Michigan
Mercyhurst
Maize and Blue to Open Season with Mercyhurst at Yost
10/1/2025 1:54:00 PM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team will open the 2025-26 season this weekend, Oct. 3-4, hosting Mercyhurst in a two-game series at Yost Ice Arena. Both games begin at 7 p.m., and will be streamed on B1G+.
Notes
• Michigan was selected No. 12 in the preseason USCHO national poll and received one first-place vote. The Wolverines finished the season No. 17 in the final poll after an 18-15-3 season.
• The team returns 13 letterwinners and welcomes 14 newcomers, including an 11-member freshman class. Puckpreps has ranked the freshmen class No. 1 in the nation in recruiting.
• T.J. Hughes was named captain of Team 104, and will be joined on the leadership team by alternate captains and fellow seniors Kienan Draper, Tyler Duke and Luca Fantilli.
• Michigan has 13 NHL Draft picks on its roster this season. Twelve teams are represented -- with the Edmonton Oilers having two selections, in freshmen Asher Barnett and Aidan Park.
• Hughes is the nation's active career leader as he heads into his fourth season with 122 points (47 goals, 75 assists). He holds a 13-point lead over the next player, Quinnipiac's Jeremy Wilmer, and 42 points over the next Big Ten player, Ohio State's Davis Burnside. Hughes' 47 goals are also the most in college hockey.
• Hughes and Michael Hage were both named second-team preseason All-Big Ten by the coaches. The Big Ten Rookie of the Year, Hage was fourth in the nation in freshman scoring with 34 points in 33 games.
• The Wolverines have three new netminders in freshman Jack Ivankovic, freshman Stephen Peck and sophomore transfer Julian Molinaro. A draft pick of the Nashville Predators, Ivankovic is coming off a gold-medal performance with Hockey Canada at the U18 World Championships.
• Besides Molinaro, Michigan added two additional transfers: Ben Robertson from Cornell and Jayden Perron from North Dakota.
• Michigan welcomes four players from the Canadian Hockey League, with this year's NCAA rule change. Henry Mews was the first commit, followed by Malcolm Spence, Matthew Mania and Ivankovic. All four played in the Ontario Hockey League.
• The Wolverines have the second-youngest team in the NCAA at 20.6 years of age. Boston University is the youngest at 19.9. Draft eligible in 2026, Adam Valentini is the third-youngest player with a 2008 birth year.
