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Michigan coach Red Berenson says defensemen and goaltenders have an advantage in the early stages of the season because it takes time for forwards to get comfortable and develop chemistry with their linemates.
After Michigan's 5-3 win over Mercyhurst, if the best of the Wolverines' offense is yet to come, then their future opponents had better be ready for an offensive onslaught.
Against the Lakers,
Michigan looked surprisingly sharp on the powerplay, converting on three of
six chances. Relying on good spacing and crisp passing, Michigan was able to
generate opportunity after opportunity.
The Wolverines also got to experiment with a myriad of units, and Berenson is
quickly getting a feel for which ones he can rely on. Ticketmaster
"We did have a lot of different combinations," Berenson said. "We're still feeling our way on the powerplay. The powerplay has to take advantage of chances, and for the most part I think we're going in the right direction."
One tactic that is working particularly well on the powerplay is having forward Jeff Tambellini back at the blueline playing the point with Brandon Rogers. As the fourth forward and yet another threat on the ice, he forces the opposing team to keep an eye on him, and that gives the forwards even more room to operate.
This worked beautifully on Michigan's third and fifth goal, even though Tambellini wasn't involved in either one. On the two goals, Eric Nystrom and T.J. Hensick both benefited from clear paths to the net and had no trouble notching their respective goals. Ticketmaster
Nystrom's powerplay goal, which gave Michigan a 3-1 lead early in the second period, was also important because it turned the momentum in the Wolverines' favor. Blowing powerplay chances has the potential to be demoralizing, but in Saturday's game that was never a factor.
"The timing sometimes of your powerplay goals is huge," Berenson said. "I thought [Eric] Nystrom's goal was a big goal for us at the time."
STANDING TALL
Michigan easily defeated York Friday night in an exhibition game 6-2. York's goaltender Derek Dolson earned the first star of the game.
Sound strange?
Look closely at the box score and you'll find out why it's not -- Dolson stopped an astonishing 68 shots, including 51-of-52 in the final two periods.
After the game, Berenson and Michigan players alike knew the scenario wouldn't play out again during the season.
"We're old enough and smart enough to realize we're not going to get those chances," Milan Gajic said. "We're not going to be able to sit in the slot for 30 seconds and not get picked up." Ticketmaster
Though Mercyhurst was a much tougher team, the Wolverines still outshot it by a hefty 43-26 margin.