Sections

`M' icers land No. 2 seed

Teams that have just won a championship rarely look this serious.

Although the Michigan hockey team won the CCHA tournament Saturday, it has its sights set on a bigger goal -- the NCAA Division I Hockey tournament.

Last night, teams all over the country awaited the announcement of the brackets for the 12-team field. There were only four available at-large berths, so quite a few teams held their breath waiting to see if their program would get a seed in the East or West bracket.

The eight automatic bids were extended to teams who finished the regular season first in their conference or won their conference tournament.

Michigan (30-7-2 overall) secured itself a spot in the field after capturing its second CCHA tournament crown in the past three years with a 4-3 victory over Lake Superior State Saturday night. Inside Schembechler Hall, the Wolverines received the No. 2 seed in the West behind the top-seeded and top-ranked team in the country, Colorado College (31-4-4).

"Last year, we were considered one of the favorites, but this year we are like anyone else," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "The hockey we have played as of late is preparing us for the NCAAs. Our team is as ready as we'll be. I think we can play with anyone."