The Michigan hockey team has spent the last 10 days preparing for its 27th appearance in the Frozen Four, which will take place on Thursday night. The Wolverines punched their ticket to Tampa, Fla. (this year's hosting site) with an 11-1 win over Colgate and a 2-1 overtime victory over Penn State.

During the 10-day break, the man in charge of the Wolverines, Brandon Naurato (who was formerly the interim head coach), was promoted to permanent head coach by Athletic Director Warde Manuel. This is Naurato's first season at the helm of the U-M hockey program, and he's taken the squad back to the same place it was last season: the Frozen Four.

Naurato has undoubtedly deserved the promotion, after leading Michigan to a 26-11-3 overall record and a second consecutive Big Ten Tournament championship. The Wolverines are on a six-game win streak heading into the Frozen Four, and they haven't lost since Senior Night on Feb. 25.

The newly named head coach has his team playing its best hockey at the right time, and it will need to be on full display once again on Thursday night as the Wolverines battle Quinnipiac for a spot in the national championship.

Naurato, and players Gavin Brindley and Dylan Duke met with the media on Wednesday ahead of the national semifinal.

"I would say first off we respect Quinnipiac," Naurato said. "They're a well-coached team. Very predictable in what they do. Very structured. I think they have like the most wins in the last two years in Division I. We played them last year. So there's some familiarity there."

The aforementioned game against the Quinnipiac Bobcats came in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Once again, Michigan has an opportunity to end the Bobcats' season. The team knows it won't be easy, though.

"They're a really good team. And whether it's them or BU or us or Minnesota, I think any team that has success this weekend, they have to earn it," Naurato said.

Brindley chimed in.

"Naurato said it really well. They're really well-structured, well-coached. We've been preparing for them all week. They're here for a reason," Brindley said.

The freshman was quick to note that Michigan belongs, too, and that if the Wolverines play their style of game, they have a good chance to be playing in Saturday night's national championship game.

"We have to play our game," Brindley said. "I feel if we do what we do best we'll have a good chance to play on Saturday. It's going to be a battle. They're a really good team, but we're a really good team, too."

Michigan is set to take on Quinnipiac on Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. from Amalie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The matchup will succeed the other Frozen Four game between Minnesota and Boston University. Both games will be aired on ESPN2.

Last season, the Wolverines and Golden Gophers appeared in the Frozen Four, but both were knocked out in their respective national semifinal games. This season, the Big Ten foes will look to change that and set up a potential all-Big Ten national championship, and a rematch of the Big Ten Tournament championship which took place on March 18.

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