Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson is hoping this season's series against Notre Dame can represent a role reversal.

Last year, the Wolverines held the nation’s top ranking for most of the season. A path to the NCAA Championship game seemed almost guaranteed.

Notre Dame, on the other hand, struggled through its regular season. The Fighting Irish were swept by Michigan in January, finished fourth in the CCHA and snuck into the NCAA Tournament as a fourth seed in the West Regional.

But Notre Dame got hot when it mattered, storming through regional play and shocking the Wolverines in a 5-4 overtime win in the Frozen Four to reach the national championship game.

And this weekend's home-and-home series marks the first meeting between the teams since that semifinal game.

This time, the Irish come into the matchup as the top team in the country, unbeaten in 20 straight contests.

The Wolverines (12-6-0 CCHA, 18-8-0 overall) are the ones with questions. Though they’ve won nine of their last 10 games, five of those victories came against CCHA basement-dweller Michigan State, leading some to discount their recent success.

“They’re playing like we were last year, and we’re playing maybe like they were,” Berenson said. “We’ve got something to prove.”

Berenson hopes his team gains momentum heading into March, much like Notre Dame did last year. He knows it takes just a few back-to-back wins to advance deep into postseason play.

“I hope we play our best hockey down the stretch,” Berenson said.
“When you coach, that’s your goal — for everyone to improve, the team to come together and finally build to your best for last.”

Tonight is the start of that final stretch.

Michigan has just 10 games remaining in the regular season, and if it hopes to secure a first-round bye in the CCHA Tournament, it needs to win almost all of them. The Wolverines probably can't catch the Irish, who have essentially locked up the top seed, but they could end up second with a strong finish.

Fortunately for Michigan, it’s playing its best hockey right now. The staunch defense is allowing just 2.15 goals per game on average, and all four lines of forwards are contributing offensively.

Early-season injuries have faded. Junior defenseman Steve Kampfer will return to the ice this weekend after a brief hospitalization for a head injury. Senior captain Mark Mitera practiced with the team this week for the first time since suffering a knee injury in early October. He remains on track for a possible return before the postseason.

The team has also stepped up in big games, making especially loud statements against rivals Miami (Ohio) and Michigan State in the past month.

But tonight will be the biggest test so far this season, and the Wolverines think they’ll be ready to respond. Still, it will take near-perfect play to pull off the upset.

“If we don’t play our best hockey, it’s not going to be a good outcome,” senior forward Tim Miller said. “We’ll bring our best, and hopefully, that’ll be enough.”

But Berenson isn’t sure that attitude is the right approach to an opponent like Notre Dame (13-2-3-3, 19-3-3).

“I sense good things going on in practice, but we still have a lot to prove,” Berenson said. “We can’t just go, ‘If we play our best, we’ll beat this team.’ We don’t know. I don’t know if we can.”

And while there's certainly bitterness from last April's contest, according to junior acting captain Chris Summers, Michigan remains focused on what it must prove.

“It’s going to be huge," Summers said. "We have to make sure guys are going to come ready to play and show up (tonight).”