Wolverines ready for hockey at Comerica Park

By Stefan Kubus –

DETROIT – As Michigan Wolverines senior captain Mac Bennett plainly put it, “there’s an ice rink in the middle of a baseball field and that’s not something you really see too often.”

It isn’t something you see often at all, and the No. 4 ranked Wolverines – hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s Great Lakes Invitational third-place finish – were excited to practice on that rink prior to Friday’s GLI matchup against Western Michigan.

“It’s cold out here,” said Bennett, a Montreal Canadiens third-round pick in 2009. “Your feet are cold, your ears are cold, but as soon as you start moving, you go back to it being like it was when you were five, six, seven years old.

“We’ve just got to play our game; it’s more about us than it is about them. We feel if we come out here and we skate, keep it simple, the ice is a little bit bad, we’ll be OK.”

Coach Red Berenson echoed his captain’s thoughts on the keys to thriving outdoors, but admitted that there will be some rust to shake off.

“Keeping it simple. These outdoor games are different and there’s a lot of distractions. I think it’s good that we skate twice like everyone else before we play the game and just focus on the game. But it’s going to be busy hockey; you think about how rusty these teams are going to be, none of us have played in the better part of two weeks.

In addition to coaching his Wolverines in the GLI, Berenson will suit up for Detroit in the Alumni Showdown on New Year’s Eve, also part of the 2013 Hockeytown Winter Festival. But that’s not something he’s concerned with just yet, saying, “we’re just focused on our week.”

Canton native Michael Downing, a Florida Panthers prospect, said he’s getting a chance of a lifetime, being able to play in the stadium he attended many Detroit Tigers games at with his family.

“Being outside, it’s what every kid wants to do, especially being from here and playing on Comerica Park makes it even more fun, family coming down and seeing me out there… It’s a lot of fun.”

Playing a game outdoors also provides an opportunity for the Wolverines to head back to their roots.

“I got to skate a couple years ago when I was playing with Detroit Compuware at The Big House and that was really cool, but this is a whole new experience,” freshman goaltender Zach Nagelvoort said. “The ice is so small out here and being able to play here, I go to Tigers games all the time, so it’s unbelievable.”

Nagelvoort, a 19-year-old Holland, Mich. native, said facing shots won’t be that much different for him, but tracking the puck will be a little more tricky.

“It’s a little weird. You can’t really slide in the crease side-to-side, so I’ll have to keep my edges a little bit more, but that’s all I really noticed. I think more so out here tracking the puck will be that much more important with the weird colors in the background.”

Berenson said even after coaching in a handful of outdoor games and having played outdoors, it’s still a spectacle that excites him.

“The main thing is that if the teams are excited to play and they’re going to enjoy the experience, then you just take the game as it goes. You’ve got to be lucky; it’s not about skill more, it’s about working hard and getting pucks to the net and keeping pucks out of your net. Your goalie’s going to have to play well. Nothing has changed except the environment is different.”

Bennett played in The Big Chill back in 2011 at Michigan Stadium and the Frozen Diamond Faceoff in Cleveland in 2012. The Wolverines captain said getting the chance to play in this one is going to be extra special in its own way.

“Michigan Stadium will never be topped; that was a special game,” Bennett said. “When we played at the Indians’ stadium, too, that was pretty cool, but this is in Detroit. This is close to Ann Arbor, it’s close to home and hopefully there’ll be a big turnout.”

Notes: Freshman forward JT Compher was on the ice for the practice, despite being injured recently and given a timetable for recovery that well surpassed the date of this game. Berenson said Compher would be a game-time decision Friday depending on how he felt after the morning skate.