How long was the drought again? Eleven years?
Hard to believe after watching the University of Michigan hockey team glide to its second straight 2008 GLI championship with a 5-1 win over a less-than-bitter Michigan State rival. Yes, it was the weakest field in recent memory. But so what? A yard sale is a yard sale (see my photo below). The equipment flies just as high no matter what your opponents' records may be. And on this holiday, the once humdrum hockey tournament is all Wolverine fans have, after being liberated from that whole New Year's Day bowl game thing.
Since Jason Botterill's last-minute goal rallied the then-top-ranked Wolverines over fiesty Lake Superior State for the 1996 GLI title (their ninth straight at the time), Red Berenson's team has watched five different schools raise their banners to the top of Joe Louis Arena. Their futility was matched only by host school Michigan Tech, who hadn't won the championship since 1981 (their fifth straight at the time, as irony would have it) and whom Michigan defeated 1-0 in last year's thrilling GLI final to end the drought.
But talk about turning famine into feast. In these last two GLIs the Wolverines have allowed a total of one goal. One goal. They've outscored their opponents 17-1 over twelve regulation periods and a double overtime. Their dominance has been such that last year's tournament MVP, Billy Sauer, watched from the bench as Bryan Hogan did the shutting down. Imagine standing tall between the pipes and allowing one measley goal over an entire two-game holiday tournament and not winning MVP (the honor went to captain Louie Caporusso, who led the team with four goals).
That dominant.
Given the drought of the word "dominant" as a descriptor for any aspect of Michigan athletics these days (short of the #4-ranked swim team... who needs Michael Phelps!), the GLI champs gladly accept the adjective on behalf of the entire program.
