Former Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson is not surprised to see the success the Wolverines have had this season. Perhaps it happened in a season that was more unusual than most, however, the Wolverines had all the pieces it needed to make a run, it just needed to come together.
Now, with the Wolverines on the verge of competing for a national championship with a win over Quinnipiac on Thursday, everything is right there for the taking.
Appearing on Maize & Blue Review's Good Afternoon, Michigan Football podcast on Thursday, Berenson credits the Wolverines' dynamic freshmen class, led by Hobey Baker finalist Adam Fantilli, to help lead the way.
"I'm not surprised because it was a matter of 'if,'" Berenson said. "If the young players could come in and make an impact. Obviously, the freshmen on Michigan's team led by Adam Fantilli have really set the tone and their number one line is all freshmen. The freshmen have produced. Could Portillo come back and give them good enough goalkeeping if they made some mistakes? So far, the answer is yes.
"Of course, with the new coach coming in there was a question as to whether he could get the team playing the right way and get them playing hard every night. I think Brandon Naurato has answered that question. It's been a year of question marks but here they are."
Berenson thinks the Wolverines are playing its best hockey at the right time, including beating some of the best teams the country has to offer to get to the Frozen Four.
Now, with only four teams remaining, this is where things start to get tight and Quinnipiac will not be a pushover for the Wolverines on Thursday.
"They won the Big Ten playoff championship game in Minnesota against a great Minnesota team," Berenson said. "Even in the Big Ten playoffs, the showdown game against Ohio State at Yost was another great effort from this team. They're on a run. They played well against Colgate and then they won in overtime against Penn State who is really much improved this year. They've had one, two, three, four, five really good games and I think they're ready for this match. They don't know much about Quinnipiac but they're the best defensive team in the country is Quinnipiac. It will be offense versus defense tonight."
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