NCAA: First impressions of U-Ms freshmen

Michigan's hockey team will open the 2005-06 season officially when it hosts Quinnipiac this Friday at 7:35 p.m., however, Maize and Blue fans got their first glimpse of the Wolverines this past weekend in a pair of exhibitions. TheWolverine.com's Bob Miller was there to scout Michigan and he offers some early insights on this year's team.

After allowing six goals in Saturday night's Blue/White scrimmage, freshman netminder Billy Sauer was solid in his two periods of play despite not facing many shots. He was where he needed to be positionally on every Toronto scoring opportunity Sunday and thwarted a Toronto breakaway mid-second period. Coach Red Berenson is on record as saying that he expects Sauer to keep the Wolverines in games rather than winning them on his own. Sauer did just that in his performance on Sunday.

Senior goaltender Noah Ruden, despite giving up the two third-period Toronto goals, couldn't really be faulted on either and added a spectacular cross-net glove save with the score knotted late in the third period

Freshman defenseman Jack Johnson just might have been able to have taken a run at making the Carolina Hurricane's NHL roster this year based on his play against admittedly inferior talent on Sunday.

Johnson controlled play whenever he was on the ice, adding a physical edge against the older, chippier Toronto team. He clanked shots off both the Toronto goalie's mask and the crossbar on offense and was one of several Wolverines who indicated with their physical play this will be a grittier kind of Wolverine squad than the in past years. One particular second period Serge-Savard like "spinerama" move at his own blue line brought an audible response out of the Michigan faithful.

Playing on the wing rather than at his natural position at center, freshman Andrew Cogliano gave two glimpses of the offense he possesses. A first period end-to-end rush beating two separate Toronto defenders one-on-one didn't result in a Michigan score despite the opportunity, but it was a late third-period pass to open winger Kevin Porter that resulted in the winning goal.

Cogliano will need time to adapt to play on the wing. A situation to watch will be whether Berenson, a frequent line changer, will prefer the potentially explosive T.J. Hensick-Cogliano line to having Cogliano use his natural puck-handling and skating skills at the center position on a different line than Hensick.

Freshman Zac MacVoy seemed as confident on the ice as any of the freshmen exhibiting improved skating skills. He played equally confident in both the offensive and defensive zones, but his playing time was abbreviated by the high frequency of special-teams play in the game.

The duo of freshman Travis Turnbull and classmate Jason Bailey playing together is a "mucker's" dream. Bailey flew around the ice hitting anything in sight while Turnbull was relentless in his forechecking and puck pursuit.

Underrated as a potential offensive weapon, Turnbull is a smaller version of his father, former NHLer Perry Turnbull, using his strength and determination to complement Bailey's speed.

Freshman defenseman Mark Mitera's play was exactly as advertised prior to his arrival at Michigan. Subtle defensive moves and strong positional play highlighted his performance.

On offense, he seemed a little tentative, fanning on his biggest chance to display the hard shot from the point that he possesses. Yet, he made some short, clever passes in the offensive zone to help maintain offensive pressure. Look for him to increase his presence in the offensive zone as the season progresses.