2015-16 Season Preview: Ice Hockey
9/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Sept. 23, 2015
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2015-16 OUTLOOK
Michigan ice hockey head coach Red Berenson enters his 32nd season behind the bench in 2015-16, having guided the Wolverines to record-setting success. Under his direction, U-M won two national championships, in 1996 and 1998, qualified for 22 consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 1991-2012 -- an NCAA record -- and reached the Frozen Four on 11 occasions. Michigan looks to return to the NCAA tournament after a three year absence and will be led by junior forward JT Compher, who will serve as team captain for the 2014-15 season. Senior forwards Cristoval 'Boo' Nieves and Justin Selman will serve as alternate captains.
U-M returns seven of its top 10 scorers from a season ago from a team that finished No. 1 in the nation in scoring (3.86 goals per game). Junior forward Tyler Motte is Michigan's leading returner. Motte notched a career-best 31 points (9G, 22A) in 2014-15 and had five multiple-assist games, including a four-assist night against Ohio State on Dec. 5, 2014.
Nieves is Michigan's leading career scorer with 79 points (18G, 61A) in 109 career games in his first three seasons at U-M. Nieves is Michigan's top returning center and enjoyed another solid campaign (7G, 21A) in 2014-15, his third straight 20-plus point season.
Junior forward Alex Kile and Selman are also coming off breakout seasons. Kile notched 26 points (13G, 13A) in his sophomore campaign, including a team-best seven power-play goals. After missing the first month of the season due to injury, Selman recorded a career-best 23 points (11G, 12A) in 26 games. Compher closed the 2014-15 campaign with an offensive flurry, notching eight goals in his final eight games with a total of 24 points (12G, 12A) on the season.
The Wolverines add three talented freshman forwards into the fold in 2015-16 -- Kyle Connor (Shelby Township, Mich.), the USHL Player of the Year and 2015 NHL Draft selection (first round, 17th overall) of the Winnipeg Jets, Cooper Marody (Brighton, Mich.), a Philadelphia Flyers draft pick (sixth round, 158th overall) and Brendan Warren (Carelton, Mich.), the third round (81st overall) selection of the Arizona Coyotes.
Junior Michael Downing and sophomore Zach Werenski return to anchor Michigan's defensive corps. Werenski, drafted eighth overall in the 2015 NHL Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets, was named an All-Big Ten First Team and All-Rookie Team selection after a standout freshman campaign. Werenski led all Big Ten defensemen with nine goals and finished tops among U-M blueliners and second among Big Ten defensemen with 25 points (9G, 16A) this season. He has the most points and goals by a freshman defenseman at Michigan since Jacob Trouba (13G, 16A) in 2012-13. Werenski led the team (tied with Kevin Lohan) with 59 blocked shots. Downing, an All-Big Ten Second Team selection, had 22 points (6G, 16A) in 2014-15, nearly doubling his point total from a season ago.
Two highly regarded freshman defensemen in Nicholas Boka (Plymouth, Mich.), a sixth round (171st overall) selection by the Minnesota Wild in the 2015 NHL Draft, and Joseph Cecconi (Youngstown, N.Y.), a fifth round (133rd overall) selection by the Dallas Stars, will join Michigan in 2015-16.
Senior Steve Racine and junior Zach Nagelvoort give Michigan an experienced tandem in net heading into 2015-16. Racine (11-6-0, 2.94 GAA, .908 Save%) and Nagelvoort (11-9-0, 2.63 GAA, .906 Save%) split time in goal last season, with Racine starting the final three games of the season in the Big Ten Tournament. Racine has appeared in 59 games over his first three seasons at Michigan, notching a 2.81 goals-against average and .905 save percentage. Nagelvoort has appeared in 46 games in two seasons at Michigan, recording a 2.39 goals-against average and .920 save percentage. Michigan adds freshman goaltender Chad Catt (Williamstown, Mich.) into the mix in 2015-16. Catt played this past season with the Soo Eagles and the Aberdeen Wings of the North American Hockey League (NAHL).
STUDENT-ATHLETE TO WATCH
JT Compher, Senior -- Compher was the 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year after a standout first season at Michigan, when he recorded 31 points (11G, 20A) and really found his groove towards the end of his sophomore campaign. Even before his selection as captain this past spring, Compher has a reputation among teammates and in the Big Ten as an extremely hard worker and has been known to push the envelope with his intensity during practices. Enrolled in the Ross School of Business, Compher is one of the team's top student-athletes, twice earning Academic All-Big Ten recognition. He has a personal connection to the team's yearly Movember men's health awareness initiative. Before arriving at Michigan, Compher helped raise money for prostate cancer research when his U.S. NTDP U-17 team played the Chicago Steel, near his hometown after his father Bob's successful recovery from treatment in 2011.
KEY COMPETITION
Dec. 11-12 (Friday and Saturday) vs. Minnesota
Michigan gets an early shot at revenge against the team that it lost to in the 2015 Big Ten Championship game, as the Wolverines take on the Golden Gophers Dec. 11-12 at Yost Ice Arena. In the first two years of Big Ten play, the home team has dominated this series, as Michigan is 3-1 against Minnesota at Yost, while the Gophers are 4-0 at Mariucci Arena. Last season, Michigan had two of its most memorable games against Minnesota at home. The first was a 4-3 (OT) win on Jan. 9, 2015, with Cutler Martin's game-winner punctuating a comeback win for the Wolverines. The following night, Berenson recorded his 800th win behind the bench in a 7-5 win over the Gophers.
QUOTABLE
Senior Forward Justin Selman
On his leadership role with the team this season ... "With the seasons we've had before this, we know we have a pretty big impact in turning it around. With the guys we have coming back and the leadership we have among the upperclassmen, I think we have a really good shot at doing that."
2014-15 RECAP
For the second straight year, Michigan (22-15-0, 12-8-0-0 Big Ten) earned the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, held at Joe Louis Arena. Earlier in the year, Michigan won its 16th Great Lakes Invitational title in the same building with 2-1 wins over No. 5 Michigan Tech and Michigan State Dec. 28-29, 2014, and looked to continue the Joe mojo in the postseason. On March 19, U-M earned a 5-1 win over Wisconsin in the first round of the tournament before defeating Michigan State, 4-1, in the semifinals to earn a spot in the Big Ten championship against regular-season champion Minnesota. With an automatic NCAA Tournament bid on the line, Michigan suffered a 4-2 defeat to Golden Gophers. Zach Hyman and Alex Kile notched second-period power-play goals for the Wolverines in a game that was tied 2-2 heading into the third period, before Minnesota's Justin Kloos scored the game-winner on a power play at 9:29 of the third period.
