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Michigan can own the CCHA in its final season

will own the CCHA?
OK, no one team can
own a conference. But
come March 23 when the CCHA
crowns its last-ever tournament
champion at Joe Louis Arena,
which of the 11 teams best deserves
to keep the Mason Cup?
There are two teams it's histori-
cally been easiest to argue for.
One is Michigan State. The
Spartans' 10 Mason Cups outnum-
ber any other
team in the _
league. It also
doesn't hurt
that the Cup's
namesake, Ron
Mason, left his 4
legacy in East
Lansing as the
winningest col- LIZ
legiate hockey VUKELICH
coach in NCAA
history with
924 career wins.
And then there's No. 6 Michigan
- nine Mason Cups and 11 regular-
season championships.
There's little doubt in Michigan
coach Red Berenson's mind about
who the CCHA belongs to.
"I think Michigan ... (has) been
a big part of the backbone of the
CCHA," Berenson said. "It's been
our league. That's the league that
we play in and every year we talk
about trying to win the CCHA
title."
You know winning the confer-
STAFF PICKS
The Daily hockey
writers take their best
shot to predict what will
happen in the world
of college hockey
during Michigan's
2012-13 campaign.

ence is in the back of each coach
and players' mind. But how real-
istic is one last Mason Cup for
Michigan?
There's a lot about this team to
like. There's the defensive corps
with decent depth. Forget the
injury to junior Jon Merrill for a
minute - the team survived half of
last season without him just fine,
and it'll do it again this year.
You've got two captains who
proved last season they can lead the
blue liners in points. There's fresh-
man Jacob Trouba, who's already
shown he's able to slam opponents
into the boards and score goals.
Yeah, there's going to be a learn-
ing curve for some of the other
defensemen. But that's where hav-
ing Mac Bennett and Lee Moffie
around comes in handy.

As for the forwards, it's hard to
judge who will be the go-to guy
after just three games. But already
there's A.J. Treais, the epitome of
the Michigan grind-it-out work
ethic, who usually manages to find
the back of the net.
The offense will take care of
itself - somehow, it always does.
So, what does this final Michi-
gan CCHA squad have to do to
potentially make it to the Joe?
The Wolverines are blessed with
enough talent that they don't have
to rely on one player too much -
they never have.
That will be especially clear this
season, with two freshmen com-
peting to start between the pipes.
Until Steve Racine and Jared Rut-
ledge get more comfortable in goal,
it's unrealistic to expect them to

be able to stand on their heads for
the team, at least at the beginning
of CCHA play. You can, though,
expect the rest of the players going
to extraordinary lengths to protect
the young goaltenders until they're
fully at ease in the crease.
You can talk about skill and
experience all you want, but at the
end of the day, it all comes down to
the team's want-to mentality.
Michigan will enter this sea-
son with a huge target on its back
because of poll rankings, because
it's Michigan fergodsakes, because
the Wolverines' decision to leave
for the Big Ten kick-started the col-
lapse of the conference, and there's
animosity about that.
Whether or not you see the Wol-
verines hoisting up a trophy at Joe
Louis Arena comes down to how

well they respond to that pressure
The players say all the right
things about expectations they
put upon themselves, that they
embrace Michigan's winningtra-
dition within the conference, and
that anything less than a CCHA
title would be a disappointment.
Mentally, the team is where it
needs to be, and it's usually pretty
stable as the season progresses.
Physically, though, that's where
the Wolverines have to prove them-
selves the most.
After only playingnon-confer-
ence games, it's hard to predict how
Michigan will react to the slap in
the face that is CCHA hockey. But
a lot will change from now until
March. With some conference
wins under their belts, the Wolver-
ines will hopefully find Michigan
Hockey. Playing Michigan Hockey
isn't somethingthat just happens.
The team has to make a conscious
decision to go out every night and
grind until the goals are in its favor
and the final whistle blows.
When the Wolverines play a full
60 minutes of hard-hitting, blue-
collar Michigan Hockey - well,
that's the kind of team you saw win
the Mason Cup in 2010 after com-
ing up from the conference cellar.
The Wolverines can own the
CCHA if they want to. But that's
just it - they have to want to.
- Vukelich can be reached
at elizavuk@umich.edu.

better things
Right the
Hamilton's of
2003, 11-year
meeting his i
end Gordie H
Howe was ab
would chang
Zach's dre,
was alive by
the passion
kid from a
kids are "bo
in one hand
the other," a
father. He'dc
get there, so
what it woul
"I want t
player just l
told Howe.
He smiled
and planted
in him that
growing.
"One-hun
all we ask," H
you in the NI

;. season, skated to the faceoff
n, though, on dot. He relished the oppor-
pening night in tunity to play alongside his
'-old Zach was older brother on the Ham-
dol - NHL leg- ilton Red Wings, and this
owe. And what game at Mountain Arena
out to tell Zach was no exception.
e his life. Across from Spencer
am of the NHL stood a member of Oakville
r then with all Blades.
of a pre-teen "Get your brother -out
family where of this league," he said to
rn with a stick Spencer. "It's not fair."
and a puck in Don't blame the oppo-
ccording to its nents for asking for a
do anything to reprieve. Zach tore .up the
he asked Howe junior level. He led Canada
d take. with 2.37 points per game in
o be a hockey 2010-11. As a result, he was
ike you," Zach named Canadian Junior
Hockey League Player of
down at Zach the Year.
a seed of hope But when your dad owns
hasn't stopped your team, as Stu does the
Hamilton Red Wings, oppo-
dred percent is nents are going to mouth
owe said. "See off, or "chirp," as his mom,
HL." Vicky, likes to say. Zach's
been told that he was only
*** on the team because his
father owned it more times
other, Spencer, than he could count.
ommit for next "Through my time in

Hamilton, I proved all those
comments wrong," Zach
said. "It helped me become
a stronger player. I turned
out to be the leading scorer
in the league. People didn't
talk anymore."
Stu, who at one time
owned around 90 junior
hockey teams in addition to
Hamilton, said some skat-
ers had more on their mind
than simply trash talk.
"Coaches tell me they
circle his name on the board
in the locker room and say,
'Let's get Hyman. Let's get
him out,' " Stu said. "In his
draft year, Detroit .came up
to me and said, 'If we draft
him, we want him out of the
league' because it was too
physical."
"You have to be careful
after the whistle," Spencer
added.
While Zach was rewrit-
ing the OJHL's record
books, his children's book
"Hockey Hero" hit book-
shelves.
"We make our destiny
every day, Tommy.

Like those statistics, you
got to set your own goals,
shoot, score and make them
come true."
Zach gazed out into a
sea of 1,000 pairs of eyes at
a Greater Toronto middle
school, turning the pages
carefully of the short story-
turned-book he originally
penned for a seventh-grade
competition.
Principals call in droves
to bring Zach in to talk
about himself, his dreams
and -the importance of fol-
lowing them.
Zach's too selfless to
ask for any type of appear-
ance fee for his time. Like
his 7-year-old self with the
MVP watch, he wants to
help others. But now, the
prize isn't playing at Maple
Leaf Gardens, it's encourag-
ing others to pursue their
passions.
His baseball story, The
Bambino and Me, is in the
hands of his publisher, Ran-
dom House of Canada, and
is expected to be released in
2013.

On March 27, 2010, the
best new Ontario Hockey
League players were skat-
ing at Toronto's Master-
Card Centre, preparing for
the league's invite-only
pre-draft combine. Zach
couldn't be found, and peo-
ple were noticing.
Most households around
Ontario would have cher-
ished the - invite. Some
would have stuck it on the
refrigerator - a sight to
behold for beaming mothers
and proud fathers. Zach's
invitation went right in the
garbage bin.
Zach was the lone prized
player absent on that day, so
naturally Stu's phone rang.
"Where's Zach?" the
voice on the other end
asked.
"He's going to the
NCAA."
There are five Hyman
sons in all, the youngest of
which is Shane. Like any
9-year-old hockey player

in Ontario, Shane dreams
of the NHL. But he's got a
different idea of how to get
there.
When his hockey buddies
say they're going to play
major-junior hockey, Shane
responds, "I'm going to
Michigan." (Rob Facca, an
assistant at Western Michi-
gan, once told Stu he would
commit to the 9-year-old
already. "We'll have a lot of
publicity," Stu remembered
Facca telling him. "He'll be
the first '03 kid committed
to college.")
"The OHL comes dan-
gling and they make it really,
enticing for young kids,"
Vicky said. "But I think the
bottom line is, you need
something to fall back on.
You need an education. (The
NCAA) is becoming more
popular."
Zach strolled across the
stage where the ice typically
sits at the Staples Center in
Los Angeles. June 26, 2010,

Michael
Laurila

Liz Matt
Nagle Slovin

Liz
Vukelich

CCHA First Place Notre Dame Miami (Ohio) Western Michigan Western Michigan
CCHA Second Place Michigan Western Michigan Notre Dame Miami (Ohio)
CCATidPaeMami (Ohio) Mcia Michigan Michigan
MasonCup-Winner Western Michigan -esternMichigan Western Michigan Michigan
Mason Cup Runner-Up Micign Mchga Michigan Western Michigan
-igasMic Igan Ng ehgn5
ccHA Coach of the Year Andy Murray, WHO Enrico Blasi, MU Andy Murray, WMU Andy Murray, WMU
GLI champion Mcia etr ihg Michigan Tech_ Michigan State
..................MciaWetrMihanMichigan MVP Mac BennettA.J. Treais Mac Bennett Lee Mottie
M ichiganTopScorerAlxG p i . .......... Ales Gaptill le..ptlA.J. Treais.............. ......,........... A.J. Treais...............
Top Michigan Freshman Jacob Trosba Jacob Trouba Jacob Trouba Jacob Trosba
Frozen Four1BostonCosoege Boston College
Frozen Four2 Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota
Frozen Four 3CrelCornellsorellConl
Frozen Four 4 North Dakota, Miami (Ohio) Western Michigan Michigan
National Champion Boston College Boston College Minnesota Boston College
TheBlockM, www.theblockm.com 3B

Zach's br(
a Michigan c

6B ( Faceoff, October 26,2012