The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/418536
L osing five of the first seven games in the 2014‑15 season is a com‑ pletely uncharacteristic start for a Red Berenson‑coached Michigan hockey team. Numerous reasons can be pointed to in explanation of the slow start: five of the first seven games were on the road; all five of those road opponents have been ranked teams during the current season; and expe‑ rience was lacking, with 17 sopho‑ mores and freshmen populating the Wolverines' roster. For Berenson, though, progress was what mattered rather than point‑ ing to the reasons. Berenson's fre‑ quent refrain during his tenure has been that "your best players have to be your best players." That sim‑ ply wasn't the case in the first seven contests. The two top scorers in 2013‑14 were junior captain Andrew Copp and sophomore assistant captain JT Compher. Both Copp and Compher, linemates on the team's top forward combination, had been relatively ineffective offensively with just one goal and five assists between them through seven games. Likewise, goaltenders Zach Nagelvoort and Steve Racine, who combined for a 2.46 goal‑against average and a .923 save percentage in 2013‑14, had posted a 3.86 goals‑against average and an .881 save percentage through seven games in 2014‑15. "We had too many goals scored against us last year and we couldn't outscore our mistakes," Berenson told MGoBlue.com. "This year, we were seeing too much of the same. "This is about player development and we need players to improve," he added. "Whether you're a freshman or a senior, there are lots of things we need to get better at." Berenson had a bye weekend with‑ out scheduled games with which to work after a two‑game series sweep suffered by the Wolverines at the hands of home‑standing Michigan Tech. "After the sweep at Michigan Tech, our coaches realized we had a lot of work to do, both offensively and defensively, in our work ethic, prepa‑ ration and special teams," Berenson said. "We had individual meetings with every player on our team and addressed what we had done well and what we hadn't done well. There wasn't much we had done well. "Individually, we wanted every player to show us or agree with us on three things they would get better at and what they were going to do to get better." The fruits of that approach started to show in Michigan's home se‑ ries against American International Nov. 14‑15, after the work put in by coaches and players during the nearly two‑week break from compe‑ tition after the Michigan Tech series. MICHIGAN HOCKEY Wolverines Looking To Rebound After Slow Start