Paula C. Weston

This is Michigan’s second trip to the Frozen Four in four seasons, but this year’s Wolverines are very different from the guys who lost their 2008 semifinal game to Notre Dame in overtime in Denver. That UM squad – including this year’s seniors, who were freshmen in 2007-08 – boasted two superstar players with 30 … Read more

The Wolverines want you to know something, Sioux fans. They aren’t afraid of you. There’s a lot being made in this Frozen Four of Michigan’s underdog status, something a bit unusual for the Wolverines. Not only is North Dakota the No. 1 seed in the tournament and heavily favored, but St. Paul is practically the … Read more

Playing the Frozen Four in the Xcel Energy Center is a bit of a homecoming for the seniors on this Michigan team. Louie Caporusso, Carl Hagelin, Chad Langlais, Tristin Llewellyn, Matt Rust, Scooter Vaughan and Ben Winnett were freshmen when UM played in the 2007 Ice Breaker Invitational. “It is interesting that this senior class … Read more

Following Michigan’s first Frozen Four practice Wednesday afternoon, the Wolverines were loose enough to provide a few laughs for the press, some of them unintentional. When coach Red Berenson was asked about the status of defenseman Brandon Burlon, who has been out of the lineup with esophagitis since mid-March, Berenson’s answer had his own players … Read more

With first-period goals from unlikely sources, Michigan outlasted Colorado College 2-1 on Saturday to become the NCAA West Regional champions and advance to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2008. “We just wanted to get through the first game,” Wolverines coach Red Berenson said. “We knew that Nebraska[-Omaha] was a good team and … Read more

I just heard someone say, “Michigan will need their best game to beat Colorado College.” I think that’s only partly true. I think that Michigan’s best game may not be enough to beat the Colorado College team I saw last night. My pick: CC 4-3.

What struck me most about Colorado College’s 8-4 win over Boston College was twofold. First, these Eagles were completely unaccustomed to being on the receiving end of this kind of drubbing and had never had to experience an NCAA tournament loss. Second, this was not the same CC team that I saw in the Great … Read more

I know that fans only want to talk about Kevin Lynch’s game-winning goal that sent Michigan ahead and ended Nebraska-Omaha’s season. Unfortunately, the way the game ended overshadows the great sixty minutes of regulation hockey and two minutes of OT that preceded it. The Mavericks scored at 1:35 and 8:18 in the first; the Wolverines … Read more

When Jimmy Hayes scored 19 seconds into Friday’s West Regional semifinal to give Boston College a quick 1-0 lead, it looked as though the defending national champions might be headed toward another high-scoring, lopsided victory. Instead, the Eagles found themselves in unfamiliar territory, down 4-1 at the end of one, as Colorado College dominated on … Read more