Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson said time after time this season that he liked how sophomore forward JT Compher was playing, and it would only be a matter of time before the goals started piling up for the sophomore forward.
Game after game, Berenson found himself referring to the same mantra: It’s only a matter of time. Prior to the Wisconsin series two weeks ago, and last weekend’s Penn State series, Compher had tallied just four goals through 26 games.
Though that would be fine for some players, Compher entered this season as Michigan’s reigning point leader — with 31 last season — scoring 11 goals in his freshman campaign. Compher was expected to be one of the Wolverines’ top scoring options, but it didn’t appear that way.
However, in the Wolverines’ past four games, he registered seven goals and added an assist. Finally, Berenson could say something new about the talented sophomore.
“We thought JT would continue where he left off last year,” Berenson said. “I kind of forgot how good he was until he got it going again.
“… All of the sudden he’s kind of ‘Wow.’ He’s got that little step that maybe he was missing when things weren’t going for him. It’s nice to see the old JT.”
Compher’s teammates echoed their coach’s sentiment that Compher’s goals would come. But junior forward Andrew Copp tried to pinpoint what exactly jumpstarted Compher’s scoring barrage.
“A couple of empty-net goals kind of got him going,” Copp said.
But the junior added how important it is that Compher is picking up the team’s scoring load, especially when the nation’s top-ranked offense is starting to cool down.
Berenson and Compher’s teammates each noted that for the middle part of the season, the extremely competitive Compher might have been frustrated, even though he never showed it on the outside.
“He expects a lot of from himself,” Copp said. “I think he was frustrated through the middle part of the year because he wasn’t one of the leading scorers, and he expects himself to be a dominant player. This isn’t to say he wasn’t producing in other areas, though.
“I think he’s gotten a monkey off his back right now and has a lot of confidence right now, and that’s how he should always feel.”
Compher noted he might have been somewhat frustrated, but never to a magnitude where his game was being adversely affected.
He knew his goals would come and knew he needed to contribute in other areas if goals weren’t going to come his way. And that’s exactly what he did.
Compher headlined a strong penalty-killing unit, and his grit and competitive nature made the game tougher on his opponents.
“I kept my work ethic up; that never faltered,” Compher said. “I tried to just continue to keep confidence in my game, because I know that I can make plays and be an effective player. I just tried to stay within my game, and coach said to continue playing defense first and to do the rights things and it will fall in place.
“Right now it is, but it’s time to keep it going, though.”
For someone who is coming off two hat tricks in his last four games, Compher still isn’t satisfied. Put bluntly, Compher knows a hat trick doesn’t matter if his team ends up losing.
For now, Berenson is happy to have one of his best players turning it up a notch at this crucial juncture, with Michigan controlling its destiny to win a Big Ten championship this weekend.
“I think JT has gone from a good player to a great player over the last three weeks,” Berenson said.