The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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did come to an end last spring, many rooting for the Wolverines adjusted their expectations; U-M's name alone did not guarantee future success. Thus, entering the 2013-14 cam- paign, with Michigan picked third in the Big Ten and forecasted as only a possible NCAA participant, many prepared for a rebuilding year, ac- knowledging goalie play was still very much a concern, and a roster that would include 10 freshmen and few proven upperclassmen might struggle all season. Instead, the Maize and Blue blitzed through October and November, re- cording a 3-0-2 mark against ranked teams, sparked by a season-opening victory against No. 2 Boston College. Their early success heightened ex- pectations that the Wolverines could contend for the inaugural Big Ten title and were a legitimate Frozen Four team. Perhaps in this instance, looks ac- tually did prove deceiving. "We've said this all along, there is a lot of parity in college hockey, and the games we won in the first half were all one-goal games," Berenson said. Michigan did, in fact, win by one goal in seven of its first 10 victories, but those wins still counted and seemed to prove this year 's team possessed the chemistry and intan- gibles to thrive in critical moments when the final score is often decided. "I don't think they're a middle-of- the-road team; they're just inconsis- tent," said Ruden, a former goalie for Michigan (2003-06). "Look at some of the teams they've beaten, and that's proof that when Michigan is playing its best, they can beat the best." That was true in the first half of the regular season, but in the second half U-M went 2-5-1 against ranked foes; more debilitating to its cause, the team split with last-place Penn State (7-25-2) in four games. Had the Wol- verines swept PSU, it would have finished the regular season ranked seventh in the Pairwise. A split with No. 1 Minnesota the final weekend of the regular season, including a 6-2 victory March 15, however, provided some hope that maybe the Wolverines could hit their stride in the nick of time. "When we're hot, the sky is the limit for this team," senior captain Mac Bennett said, following the big win. "We just came out and in the second and third period we were all over them. That's the No. 1 team in the country. If we're playing our game, we can beat anyone." JEKYLL & HYDE Playing their game consistently has not been easy for the Maize and Blue, though. Consider that in the second half of the season, Michigan won eight games by an average of 3.0 goals, but lost eight games by a margin of 2.1 markers per defeat. U-M beat Penn State 7-3 one night only to lose the following evening 4-0. It beat Michigan State 7-1 but fell in the series finale 4-3, and the Wolverines' inconsistency extends beyond game to game — they twice held 3-1 leads after one period of play only to lose both those contests (5-4 in overtime and 4-3).