Four Division I college hockey teams compete in the annual Great Lakes Invitational every December, and this year will be the 46th rendition of the holiday tournament on Dec. 29th and 30th in downtown Detroit.

Each team — Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech and a fourth squad that changes every season — has one goal in mind, according to Michigan coach Red Berenson — to attach its school name to the GLI Championship banner that hangs in the rafters of Joe Louis Arena for 365 days.

But last year, the Wolverines (9-3-1-0 CCHA, 10-5-4 overall) didn’t receive that perk, as they were upset by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the opening-round matchup, 4-3.

No. 20 Colorado College from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association replaces RPI as the fourth team this year.

In the game against the Engineers last season, netminder Allen York stopped 43 shots, stifling Michigan's offensive attack and preventing it from capitalizing on its scoring chances.

“We came here to get in the championship game, number one,” Berenson said following the loss against RPI. “We had something to prove, and we didn't quite prove it."

Then-junior forward Matt Rust added: “It's tough waking up … and knowing you're playing in the consolation game for third place.”

The loss marked the first time since 2005 that Michigan didn't advance to the championship game, and on Wednesday against Michigan Tech (1-10-1 WCHA, 3-11-2 overall), the Wolverines will look to reverse their previous misfortunes. Michigan will play the winner of Colorado and the Spartans in the championship game if it defeats the Huskies.

Michigan won the GLI in 2007 and 2008, so it certainly hopes to rebound from its dismal performance last year against the Engineers.

“You walk out of Joe Louis with two wins, you feel pretty good about the building, about playing there,” Berenson said two weeks ago. “You’ve added to your confidence. You know, ‘this is our rink.’"

But Berenson and the Wolverines will have to do so without two everyday players. Freshman defenseman Jon Merrill and sophomore forward Chris Brown are both competing for the U.S. National Junior team in the 2011 IIHF World Championships in Buffalo over the holidays.

Merrill has been a part of the Wolverines’ top-defensive pairing with senior Chad Langlais for the entire season while Brown is struggling to find consistency on the offensive end, having produced just two goals and eight assists through Michigan’s first half.

Even without Merrill and Brown, Berenson knows the importance of performing well at the Joe and how it could propel a team to a second-half surge. After winning the GLI in 2008, the Wolverines won 13 of its final 16 regular-season contests before eventually bowing out to Air Force in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Despite the Huskies’ last-place positioning in the WCHA and as cliche as it sounds, the Wolverines aren't going to take any team lightly in the GLI or for the rest of the season, for that matter.

“It can give you a big-game experience,” Berenson said of the GLI. “Our goal every year is to get into the championship game, so you win the first game and get to the championship game, and that gives you a sense of … an important game.

“It’s preparation for an important game in a venue where we’re going to have to play down the road.”