The No. 13 Michigan hockey team always prepares for and respects its opponent — even when the opposing mascot is the Buckeye.

But after losing three straight games, this weekend carries added weight for the struggling Wolverines, who are hoping the slide has been more of a speed bump than the beginning of a free-fall.

“We try and put last weekend behind us,” senior forward Matt Rust said Wednesday. “The reason we’re losing is not because of the other team, but because of our own lapses. We’re trying to focus on the things that we need to do better. When the time comes to watch video, we’ll watch video. But I think we’re addressing our own issues more so right now.”

Michigan currently boasts an eight-game win streak at home and will face two games against the Buckeyes (9-11-2-2 CCHA, 14-13-2 overall) in the friendly confines of Yost Ice Arena on Friday and Saturday.

The Wolverines (14-7-1-0, 17-9-4) know how critical home ice can be to their success. After dropping both decisions against Miami (Ohio) last weekend — the first time the team has been on the losing end of a series sweep this season — a home series couldn’t come at a better time for Michigan.

“Most teams have a better record at home,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said. “We have a good record at home, but you have to play well. That’s huge. If we play well, our fans get into it, you can build momentum in this building. It can be a terrific home-ice advantage, but it all starts with if you play well.”

The Wolverine offense is currently ranked 20th in the nation, but while Michigan is averaging 3.27 goals per game, it has scored just three goals in its past three games.

The only Wolverines to find the net during Michigan’s current three-game losing streak are senior forward Louie Caporusso and sophomore forward A.J. Treais, whose two goals against Miami last Friday marked the first two-goal game of his career.

After being shut out for just the second time this season — a 3-0 series finale loss at the hands of the RedHawks last Saturday — Berenson gave each line a new look at Monday’s practice. Berenson made changes to all four of the Wolverines’ lines, hoping that the shake-up will help ignite the Michigan offense.

“It isn’t really a message, (Berenson is) just trying something new,” Rust said. “Everyone on this team has talent. Changing up the lines just gives everyone a fresh start, gives everyone a new jump start in their game and kind of makes everyone more excited to play.”

Michigan hopes the two games against Ohio State will be just the “jump start” this team needs, as each weekend moves them closer and closer to the end of the regular season.

The Wolverines split their first series of the season with the Buckeyes back in early December, but both squads know they will be facing different teams this weekend. Ohio State split last weekend’s series with Michigan State and comes into Yost tied for seventh place in the CCHA, while the RedHawks' weekend sweep of Michigan puts the Wolverines two points behind Miami and in third place in the conference.

After giving up three power play goals in Oxford last weekend and going 0-for-12 on their own power play chances, Berenson addressed both sides of the special teams issues in practice this week.

Miami’s power play currently ranks second in the nation and has scored 12 more goals on the man-advantage than Ohio State, but the Wolverines are concerned with improving their own penalty killing and defense heading into this weekend.

“We were not surprised (by Miami). We went in and played well, we played hard,” Berenson said. “Everybody knew they were vying for first place before the season started. We’re not surprised by that, but we’re disappointed in the way that we handled it, whether it was defensively, offensively or special teams.”

With just three series remaining in the regular season for Michigan and a traffic jam among the top of the CCHA, the Wolverines know now more than ever how precious each point really is.

“I think that the adversity is going to help us,” sophomore forward Chris Brown said. “We’re going to come out strong this weekend and really show that those last three games were a fluke and that we should have played a lot better.”