Freshmen on the Michigan hockey team know that if they are good enough to play, they’ll see the ice.

Many from this year's crop are starting to join standout Chris Brown as solid contributors.

For freshman forward Lindsay Sparks, camaraderie with a fellow Canadian teammate could help him stay on the ice.

“He likes to chill with me," junior forward Louie Caporusso said. "I guess because I’m from Toronto and it kinda reminds him of home. Sometimes he just loves to show up at my place and chill with me all the time. I know I’m a pretty cool kid. So that’s probably why.”

Michigan is hoping that the teammates’ friendship will translate to results on the ice. Sparks was moved to Caporusso’s line late in the Wolverines’ 5-3 win over Michigan Tech in the Great Lakes Invitational on Dec. 30. That line — which also includes senior Brian Lebler — will play together again this weekend against Western Michigan.

Sparks scored the first two goals of his career against Michigan Tech, including a first-period power-play goal, after playing in only eight of Michigan’s 20 games up to that point. The Oakville, Ontario native has skated in the Wolverines’ last three contests and is starting to make his presence known.

Now teamed up with Caporusso and the physical Lebler, Sparks is getting his chance to produce with one of the team’s top lines.

“He’s a bit of an unknown,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said of Sparks. “I just think there’s something there. He’s got some offensive instincts. We weren’t sure what he was going to add to our team … He showed that he has a knack around the net. He’s one of those players the puck seems to follow.”

Berenson said he liked how Sparks practiced when the team got back to skating after its break in early December. And now Sparks is one of several freshmen playing a key role on a Michigan team that is trying to turn around a 10-10 record (5-7 CCHA).

Freshman defenseman Lee Moffie has also come on as of late. Moffie and sophomore Greg Pateryn have been in a season-long carousel at the final defenseman position, but Moffie has played his way onto the ice in four straight games. He has had one goal and three assists in that span and is the only blue liner on the team with two goals on the season.

Despite Moffie's maturation throughout the season, Berenson still sees inconsistency in Moffie's play on defense.

“He adds a little bit of, I think, offensive puck sense,” Berenson said. “He sees the open man. ... And his shots have a way of getting through. He’s dangerous in the offensive zone.

"He has to learn how to play good defense because you don’t have the puck that much in the offensive zone.”

Moffie is the lone freshman on defense, while the veteran forwards have adapted to playing with newcomers throughout the season. And because of Sparks’s emergence, there has been at least one freshman playing on each of the four forward lines for most of the season.

While the coaching staff has had to wait patiently for Sparks and Moffie to stand out, freshman forward Chris Brown tasted success from the get-go. Brown is the Wolverines’ third-leading point-getter, but he hasn’t recorded a point in the past four games. With Sparks moving up the line chart, Brown is being moved down to play with sophomore alternate captain Luke Glendening to help him get going again.

Elsewhere on the roster, Berenson has praised freshman Kevin Lynch’s play on and off the puck, but his only problem was that he wasn’t scoring — until Lynch scored on a one-timer against Rensselaer in the GLI. And freshman forward A.J. Treais, who has had his share of ups and downs, will be moving back to his natural position of center. The coaching staff moved him to wing to take some of the defensive pressure off of him.

Improved play from the youth and deeper scoring depth in the lineup will be imperative for Michigan to make a second-half CCHA surge.

“They know that, hey, if you want to play and you can help the team, you’re not just along for the ride,” Berenson said. “You’re here to make a difference on our team. … They’re all getting a chance to add something to the team. I’m expecting good things from all of them.”