Yost Ice Arena is arguably the toughest venue in the entire CCHA — that’s no secret. It’s certainly among the rowdiest places in the country, especially when compared with Goggin Ice Center in Oxford and Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing.

But when the Wolverines travel to Ferris State in Big Rapids, Michigan this Friday for the first game of a home-and-home series, they’ll play in a well kept secret of a rink that might just challenge Yost for that top honor: Ewigleben Ice Arena.

“When you win a game in there, you have to be ready to compete hard,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said of Ewigleben, in which the Bulldogs had a conference-best 14-4-2 home record last season. “The emotion, the noise, the rink-size … We’ve gone in there and have had good games, but you’re going to have to play well.”

Boasting a lower-than-normal roof and a seating capacity just under 3,000, Ewigleben's student section sits tight against the glass behind the Wolverines’ net for two periods.

“They always pack that place when they play us, and the fans are pretty ruthless and try to get under your skin,” senior forward Carl Hagelin said.

Regardless of the type of environment the Wolverines will be playing in, sophomore winger Chris Brown said that the coaching staff has emphasized just how crucial the first five minutes of any game is — especially on the road. It's vital for capturing that early tally, some of the game’s momentum, or even just establishing early sustained offensive pressure.

Brown added that if Michigan (2-0-0 CCHA, 3-1-2 overall) can maintain a high level of intensity for the entire 60 minutes, then the team should be in pretty good shape.

“If we can take their crowd out of the game, it might take them out of the game too,” Brown said about getting the first goal. “If they come out jumping on us early, the crowd’s going to be into it and the place is going to be rocking. It might hurt us, and we’re not looking too into it, but it could always be a factor.”

With Ferris State (1-1-0, 4-2-0) coming off its best year in recent memory, finishing third in the conference during the regular season, Berenson knows that this will be a textbook end-to-end battle.

“We just have to take care of the puck by getting the puck quickly out of the zone,” he said. “We have to have some sustained pressure then once we get the puck out. Ferris is a transition rink.

“We’re not going to keep it in their zone all night, and when it turns over, we have to be ready for a foot race back to our zone, and then get it out quick again. It’s going to be transition hockey.”

Berenson added that the keys to playing an effective transition are good passes, head manning the puck and forcing turnovers in the neutral zone.

The mental preparation should be as important as the X's and O's when playing the Bulldogs, especially since senior forward and co-captain Carl Hagelin said that the team might have been lacking that prep last Friday when the Wolverines dropped a 4-2 home contest to Nebraska-Omaha.

“We got together and talked as a team that preparation is the key to success,” Hagelin said earlier this week about the team’s 6-1 win the following night against the Mavericks.

After Wednesday’s practice, Berenson said that the “first responsibility comes on us” with regards to his team’s mentality before games, but that some of the responsibility also lies among the 20 players in the locker room as well.

“The coaches have the right message, but the captains and leaders need to know that the team talk is just as important because they have to be in sync,” Berenson said. “If the team thinks that the preparation can be less than what the coaches think, then forget it. It’s not going to work. But the first responsibility comes on us.”