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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
rouba named to
all-league team

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Thursday, March 14, 2013 - 7A
Rag-tag Michigan
shines at Nationals

By MATT SLOVIN
ManagingEditor
Sophomore forward Andrew
Sinelli quickly ducked through
the on-ice door at Yost Ice Arena
after practice on
Wednesday. NOTEBOOK
At the blue
line stood Jacob Trouba, named
to the CCHA All-Conference team
earlier in the day. If Sinelli didn't
step off the rink fast, he'd be in
the path of one of Trouba's signa-
ture slapshots. Forgive Sinelli if he
didn't want to be on the wrong end
of a Trouba laser.
Earlier this week, Michigan
hockey coach Red Berenson
expressed surprise at freshman
forward Boo Nieves's omission
from the CCHA's all-rookie team.
Trouba's inclusion on the all-
league list surprised, well, no one.
"As he should be," said junior
defenseman Mac Bennett, when
told of his defensive partner's
accolade.
Added Berenson: "I think
Jacob's had a strong year right
from the start. When you're a
freshman, you have to have an
impact season to be selected
for that level. And good for him
because there aren't many fresh-
men.
"He did it on a team that maybe
didn't impress people for most of
the year."
Trouba received eight first-
place votes, the most for any
freshman, and 43 total votes,
good for third overall. The only
other freshman on the first team
is Miami (Ohio) forward Riley
Barber.
Berenson believes that Trouba
and Bennett form the best defen-
sive pairing to play for Michigan

PAUL SHRMA/aild
Freshman defenseman Jacob Trouba was a top-10 pick in last year's NHL draft.

in quite some time. They began
skating together against Notre
Dame in February, and though
the results weren't immediate,
the team is currently riding a six-
game unbeaten streak thanks, in
part, to its solid defense.
"We're getting good consisten-
cy from our defense," Berenson
said. "As good as Jacob is, and as
good as Mac is, you need a good
partner. Ironically, the player that
Mac played with last year (then-
senior Greg Pateryn) is playing for
the MontrealCanadiens (Wednes-
day) sothat justshows you that it's
good to have a good partner."
According to Bennett, what
makes the duo so special is their
off-ice friendship.
"I think that really makes a
huge difference in terms of chem-
istry," Bennett said. "I can laugh
with that guy, I can joke with that
guy, but at the same time, I know
he's got my back no matter what.
And I think that makes a differ-
ence when it comes to game time."
Berenson said that, though the
program has had its share of high-
profile freshmen in the past, "very
few" have lived up to the lofty

expectations that Trouba faced
coming into Ann Arbor.
"He's a first rounder, a top-10
pick (in the NHL Draft)," Ben-
nett said. "Obviously there's a lot
of hype that he had to live up to,
and he did it. There's a reason he's
drafted so high. He's just a really
solid, skilled - can be a shut-down-
guy, can be a physical guy, can be
an offensive guy - there's a little
bit of everything.
"He's a very special part of this
team."
PARKER HANGS'EM UP: When
legendary Boston University
coach Jack Parker announced his
retirement Monday after 40 sea-
sons at the helm, it meant Beren-
son could add another distinction
to his laundry list of them.
Berenson is now tied for the
longest-tenured coach in col-
lege hockey with Gary Wright of
American International. They've
been at their respective programs
for 29 years.
"I look up to (Parker) because
he was a college coach for a long
time before I came here," Beren-
son said. "It was a very respectful
relationship."

By SHANNON LYNCH
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan ski team isn't
a varsity or club sport. In fact,
it isn't actually recognized as
a team on campus at all. The
"team" doesn't have coaches or
train regularly, it isn't funded or
sponsored bythe University and
its members aren't recruited.
So when the men's alpine
team placed second at the Mid-
west Regional Qualifier in Feb-
ruary, the skiers were surprised
and thrilled to have earned
a position at the U.S. Colle-
giate Skiing and Snowboarding
National Championships.
The team was an underdog in
every event when it traveled to
Sun Valley, Idaho, to participate
in the championship, and no one
was expecting to place. So when
Michigan earned third place in
the slalom and seventh overall,
the Wolverines shocked their
competition and themselves.
"(Slalom) was substantially
longer than what we've ran all
year and substantially harder,"
said freshman All-American
Kane Boynton. "We really had
no expectations going in. We
were just out there to have a
good time and have a lot of fun."
Six Michigan skiers and one
female snowboarder were cho-
sen to compete in Idaho. The
difference in conditions at Sun
Valley compared to the courses
the team raced at this season
was incredibly overwhelming.
"The longest course we ran
this whole year in the Midwest
was 25 seconds, and then we got
out there and the course was a
1:10 at 8,000 vertical feet," said
sophomore All-American Tay-

for Hunter. "So, we weren't very own level of competitiveness
prepared for that." and commitment.
But Hunter did well, finish- According to junior skier and
ing his first giant slalom run captain Nick Hill, the almost-
with a time of 1:08:25 and his casual nature of the team
second with a time of 1:03.72, results in a group of students
bringing his total to 2:11.97. He who really care about improv-
finished only about nine sec- ing their own performances
onds behind first-place finisher while also benefitting the team
Nils Hoegbom, skiing for pow- as a whole.
erhouse Rocky Mountain Col- The team races just four
lege. weekends out of the year at
Hunter, along with Boynton Crystal Mountain in Thomp-
sonville, Mich. and competes
regularly against club sports
at the regional level and even
"W e would the occasional varsity teams.
"We don't train, and we
be thrilled to don't have a coach," Hill said.
"Everyone meets at a house
be Division I on Friday, drives up north,
,, (races) and (stays) up north
eventua y." over the weekend. But during
the week, everyone is kind of
on their own."
The way the team is run in
and freshman skier Stephen comparison to otherschools' ski
Siddall, all of who are All- programs is definitely unortho-
American scholars, competed dox, but the system works. It
in the men's slalom event and gives students who ski at any
finished third, with a team time level the opportunity to be a
total of 5:04.08. This was a huge part of a group that works to
victory, considering they only compete ata high level.
scored behind Rocky Mountain Hill said that he and the
College and Sierra Nevada Col- other team captains hope that
lege, both which recruit stu- the ski team will eventually be
dents in the United States and given the title of club sport at
overseas. Michigan. It's been some time
Michigan's student skiers since the team has been so suc-
have their own form of recruit- cessful, and a year like this will
ing by networking, working only encourage more skiers, and
through social media and hav- snowboarders to join the team.
ing a booth at Festifall each As they continue to foster young
year. This group is open to any talent, the Wolverines objective
and all ski and snowboard rac- is closer than ever.
ers that attend the University. "The goal is eventually to
The entire team consists of be a club sport," Hill said. "We
about 50 members in total, men would be thrilled to be Division
and women, who choose their I eventually."

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