Michigan hockey signs five players, loses forward Robbie Czarnik

"We are excited to add Robbie to our lineup," Whalers president and head coach Mike Vellucci in a release. "His greatest asset is his speed, and we look forward to developing him for the next level."

Berenson said Monday that Czarnik plans to remain enrolled at Michigan, but no longer wanted to be part of the Wolverines' program.

"He hasn't been happy since he's been here - he's a sophomore," Berenson said Monday. "Things haven't gone maybe the way he expected them to go for him, so he's quitting the team.

"It's disappointing that a kid after all the anticipation of recruiting him to Michigan and then being here - he likes it here, he likes the team and he likes the school and he's serious about school. It's disappointing that he's giving up on the hockey part. Things don't always go your way when you get to this level. I had hoped he would have persevered. I think last year was a real challenge for him emotionally, and he just never got over it."

Czarnik was a third-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Also on Monday, Berenson received letters of national letters of from two forwards and three defenseman for the 2010-11 season.

The Wolverines picked up forwards Jacob Fallon and Luke Moffatt, who play for the Ann-Arbor based U.S. National Developmental program.

The 5-foot-10, 184-pound Fallon has not played this year but scored 17 goals and had 27 assists for the U.S. Under-17 team. Moffatt, a 6-foot, 179-pound forward, has scored three goals and added seven assists for 10 points in 22 games with the U.S. Under-18 team this fall.

Joining Fallon and Moffatt are defensemen Kevin Clare, Jon Merrill and Mac Bennett.

Merrill has four power-play and has 10 assists with eight penalty minutes in 22 games with the U.S. Under-18 team while Clare, who is in his second season with the U.S. Developmental team, has scored two goals with an assist and 37 penalty minutes in 22 games this season.

Bennett is the lone non-U.S. Developmental team player, signing with Michigan from the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Roughriders of the United States Hockey League.

Bennett has a goal and three assists in 10 games for the Roughriders. The rearguard missed a handful of Cedar Rapids games in early November while skating for Team USA at the 2009 World Junior 'A' Challenge.

Bennett helped the Americans win the gold medal and was named to the tournament all-star team. Bennett was a third-round draft pick of Montreal Canadiens in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Jeff Arnold covers Michigan hockey for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at jeffarnold@annarbor.com or 734-623-2554. Follow him at Twitter @jeffreyparnold.