TheWolverine.com - Notebook: Berenson looks back at LSSU, previews Miami

November 3, 2009

Michael Spath
TheWolverine.com Senior Writer

Michigan will drop the puck at Yost Ice Arena for its showdown with No. 1 Miami Friday, but before we look ahead to this weekend's key series, we take a quick look back at U-M's sweep of Lake Superior State in our weekly notebook ?

The Wolverines hadn't been scuffling in the four games prior to the trip to Sault Ste. Marie, going 2-2 with a hard 3-2 loss at No. 3 Boston University Oct. 24, but something definitely felt off, and the Maize and Blue needed a big weekend to avoid their worst six-game start since going 2-3-1 in 2001-02.

Behind balance scoring that included eight different goal scorers, and outstanding goaltending from junior Bryan Hogan - he posted a .937 save percentage -- Michigan bested the Lakers 5-1 and 6-3.

"How important was it? I can't tell you it was crucial to our season, but [the sweep was] definitely a good step for our team," head coach Red Berenson said.

"If you ask me three things to win on the road ? you have to check obviously, work hard and play good defense. You have to put your chances in when you get them and you have to get good goalkeeping. There are going to be times when the home team gets on fire and your goalie has to be able to shut them down. And we got all three of those things."

U-M wasn't perfect, however. The Wolverines went 2 for 10 on the power play and are now converting only 19.4 percent of their chances this season while they surrendered 63 shots in the two-game series.

"We had our issues. There is no question," Berenson said. "It was early in the season and we made some mistakes. We turned the puck over. We were out of position. We were vulnerable.

"It's a game of mistakes and it's a matter of whether your goalie can back you up when you make those mistakes. We have to keep working on our game. Just because we won two games doesn't mean we were great. We just did enough to win those games.

"The power play is a work-in-progress. We scored two power-play goals over the weekend and one was in the last minute of the game Saturday that didn't mean much. The power play has to be more of a game-winner for us. And I think our overall team defense has to get better. Those are areas we will be working on all year."

There were plenty of positives to emerge, though, including two-goal efforts from junior forwards Matt Rust and Ben Winnett, and freshman forward Chris Brown. Winnett now has three goals this season after tallying just four markers all of last year.

"I always thought he was a better player than he's shown here and so did he," Berenson said. "Now maybe he's turning a corner. But it's not just Ben Winnett, it's the whole junior class, the seniors; everybody has to play better than they did last year. That's what it's all about - developing. But Ben is a good example. It should be his time."

One of Michigan's best two-way forwards, along with classmate Carl Hagelin, Rust leads the Maize and Blue with eight points, on a team-high four goals and four assists. He also has a plus/minus of plus-four and has blocked a quartet of shots.

"He's a player that has taken a step," Berenson said. "He's off to a much-better start than he was last year.

"I like his overall game. He's moving the puck well to his wingers. He's making other people play better, which is huge. It's not just about you playing well but how about your wingers. Carl was playing well with him and Brown, and then I put [David] Wohlberg and [Robbie] Czarnik with him, and Wohlberg had his best weekend.

"I think it's good that he's helping other players play well besides his own game. But he is playing well defensively, offensively, penalty killing and power play."

Series with Miami (Ohio) heating up

The 2009 national runner-up, Miami has become one of the CCHA's and college hockey's best teams in the past five years and its games against Michigan have become more competitive. The Wolverines still own the series advantage, by a long shot, with a 68-20-3 mark, but are only 7-5-1 against the RedHawks in the past four years, including a four-game split in 2008-09.

"The last few years have been really good," Berenson said. "Both these teams are in the top four in our conference every year now and since they've built their new rink, you just feel like they believe in themselves now. They have the record to go with it. They've been good games with us.

"[Coach] Enrico [Blasi] has done a great job down there. It's another real strong program in our league. Just like Notre Dame has emerged; Miami has been emerging for sometime."

Try as they might, though, the RedHawks do not rank as one of U-M's biggest rivals. They're making gains, but they have quite a bit of history and tradition working against them.

"It has nothing to do with Miami's hockey program, but when you play Michigan State you're playing a Big Ten team that is a rival in all sports," Berenson said. "Whereas Miami (Ohio), the only sport we play them that it's a big rivalry is hockey, and it is a good rivalry. But it's not at the point where ? Michigan State has so much tradition and history or even Ohio State is a Big Ten school. But Miami is as good a hockey program as any of those teams, or better."

Miami is also the nation's top-ranked team. Michigan enters play this weekend ranked fourth. But Berenson doesn't care about the rankings -- only the wins.

"If you have any chance of finishing ahead of this team in this league, you have to win these games, and if you don't, you probably won't," he said. "These games will determine the order of finish down the road."

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