The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/279958
W ith only one guaranteed game re m a i n i n g o n t h e s c h e d - ule (a Big Ten Tournament contest March 20), the Wolverines stood on pace to finish the season without a 20-goal scorer; sophomore center An- drew Copp led U-M with 15 markers in 32 games, as of March 16. This would mark Michigan's fourth consecutive campaign with- out a skater hitting the back of the net 20 times, a streak unprecedented in head coach Red Berenson's 30-year career. From 1985-2005, Michigan pro- duced at least one 20-goal scorer every season, and had two or more reach that mark in 15 campaigns. In Berenson's first five seasons in Ann Arbor (1985-89), there were 12 total 20-goal scorers, or 2.4 per sea- son. That figure rose dramatically, to 3.9 per year during the 1990s, after 39 players scored 20 or more goals, including a Berenson-era high seven Wolverines in 1997. From 2000-09, U-M featured at least one 20-goal scorer in nine dif- ferent seasons, with 15 hitting the mark overall. Kevin Porter's 33 goals in 2008 were the most since Jason Botterill had 37 in 1997. Louie Caporusso went back to back with 24 and 21 goals in 2009 and 2010, respectively, but the well has dried up since. Carl Hagelin led Michigan in goals with 18 in 2011 while current junior Alex Guptill had the team high in both 2012 (16) and 2013 (16). "I think it's just college hockey," Berenson said. "Look around our league, and how many 20-goal scor- ers are there? How many are there nationally? (One and 11, respectively, through March 10). "Scoring, in general, is way down from 10 years ago. I think it's the emphasis on defense, the work with goalie coaches starting at a young age so these goalies today are much more polished. "We're not holding kids back. We're not running a system that MICHIGAN HOCKEY Streak Without A 20-Goal Scorer Likely Will Continue Sophomore center Andrew Copp was U-M's leading scorer through March 16, with 15 markers in 32 games, and he was not likely to hit the 20-goal mark for the season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL