential hit that Minnesota will take if Alaska-Anchorage gets smacked out of TUC world this weekend by Denver, never mind their tough series with the Huskies of St. Cloud State. So, while reasonable, it completely ignores how much it will change the dynamics if Minnesota makes the field.

2). "but I'd like to see them face North Dakota in Minneapolis to make up for those times when the Wolverines were a No. 3 seed at Yost and advanced to the Frozen."

Now, let us be clear here: In 1998, Michigan was a #3 seed in the old six team regional system, played at Yost. It beat #6 seed Princeton 2-1 and then played #2 seeded (and defending national champion) North Dakota and won a rather epic come from behind 4-3 to advance to the Frozen Four in Boston. NO ONE DENIES THIS!

In 2006, Michigan was a #3 seed in the current four team regional system. It lost to #2 seed North Dakota 5-1 at the Ralph. North Dakota then went on to beat Holy Cross to advance to the Frozen Four in Milwaukee.

Some (like me) might say that this would even up the score of Michigan/North Dakota hosting. (Especially after the 8-5 smackdown in Denver in 2007.)

Now, if Denver had a problem, they have a case, after the 2002 (old style) West Regionals at Yost where #4 seeded Michigan beat St. Cloud before upsetting #1 seeded Denver to advance to the Frozen Four.

If Colorado College has a problem, they would have a case after the 2003 (current style) Midwest Regionals at Yost where #3 seed Michigan upset #2 seeded Maine, then top national seed Colorado College to advance to the Frozen Four.

But what I don't understand is the logic here. Because Michigan teams in 1998, 2002, and 2003 were the beneficiary of the NCAA's rule that if a host team qualifies for the tournament, they must be placed at their host regional, the 2009 edition should be made to suffer for it? That some how, playing in Minneapolis would benefit North Dakota more than it would Michigan should both win their opening round game. In pondering this today, my presumption has become that the bigger ice at Mariucci Arena would benefit WCHA team North Dakota over CCHA team Michigan, which has only played on Olympic sized ice four times this season (five if you count the weird 200 x 90 configuration at Boston U.) Are they presuming that the fans in Minneapolis would be less hostile towards fellow WCHA team North Dakota than then would a CCHA team (but fellow Big Ten team) Michigan? Is there perhaps something of which I am not thinking?

So, really, I don't know what it is, I don't know what INCH's argument is, but to be rooting for some sort of karmic vengeance to be wrought upon Michigan just seems kind of beneath the writer's objectivity.

(Addendum: 11:00 AM Thursday, March 12, 2009)

An argument can be made that the writer is saying Michigan should be sent to Minneapolis, not to play North Dakota, but rather because they feel that Minnesota will make the field, and it would only be fair to have a highly seeded Michigan face a lower seeded host team in their own arena after the benefits of 1997, 2002, and 2003.

This is not a better argument, but at least somewhat more cogent. Still, under this thesis, my earlier points stand, as well as for a new one since the author has created confusion by presuming Minnesota will make the field in the comment, but then not putting them in the field in the 4 x 4.)

Huzzah Dance: Part II--Outdoor Hockey at the Big House 2010

Michigan Stadium now becomes "The hole that Yost dug, Crisler paid for, Canham carpeted, Schembechler filled up every Saturday, and Martin put an ice rink in."

Michigan and Michigan State to play outdoor hockey game at Michigan Stadium on Saturday, December 11, 2010.

For today's celebratory dance, ladies and gentlemen, the Haka:

Doing the Huzzah Dance

Coach Berenson signs one-year contract extension through 2009-2010.

That is all.