College Hockey News Pre-Season ranking has Michigan 8th in the country
September 9th, 2013 at 5:23 PM ^
we definetely ended really freaking hot until that disappointing end at the joe. still seems kinda high based on the overall season but i dont really follow other college hockey teams too closely so i am not sure where we really fit overall.
Also Wisky at #3 and Minny at #6. I'm pretty excited about some big ten hockey hopefully more games get on tv and i wont have to just listen to the mgoblue audio stream
September 9th, 2013 at 5:34 PM ^
We fell off the radar nationally by being bad and then missing the tournament for the first time in forever and frankly, the hockey is off of the average Michigan fans radar because of the football team's return and the basketball teams meteoric rise (and also because the hockey team was bad)
There's still a lot of talent on this team, Racine will be growing up, and we bring in a seriously good recruiting class. The only downfall is that our schedule is about as brutal as I've ever seen it.
We'll probably be a better team than our record reflects this year, but I'm not sure if we'll make the tournament or not
September 9th, 2013 at 5:46 PM ^
IDK about top 10. 12-18 seems reasonable until they actually win some games. too many doubts after last year
September 9th, 2013 at 6:12 PM ^
The forwards could be one of the top offensive groups in the NCAA this year, there's no doubt about that.
The question that will determine our season is how quickly our blueline gets going. We have to replace Trouba, Merrill and Moffie; the three in line to fill those spots are Serville, Chiasson, and Downing. While there is a high upside for this group, it's feast or famine.
September 9th, 2013 at 8:29 PM ^
I think Michigan goes as far as the defensemen allow us to go. The forward corp is good and has a nice recruiting class to bolster it. Racine seems to have adapted to NCAA hockey and hopefully carries his form into this season. Replacing 3 of 6 defensemen won't be easy, but I really like Downing's game. He fits well with what Michigan needs; an intelligent, smooth defenseman who can start the rush and is capable in his own end. He has offensive upside and is physical in the d zone, which is a plus. The downside isn't so much in his game but in the fact that UM is going to have to heavily lean on a freshman defenseman.