The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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52 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2018 the first time since 1976-77. Armed with confidence and a win- ning streak, Michigan returned home to battle Penn State — another team ranked much higher (at No. 12) than Michigan, which remained out of the national polls. The Nittany Lions were sent pack- ing with two losses and the feeling inside the Michigan locker room was pure excitement and validation with a dash of determination — a four- game winning streak wasn't going to be enough on its own to push the team towards both the national rank- ings and NCAA Tournament. "You feel it. There's nothing like winning," Pearson said. "The energy it brings, it could be raining or snow- ing, but it's a great day. The food could be bad, but hey, it's great. It's amazing how it changes your at- titude about a lot of things. You're more anxious to get down to the rink and practice." Michigan was firing on all cylin- ders. The offense — which had been carried by the first line, nicknamed the "DMC line" for senior forward Dexter Dancs, junior forward Coo- per Marody and senior forward Tony Calderone — was being supported by all four lines, the goaltender job had been won by sophomore Hayden Lavigne and the young defense, led by freshman star Quinn Hughes, was playing more like veterans. Even with the added contributions from the other lines that Pearson so desperately wanted earlier in the season, the scoring numbers coming from the DMC line were electric. By the end of the season, that line combined for 124 points — more than the team's top seven scorers combined in 2016-17. A year after its leading scorer had just 21 points, Michigan boasted the Big Ten scoring champion in Marody, who tallied 51 points. It went from just one player with more than eight goals to five who eclipsed the mark, including four in double figures. Calderone scored 25 goals, 10 more than last season, to lead the team and rank fifth nationally. As a team, Michigan scored 3.40 goals per game on the year and had the No. 6 offense in the country — up 35 spots from the year before. PEAKING WITH PRESSURE On Feb. 16 and 18, U-M faced Notre Dame again, which by now had climbed to No. 1 in the country. Notre Dame sophomore Cale Morris, who won Big Ten Player and Goal- tender of the Year awards, would be difficult to beat. With an NCAA Tournament berth hanging in the balance, Michigan did what it had done all season and called upon the DMC line. Calderone scored the game-win- ning goal in both games, and Michi- gan swept Notre Dame. "We went from a team with not a lot of pressure, weren't sure what the expectations were, to being a team that had a lot of pressure because now we have a chance," Pearson said. Michigan would go on to sweep Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament March 2-3 before falling to Ohio State for the fifth time this season in the conference semifinals. On March 18, Michigan was named the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tourna- ment's Northeast Regional. It was a great accomplishment, but one the team could not celebrate for long. Michigan would have to play two teams essentially in their back- yards if it was to advance to the Fro- zen Four. First up was Northeastern, which boasted the country's No. 5 offense and two of the top three scorers in the nation. The Wolverines dispatched the Huskies 3-2 and moved on to play No. 4 seed Boston University, which had beaten No. 1 seed Cornell. Ranked as the No. 2 team in the country during the preseason, BU was loaded with talent. However, Michigan once again held on for a 6-3 victory. Michigan was going back to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2011. The dream that seemed unat- tainable at the beginning of the sea- son was now a reality — and it meant another game against Notre Dame. Pearson took over a squad that returned just five players with 15 or more points from the previous season. Under his watch, the Wolverines boasted 11 student-athletes who reached that mark, including junior forward Brendan Warren (left, 15 points), senior forward Tony Calderone (middle, 45) and sophomore forward Jake Slaker (right, 27). PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY