Michigan Wolverine Hockey: Returns — 2014-15 Preview
Posted at 5:45am — 10/3/2014
Michigan Wolverine Hockey: Returns — 2014-15 Preview
Hello again hockey fans! The leaves are turning, the air is chilling and hockey is back at Yost Arena. The Wolverines begin their 93rd season on Saturday October 4th with a regular season non-conference tilt at Ferris State. It is the first time since the Cold War outdoors at MSU in 2001 that Michigan will open the season with a countable game. The Maize and Blue are coming off of a disappointing 18-13-4 campaign last season that culminated in a devastating 2-1 double OT loss to lowly Penn State in the B1G Ten Hockey Tournament.
This season, coach Red Berenson is optimistic that the chemistry issues that plagued the Wolverines in the second half last season are gone. He is confident that newly minted captain (junior) Andrew Copp along with alternate captains (senior) Zach Hyman and (sophomore) JT Compher will lead a group of 17 underclassmen to the NCAA tournament for the first time in two seasons.
#8 Michigan will face one of their tougher non conference schedules in recent memory, opening with #9 Ferris State in Big Rapids. More on this match-up in my next report. The Wolverines will then host two exhibition games (USNDT & Wilfred Laurier) the following week. #19 New Hampshire visits Yost on October 17-18. Michigan then travels to face the HEA’s #17 U-Mass Lowell and #20 BU. October closes out with a trip to Houghton to face WCHA stalwart Michigan Tech October 31-November 1. The Atlantic Conference’s American International enters Yost for their first ever meeting with U-M. The
Wolverines host their first B1G Ten match-up with Penn State and then will entertain the ECAC’s RPI Engineers over the Thanksgiving break. December rolls in with a single home contest with Ohio State before the Wolverines travel to HEA’s #4 BC to close out the first half of the season. The 50th annual GLI showcases another all-Michigan field, with the Wolverines taking on Michigan Tech again, before facing either MSU or Ferris State. The Wolverines will then dive headfirst into their B1G Ten schedule, taking on #1Minnesota at home January 9-10. They close the season with the finale being a home and home session March 13-14 with MSU. They will also play the Spartans in another outdoor game in Chicago on Saturday, February 7. Overall, the schedule features 14 non-conference games, 20 conference games, 16 home games, 3 neutral ice games and 15 road games. Seven ranked teams with 15 games dot the schedule, at least on the USCHO pre-season top 20 poll issued this past week.
THE RETURNEES
The Wolverines lost a total of 108 points from their graduating seniors and early departures, including top points makers Alex Guptill and Phil DiGiuseppe. Junior forwards Boo Nieves (3-19-22) and Copp (15-14-29) along with senior Hyman (7-10-17) and sophomores (returning Big Ten FOTY) Compher (11-20-31) and Tyler Motte (9-9-18) form the core of Michigan’s offense. Sprinkle in third and four liners like junior Justin Selman (1-2-3), sophomore Evan Allen (3-3-6), senior Travis Lynch (2-2-4), sophomore Alex Kile (4-2-6), and sophomore Max Shuart provide Michigan with returning depth to lean on.
The defense lost Kevin Clare and Mac Bennett as well as underclass reserves Mike Szuma and Spencer Hyman, but return senior forward/defenseman Andrew Sinelli (4-1-5), senior Brennan Serville (0-3-3), Big Ten All Freshman defender (sophomore) Michael Downing (2-10-12), senior Mike Chiasson (0-1-1) , sophomore Nolan DeJong (0-5-5) and big stay at home sophomore Kevin Lohan (0-1-1). The group is not flashy but is pretty solid, featuring Downing’s penchant for a big shot or big hit.
The goaltending is probably considered pretty solid with junior Steve Racine (7-4-1, 2.91 GAA & .912 save %) competing with sophomore Zach Nagelvoort (11-9-3, 2.20 GAA & .929 Save %). Berenson will use the three games this coming week (Saturday, Monday and Thursday 10/9) as a means to determine if Racine or Nagelvoort grab the starting job. The mop-up duties this season fall to redshirt senior Luke Dwyer.
THE FRESHMEN
Michigan’s freshmen class is highly touted, buoying their pre-season ranking to #8. The class features four scoring forwards including headliner Dylan Larkin. Larkin is considered a world class skater with offensive IQ and hockey smarts. He toiled for the USNDT potting 31 goals and 25 assists in 60 games. He will anchor the center position along with Copp, Nieves and Compher as well as left wing. Big Dexter Dancs will patrol the wing position- using his 6’2” 205 lb. frame to create space for his linemates. Dancs comes to Michigan from the Vernon Vipers in western Canada tallying 67 points in 56 games. He is cut out of the same mold as past forwards such as Chris Brown or Kevin Lynch. Forward Tony Calderone is also big (6’0” 202) and comes to Ann Arbor via the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede. Alex Talcott (6’0” 198) is rangy fourth line type that also played in the USHL for the Indiana Ice. Both Calderone and Talcott are Michigan natives. Dances, Larkin and Calderone will push into the starting lineup, while Talcott will compete with the other reserve fourth liners for playing time.
The Wolverines also recruited depth on the blueline with the prize addition coming in the form of freshman Zach Werenski. Zach is a Grosse Pointe native that is regarded one of the top prospects in the country, combining offensive skills with solid defensive positioning. The 6’1” 201lb defender will anchor the top pairing. Michigan also added Cutler Martin (6’0” 203lbs.) from the Lansing area. Martin played for Tri City in the USHL. Sam Piazza (6’0” 200 lb) served as team captain for the Wichita Falls team from the NAHL and scored 37 points. Niko Porikos is big (6’3” 185lbs) and played for Hamilton of the OJHL, the same team that the Hyman brothers came from. The depth is improved on the blueline. It is now a question of gaining experience.
The Wolverines are very young except in net and will rely heavily on their leadership early on. They will not have time to mature considering the brutal schedule they will face. If the freshmen contribute offensively as expected, it may take the pressure off a tender defensive corps that in my opinion will be the weak link this season. Team defense, special teams and goaltender play will all be x-factors. I align myself with most pundits that see Michigan a cut or two below rival Minnesota in conference, yet on par with #10 Wisconsin and above Ohio State. MSU is still lacking depth but has a good first unit and Penn State is an up and coming team that is still not ready to climb out of the bottom half of the standings. The Wolverines are expected to finish 2nd in the conference and hold serve as a top 10 team in the country. We will learn a great deal in the first few weeks.
The nation is pretty balanced this season, with Minnesota given the #1 pre-season crown. North Dakota came on strong at the end of last season to position themselves as the clubhouse leader for the NCHC crown, followed by SCSU, Miami and Denver. Providence and BC will be the heir apparent in Hockey East, with five other teams- Notre Dame, Northeastern, UML, UNH and BU, sneaking into the top 20. That league appears to be the strongest in college hockey. Union is again expected to be the class of the ECAC, although the defending national champs lost a good deal of talent. Colgate is poised to challenge them along with Cornell and Quinnipiac. Ferris State has been chosen as the runner up in the WCHA to Minnesota State.
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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Yostmeister
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