Michigan Wolverines
How they got to Las Vegas: Won the Albany Regional, beating Bentley 5-1 and Minnesota Duluth 4-3
Overall season record: 31-7-1
Top players: D Tyler Duke (2-16-18), D Luca Fantilli (4-13-17), F T.J. Hughes (21-35-56), F Michael Hage (13-38-51), F Will Horcoff (25-13-38).
Top goalie: Jack Ivankovic (25-7-1, 2.13, .923)
Why they’ll win the national championship: Michigan is filthy with offensive talent and all of the confidence that comes with that. Averaging 4.56 goals per game, the Wolverines bring the top offense in the nation to Las Vegas, with nine players who have scored 10 or more goals this season including two —T.J. Hughes and Will Horcoff — who have more than 20 goals each. Michigan also has the nation’s top power play (31.6 percent). This is a team that is always hunting goals. Jack Ivankovic brings stability to Michigan’s net and the team defense is markedly improved from seasons past. A lot of guys on this team have Frozen Four experience, as the Wolverines made back-to-back appearances in 2023 and 2024.
Why they won’t win the national championship: As good as the Wolverines are, they are over-reliant on their offense at the expense of playing a solid defensive game. That was exposed in the Albany title game against Minnesota Duluth. The Wolverines were fortunate to have capitalized on early chances, jumping out to a 3-0 early lead, because the Bulldogs outshot Michigan 16-6 in the third and had three goals of their own to show for it. And as good as Michigan is in so many ways to play for a national championship, the Wolverines need to get by Denver, the team that played the best hockey among the entire regional field. Michigan outscored opponents 9-4 in two games. Denver dismantled its competition, scoring 11 goals and allowing 2 and neither game even thought about being close. The Wolverines will need everything they have to beat the Pioneers. If they do, they may not have enough to win another game.
*****
Last year, Michigan missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019, halting a three-year Frozen Four streak that ran from 2022 to 2024. When the Wolverines chose the manner of their self-reckoning, they turned to rugby — and to reading.
“We read the book ‘Legacy,’ by James Kerr,” said coach Brendan Naurato. “We had an optional book club. We’d meet once a week and read three chapters together and discuss it, but what came from that is (that) all our coaches were there, and players and staff members, just like something fun.”
Kerr’s book recounts how the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team changed their team culture following a humiliating 2004 loss, a culture change that has resulted in their international dominance ever since.
“Last year was hard and right when it ended, it started with hard conversations of what our roster was going to look like,” said Naurato.
That led to Naurato picking up Kerr’s book, to the informal book club and to a way to process what they’d all just experienced. Naurato said there was “some pain” and “moments of opening up,” which in turn led to ways to manage emotion while working to get back to where the Wolverines are right now.
That the Wolverines are returning to the Frozen Four after such a disappointing 2025 season is a feat made even more impressive by how much turnover there is on the Michigan team. This season began with 11 freshmen and four transfers, and Naurato credits Michigan’s junior and senior leadership with “getting them acclimated into the identity and culture of Michigan hockey.”
“I think that’s what allowed these guys to be so tight,” said Naurato. With so many newcomers, said Naurato, “you’re kind of built for the following season. I think how they gelled off the ice is a direct correlation to some of our success on the ice.”
Now in his fourth season, this is the third time that Naurato has led Michigan to a Frozen Four appearance. It’s also the third time that seniors T.J. Hughes, Kienan Draper and Luca Fantilli will be playing in the Frozen Four.
“I think experience is good,” said Naurato, “but it’s how you manage or handle that experience. You have to learn from previous success or failure.”
Naurato said that Michigan isn’t content with having returned.
“We’re going there on a mission, and it’s to get to Saturday,” he said. “Then we have a new goal, and there’s a lot of prep that goes into that.”
Michigan is making its NCAA-record 29th Frozen Four appearance and the Wolverines have captured the national championship nine times. Their last title came 28 years ago, in 1998. Michigan has appeared in the Frozen Four nine times since then but advancws only once to the championship game, a 3-2 loss to Minnesota Duluth.
Naurato said that the Wolverines know about all of that history.
“We have a job to do,” said Naurato, who played for Michigan in the Frozen Four in 2008. “We’re trying to get to Saturday, and since I’ve been here as a player and a coach, we have not had that luxury.”
Naurato said that while the Wolverines can learn from all of that history, what Michigan takes away from the Albany regional title game against Minnesota Duluth is a more immediate lesson. Trailing 4-1 and with their season on the line, the Bulldogs threw everything they had at Michigan, outshooting the Wolverines 16-6 in the final period and scoring twice with nine minutes remaining in regulation.
“Man,” said Naurato, “we felt it the last 10 minutes of that game with the push that Duluth made, and I think it’s going to make us that much stronger going into the Frozen Four.”