Sauer key in big series with Miami

The Michigan hockey team’s offense is letting down its senior goaltender.

Sophomore Bryan Hogan’s goal support when he starts Saturdays is remarkable compared to senior Billy Sauer’s when he starts Fridays. The ninth ranked Wolverines (8-4-0 overall, 5-3-0-0 CCHA) have scored 30 goals for Hogan and just 10 for Sauer.

With so little offensive support, it’s no wonder Sauer is a bit frustrated.

“When you lose Friday night, the team has a chance to redeem themselves Saturday night, but I have to wait to the next week,” Sauer said.

The Wolverines scored just once in each of Sauer’s past two starts. Michigan fell to a Western Michigan team that had just one previous win and to Alaska, which typically struggles on offense.

Besides Hogan’s 6-0 and Sauer’s 2-4 record, both have similar statistics. Hogan has slight advantages in goals allowed average (2.22 vs. 2.85) and save percentage (.906 vs. .893).

“I honestly think the attitude is we take a loss, and everyone takes it personal,” Sauer said. “I don’t know why it takes us that loss. It’s probably just the feeling that when we play lackadaisical on Friday night and get that loss, and we realize we’ve got to bear down on Saturday.”

This weekend Michigan will need its offense to show up when it plays No. 7 Miami (6-3-3 overall, 6-2-2-1 CCHA) in Oxford. The RedHawks are currently the top team in the CCHA.

The atmosphere at Miami will be electric. When the teams met last year, they were the top two teams in the country.

“They had kids camping out two or three nights before the game (last year),” sophomore forward Matt Rust said. “The atmosphere was great.”

But this time, both the Wolverines and RedHawks have lost some tough games to teams they usually beat, which has been a trend in the CCHA this year. In fact, Michigan has lost more games through 12 games than it did last year when it played Miami through 28 games.

Michigan left Oxford last year with a win and a tie and beat the RedHawks in Detroit to win the CCHA Playoff Championship.

This weekend’s series will be the biggest so far for Michigan, and to perform in two games instead of just one, the Wolverines will have to come out and give Sauer their best.

Michigan's series with Miami, along with next weekend’s College Hockey Showcase against Minnesota and Wisconsin, has the potential to define the Wolverines’ season. If the offense, defense and goaltending don’t come together, Michigan could quickly find itself as a middling team in the CCHA.

“It will give us a better idea of where we are,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said. “The last big series we had was BU, and obviously we failed that test. We’ve been trying to bounce back since then, and I can’t tell you we’re satisfied with where we are.”