Michigan hockey team has time to secure top 4 spot in CCHA

The calendar indicates that the Michigan hockey team is skating on borrowed time.

But with his team playing its best hockey of the season, Michigan coach Red Berenson is confident the Wolverines can secure a top spot in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association tournament.

Yet, as favorably as the schedule sets up for Michigan, which will play four of its remaining seven regular-season games at Yost Ice Arena, both Berenson and his players realize they have to make the most of their opportunity.

Starting tonight.

Coming off a hard-to-swallow 3-2 loss to No. 3 Wisconsin at the Camp Randall Hockey Classic, Michigan will try and swat away pesky Bowling Green to jump into a top 4 spot in the CCHA standings.

Michigan hockey Red Berenson believes his team still has the ability to end up in a top 4 spot in the CCHA standings if the Wolverines are able to play to their potential the rest of the way (AnnArbor.com file photo)

The top four teams in the conference earn a first-round bye in next month's CCHA Tournament.

"We can control our own destiny," junior forward Scooter Vaughan said Monday. "We have all the power to do what we need to do. We know we need get wins - it's in our own hands. We just need to do it."

Beginning with today’s 7:30 p.m. home game against Bowling Green, Michigan's remaining games are against teams either nearly even or behind the Wolverines in the standings. A win tonight would propel Michigan into fourth place, giving the Wolverines plenty of incentive going into this weekend's road trip to Nebraska-Omaha.

But considering Bowling Green has won in its last two trips to Yost, there are no guarantees as Michigan finds itself as a handful of teams trying to make a late-season push to earn a first-round bye.

"We can do the math," Berenson said Monday. "We're in a good hunt now. This is going to come right down to the wire, but we've got to take one step at a time."

The Wolverines have won two of their three games against Bowling Green, including a 2-1 victory last week. Yet, while many of the aspects of Michigan's game has improved during the second half, penalty killing remains a question mark.

In Saturday night's loss to the Badgers, the Wolverines surrendered a pair of penalty-play goals in the final 4 1/2 minutes. Berenson reiterated that was the difference in a game he believed his team out-played Wisconsin in.

But as disappointing as the outcome was, Michigan finishes the season against CCHA competition. Finish strong and the Wolverines could finish as high as second place, providing some confidence as the Wolverines attempt to keep their nearly two-decade string of NCAA Tournament appearances intact.

"We're not out of it at all," junior forward Louie Caporusso said. "We're going to to be fine if we play up to our potential."

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.

Tags: Michigan hockey