The Michigan hockey team was riding high heading into last season's weekend series against Bowling Green.

They were on a six-game winning streak, including a sweep of Miami (Ohio) at home, a team that had just swept the Wolverines six weeks before.

But against the CCHA basement-dweller Falcons, Michigan lost 3-0 at Yost Ice Arena. Although the Wolverines managed to split the series, they only lit the lamp once all weekend.

“It was a game that you shouldn’t ever lose,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said yesterday. “But it was a weekend that we really struggled to score.”

This season, No. 16 Michigan heads into the weekend facing the same opponent. And this time, its scoring struggles haven't been isolated incidents.

After scoring just four goals in the past four games — all losses — the main concern for this weekend is the team's nagging scoring woes.

“We don’t have a lot of prolific offensive players,” Berenson said after last weekend’s sweep at the hands of Michigan State.

But if there’s any good news for the Wolverines (2-4, 4-6), their opponent isn’t exactly prolific on the defensive end.

The Falcons (1-4-1 CCHA, 1-8-1 overall) are tied for the second-most goals against in the CCHA, trailing only Lake Superior State in that category. Michigan obliterated the Lakers three weeks ago with 11 goals in the two-game series, which still accounts for almost half of the Wolverines’ offense this season.

If the team plans on breaking out of its slump, the Wolverines know that this is the week.

“We need to get on the right path again,” junior forward Matt Rust said. “So it’s a game that could be destructive if we lose. But if we win, it could get us on the right path.”

Part of getting on the right path could be the new look for not only junior Carl Hagelin and sophomore Luke Glendening, who were both named alternate captains this week, but also for the Wolverines’ first line.

Freshman A.J. Treais will be the sixth winger to join junior Louie Caporusso on the first line, which hasn’t produced as much offensively as Berenson had hoped for before the season began — especially with just one goal from Caporusso all year.

But despite the potential offensive firepower on the first line, Berenson is choosing not to label any of his lines as the “top line.”

“We don’t have a first line,” Berenson said. “We have four lines that have a chance of playing well.”

Berenson said he has also been impressed with the performance of Glendening’s line in practice. He praised Glendening, freshman Kevin Lynch and senior Brian Lebler, for physical play and ability to open up the center of the ice — something the Wolverines have struggled with all year.

Michigan's focus will be crucial to turn around what has been a disappointing season thus far. But the Wolverines are looking for a different kind of wake-up call than they experienced against the Falcons last season.

“It’s pretty apparent to us that we’re 4-6,” Rust said. “We’re in the lower tier in our league, and I don’t think the coaches need to tell us much. If you look at the board in the locker room or listen to stuff around the league, you know this isn’t where we’re supposed to be.”