Humility. Disappointment. Resilience.

These are the words Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson used to describe his team's attitude after yesterday's practice - the first since No. 1 Minnesota's 8-2 drubbing of the now-sixth-ranked Wolverines in Minneapolis on Saturday night.

And, two days after the most trying performance of his young career, perhaps no player is feeling all three words more than goaltender Billy Sauer.

Looking back on this weekend's games, Sauer experienced one of his highest highs followed immediately by his lowest low.

After saving 34 shots en route to a 4-3 victory against defending national champion Wisconsin on Friday, the sophomore was humbled after allowing a career-high eight goals against the Gophers on Saturday. The onslaught included five third-period goals and a handful that Sauer wishes he had back.

But disappointed as he is, Sauer knows all he can do is put the last game behind him and move on to the next challenge.

"As much as you want to dwell on it, as much as you want to watch the video, as much as you want to say I shoulda, coulda, woulda, you can't change a damn thing you did," Sauer said. "So this week, I'm coming out here with a new attitude for the games we have this weekend, because I can't change the outcomes of the games from last week."

Over the next two weeks, Michigan will have to rely on Sauer's resilience.

The Wolverines face off in home-and-home series with Western Michigan and No. 5 Notre Dame to close out the first half of the season.

Sitting in a first-place tie with Miami (Ohio) in the CCHA standings, winning these conference games will be critical considering Michigan's road-heavy schedule in the second half.

Beyond those contests, Sauer's ability to bounce back from his struggles will help determine where the Wolverines finish in the hunt for the CCHA title.

Last season - when Michigan finished third in the league - the team was just a half game out of first place heading into the College Hockey Showcase. But after Sauer gave up a then-career-high six goals against Minnesota, then-senior goalie Noah Ruden got the nod for the Wisconsin game, and Sauer never recovered.

"I think one of Billy's challenges, if he's going to be the starting goalie, is to be able to put a good game behind him and move on, or put a bad game behind him," Berenson said. "Part of being a goalie is how long you reflect on or enjoy or suffer from your last game."

Sauer struggled to earn starts and minutes while competing with Ruden as his goals against average rose from 2.35 going into the Showcase to 3.04 by the end of last season. His save percentage also took a hit, dropping by almost 2 percent. But Sauer feels that this time around, he will do a better job moving past Minnesota.

"(Minnesota) has been my downfall both years," Sauer said. "Bouncing back from a game last year was tough for me. But this year, I can handle it more. Any night, I feel like I can hop in and play my best."

While moving on from his disappointment, Sauer is taking a few lessons from the game, including defending breakaways. The Golden Gophers had an inordinate number in Saturday's game, and Berenson knows no goalie can stop them all. But Sauer and his coach think added aggression might help Sauer fend off odd-man rushes in the future.

"I kind of backed up into my net more than I wanted to (on breakaways)," Sauer said. "It's a mental mistake. We had played five games in nine days - maybe it had to do with fatigue or a mental error. It's not the way I wanted to play them."

Sauer also struggled with perfecting the angles at which he positions to protect his net. Playing on larger ice surfaces than Yost Ice Arena at both venues this past weekend, Sauer never appeared as confident with his positioning. This issue dates back to his first collegiate experiences on Olympic ice in Fairbanks and Marquette last season.

"I think on Wisconsin's second goal, I definitely gave the guy way too much on the far side," Sauer said. "I kind of thought I was on my angle, but it's really tough to get a feel for where you are when you're out there."

Obviously, playing at home will eliminate the issues with angles, but Sauer's maturity in recognizing his faults should help him overcome similar problems in the future.

"I think he's a mature kid," Berenson said of Sauer. "But I think his game management maturity is the question. Watching him evolve as a player, I think he's more mature than a year ago, but he's not there yet. I don't know if you ever get there when you're only 18 years old."