ST. PAUL, Minn. — For

the final time as Michigan
hockey
players,
senior

forwards Dexter Dancs
and Tony Calderone stood
up to leave the postgame
press conference.

After mounting a 14-4-

1 record in their last 19
games heading into the
Frozen Four on Thursday
night,
the
Wolverines

lost, 4-3, to Notre Dame
in heartbreaking fashion,
allowing
the
shocking

game-winning goal with
just 5.2 seconds left in
regulation.

As
the
puck
left

Fighting Irish forward
Jake Evans’ stick and
slipped
through

sophomore
goaltender
Hayden
Lavigne’s
blocker pads, so
did
Michigan’s

chance
at
a

10th
national

championship.

A
puffy-

eyed
Dancs

and
subdued

Calderone
—
a

Michigan
hat

shading his face from
reporters — began to
walk off the stage, and
the college hockey scene.
It was the last time the
best friends represented
the maize and blue, and
maybe
the
last
time

playing hockey together,
with Calderone signing a
contract with the Dallas
Stars Sunday night.

Before
the
seniors

could leave, Michigan
coach
Mel
Pearson,

seated next to the
players, rose to his
feet and blocked the
steps down from the
stage.

First, he grabbed

Dancs and pulled
him in for a hug.
Three slow pats
to the back of the
head,
one
to
the

back and a smack on the
shoulder.

Then came his captain,

Calderone. One hand on
his back, the other on his
head and then two taps on
the back.

And then they left.
Pearson sat back down,

let out a deep exhale and
puffed out his cheeks.
Then he began answering
questions
from
the

media.
First,
Pearson

congratulated
Notre

Dame
and
coach
Jeff

Jackson. Then, he spoke
about his seniors.

“I’m extremely proud of

our team, especially our
seniors,” Pearson said. “I
thought as the game wore
on there, we were starting
to play. … Unfortunately,
it was just a bad bounce
there at the end.

“My only regret is I

don’t have more time with
the seniors. The seniors
have
been
outstanding

for us this year. And I
wish I had them back for
another few years.”

***
The impressive

senior

campaigns
began during the first half
of the year. Calderone,
Dancs and junior forward

Cooper Marody led the
way
for
a
struggling

Wolverine
offense.
At

that point, the “DMC”
line accounted for almost
40 percent of Michigan’s
total points on the season.

If
the
trio
was

connecting
on
all

cylinders,

the

Wolverines

won games. If they were
off their game, the team
faltered.

Halfway
through

the
season,

Michigan
was 8-10-2,
but Pearson
continued
to trust his
veterans
to
pave

the way to
win
and

inspire
their
teammates.

“I think

there’s
always
a
little

bit of a
worry
when
you
get a

new

coach,”
Dancs
said

late
Thursday

night. “It’s easy for
new coaches to come in

and play the young guys
and get things going. But
Coach Pearson was so
good to us seniors and …
we really appreciated it,
for everything (he’s) done
for us.”

For their swan songs,

Calderone

and

Dancs
both
posted

career-highs
in

goals, assists and

points. An All-

Big Ten second-

team honoree,

Calderone
ended
as

the
top

conference
scorer with
25 goals, to go
with 19 assists and
44

points. Dancs added 11
tallies and 15 helpers for
26 points.

Both contributed two

goals and three assists in
the NCAA Tournament,
including the first two
scores
against
Notre

Dame,
which
helped

open
a
2-0

lead early in
the second

period.

Then

there
was

senior
defenseman

Sam
Piazza.

The
two-year

alternate
captain

became
the
first

Michigan
player
to

earn Senior CLASS All-
American honors since
the
award’s
inception

in
2006,
recognizing

an athlete who uses his
“platform in athletics to
make a positive impact
as
leaders
in
their

communities.” Piazza also

provided a solid blueline
presence, notching nine
goals and 27 assists in 96
career games.

Defenseman
Cutler

Martin
and
forwards

Niko Porikos and Alex
Roos rounded out the six-
person graduating class.
This was a group handed
the
daunting task
of

playing

under a

new coach

and steering

a team of 17

underclassmen.

They
labored

through
matchups

against
Big
Ten

powerhouses
and

faced adversity during

what was supposed to be
a rebuilding season.

“They’ve
been

tremendous
to
our

young
players
in
that

locker
room,”
Pearson

said. “They’ve given us
everything
they
have.

And that’s all we ask of
our players, just give us
everything
you
have.

Nothing more, nothing
less.

“The seniors are not

only good hockey players,
they’re
tremendous

people,
good
students.

They represent Michigan

in the right way. And

I’m very proud of

those guys.”

***
Following

Thursday
night’s loss, in
the
hallowed

underbelly
of
the

Xcel Energy Center, the
Wolverine dressing room
was filled with slumped
shoulders
and
bowed

heads.

Suddenly, an emotional

freshman
stood
and

began to speak, according
to Pearson. He thanked
the seniors for taking him
and many other rookies

under their wings. He

thanked
them
for

accepting him as a
part of the team,
for welcoming him
to the Michigan
hockey family.

Calderone, Dancs

and the rest of the
upperclassmen
began the season
carrying
the

Wolverines.
As

if
that
wasn’t

enough,
it
was

what they did away
from
the
ice
—

especially for the
youngsters — that
made a significant
difference down the

stretch.

Earlier in the
season,
the

coaching

staff

emptied
forward Dakota
Raabe’s locker to
send a message to the
freshman about working
harder on and off the ice.
Highly-touted
freshman

defenseman
Quinn

Hughes had amassed a
stretch of 24 scoreless
games,
his
lone
tally

before Feb. 9 coming in
Michigan’s season opener
against St. Lawrence. The
seemingly
never-ending

battle for the starting
goaltender position kept

a leader from emerging in
net.

In
the
meantime,

Calderone and the other
seniors
took
control.

They
led
by
example.

Though Calderone knew
how to score, Pearson
told him last April that
he needed to improve his
all-around
commitment

to the game of hockey.
He needed skating, speed

and conditioning if he
truly wanted to play at
the next level.

Calderone worked day

in, day out to improve,
and did. The effort was
contagious.

As the back half of

the season began, the
underclassmen began to
up their games. Raabe
became a bright spot on
the penalty kill, regularly
the
first
skater
down

the ice to challenge an
opponent’s
power
play

unit. Hughes, a probable
top-five
pick
in
the

2018 NHL Entry Draft,
racked up four goals and
nine assists in his last 12
games. Many others came
to life during nail-biting
games against formidable
enemies.

Then
there
was

Lavigne
who
won

the
starting
job
and

became the Wolverines’
defensive
backbone.

After Thursday’s game,
Calderone
called
him

the team’s best player
the second half of the
year and a bedrock for
Michigan’s
program

looking forward.

By
the
end
of
the

season, the torch had
been passed, the drive and
determination
trickled

down to underclassmen.
Just as Red Berenson had
laid the foundation for
Pearson to take over, so
had Calderone and the
seniors for the players
who followed.

“Honestly,
I
think

it might have been my
favorite year of hockey in
my life,” Calderone said.
“I think being announced
captain,
just
being
a

senior and getting to see
some of these younger
guys was truly special.

“Like Dexter said, we

had so much fun this year
on and off the ice, (it was)
never a dull day coming
to the rink. I want to
thank Coach Pearson for
that and the guys in that
room. I think, we’re life-
long friends and we’ll
have each other forever.”

The
friendships
will

last forever. And they
may not have won the
national
championship,

but
Calderone,
Dancs

and all the skaters who
laced up for the last time
in Michigan colors have
their fingerprints all over
the team, their legacy

ready to live on for

years to come.

***

From the

season’s
start,
it

wasn’t a secret
the
Wolverines

weren’t the best group
of players in the country,
and they accepted that.

“It
wasn’t
the
most

talented team I’ve had
here in four years,” Dancs
said, “but it was the best

team and we just loved
being around each other

The
talent
may
not

have always been there,
but
new
leaders
have

since
emerged.
The

third-youngest team in
college hockey is now
full
of
relative
youth

ready to take the next
step in re-energizing the
Michigan hockey culture
and
re-solidifying

itself
as

one of the
most storied
programs in

the nation.

With 5:25 left in the

third
period
against

Notre
Dame,
the
line

of
freshmen
forwards

Jack Becker and Michael
Pastujov and sophomore
forward
Nick
Pastujov

applied 45 seconds of
pressure in the Fighting
Irish zone. It was Michael
Pastujov who hacked and
whacked at the puck until
it found its way into the
back of the net to knot the
game, 3-3.

It wasn’t Calderone or

Dancs or another veteran.
It was a freshman —
and
one
who
hadn’t

seen consistent playing
time until January. The
moment personified the
expectations
for
years

to come — young players
gaining
experience
in

big moments and leading
the team in the right
direction.

“I think a lot of people,

when they talk about us,
(they) talk about how
we lacked that depth,”
Calderone said. “But the
goal coming from Mike
Pastujov like that, just
shows
that
(we
have

depth). They’ve done it
multiple times this year
in the second half of the
year we had all four lines
going. And that’s what got
us going.”

From
1991
to
2012,

Michigan
made
22

consecutive tournaments,
an
NCAA
record
that

still stands. In that time,
the Wolverines advanced
to 11 Frozen Fours and
captured
two
national

championships, in 1996
and 1998.

But in Berenson’s last

five seasons, Michigan
failed to qualify for the
tournament four times.
After going 13-19-3 last
season, the chances to
return to the playoffs
anytime soon, let alone
in the first year of the
Pearson
Era,
looked

bleak.

This season’s late push

and
the
unexpected

tournament
run

positions the Wolverines
in
a
positive
light.

With
seniors
and

underclassmen
forging

the way for Michigan, the
team isn’t the underdog
anymore, but now a viable
contender for next year’s
title.

As Pearson sat with

Dancs and Calderone, a
choked-up, yet confident
coach began the press
conference with neither
grief nor disappointment,
instead
beaming
with

pride
for his
players
and
a

promising

future.

“It’s good to be back

here,” he said of the
Frozen Four appearance.
“Michigan will be back
here again.”

4B — Monday, April 9, 2018
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

AMELIA CACCHIONE/DAILY

Seniors leave renewed Michigan hockey legacy

BENJAMIN KATZ

Daily Sports Writer

The Wolverines bid goodbye to a senior class that changed the trajectory of the program in one season