At the end of practice on Monday, senior defenseman Eric Werner
worked with sophomore forward Mike Brown in a two-man drill. The
exercise consisted of Brown — who was positioned next to the
goal — feeding passes to Werner at the blue line. Werner
proceeded to fire shots into the net with ease.

While flinging the puck into the twine may not be the usual
activity for many defensemen, Werner has always been different. The
Grosse Pointe Woods native tallied an impressive 25 points in his
freshman season and posted nine goals — including a team-high
four game-winners — and 14 assists last year.

Not many defensemen are capable of putting up a hat trick, but
Werner did just that last season against Michigan Tech in the Great
Lakes Invitational. So what’s the secret?

“He doesn’t look like he has breakaway speed or
size, but he’s got the smarts,” Michigan coach Red
Berenson said. “He has good instincts — he knows when
to jump and when to get into holes. He’s very patient with
the puck. I would expect him to be one of the top offensive
defensemen in our league.”

But Werner’s valuable scoring abilities weren’t
evident in Michigan’s first few games this year. After three
contests, he hadn’t put up a single goal or assist and even
his defensive play seemed shaky. In an Oct. 15 game against New
Hampshire, Werner looked uncharacteristically shaky, committing
several turnovers and defensive miscues.

“I think the first couple games, my preparation
wasn’t there,” Werner said. “My hockey sense was
a little off. I don’t think I played horrible, but I
didn’t play to (the level) where I should be
playing.”

Werner also admits that the realization that this is his last
year of college hockey made him force things a little, causing
mistakes on the ice.

“I put a little pressure on myself seeing that I have to
have a good (senior) year,” he said. “This is my last
run at it.”

Berenson was slightly concerned about Werner’s early
showings.

“(Werner) was taking unnecessary risks and (wasn’t)
always on the right side of the puck,” the coach said.
“When you’re cheating a little bit, there’s a
risk you’re going to get burned, and we were getting
burned.”

But for now, Werner’s struggles have been pushed into the
past. In his last three games, the senior has scored two goals and
dished out four assists, while accumulating a plus-three
rating.

His current total of six points puts him in a tie for third on
the team in scoring, while his plus-four rating barely trails
fellow defenseman Nick Martens’s team-high plus-five
mark.

“Things are going much better for him (now),”
Berenson said. “I think he’s playing more physical,
he’s playing more focused mentally and he’s making
better decisions. Let’s face it — he has talent, and
it’s starting to show through.”

Sophomore Jason Dest – Werner’s defensive partner on
the ice — admires his mate’s ability to move on the
ice.

“Werner is one of the most creative (defensemen)
I’ve ever played with,” Dest said. “Some of the
moves he has out there you never see. I try to take a couple pages
out of his book to make my game a little more creative.”

For his part, Werner believes he and Dest are very effective
together.

“We both play with that little chip on our
shoulder,” Werner said. “We both play aggressive, and I
think we communicate really well off the ice and on the
ice.”

Berenson realizes that the normally quiet Werner’s actions
speak louder than his words.

“He’s a quiet contributor off the ice, but on (it)
is when he makes his statements,” Berenson said.
“He’s one of those leaders who leads by
example.”

With his brief rocky start behind him, Werner is confident that
his current play will propel him to play like a role model for the
rest of his Michigan career.

“Now that the games are rolling, I just think I’m
going to get better and better,” he said.