Saturday's loss: good medicine for the Wolverines

Fourteen minutes into the first period, the Michigan hockey team fell behind Bowling Green for good.

In his last CCHA game, senior Andrew Merrick could do only one thing - laugh. As Merrick watched the Falcons' first goal from the crowded penalty box, he looked to his side at fellow classmate Kevin Magnuson and laughter erupted amongst the two of them.

Since when was losing funny?

Since Saturday night's 6-3 loss to Bowling Green.

In a meaningless conference game, the Wolverines seemed to have left their minds, bodies and talent in Ohio the previous night.

But that's the beauty of it. Michigan has a week to retrieve all of its belongings from the Buckeye State before games start to actually matter again.

So all 6,364 fans in attendance Saturday night can wipe those worries from their minds and frowns from their faces - the Wolverines' poor showing for their last conference game gave the Michigan hockey faithful absolutely nothing to worry about.

What many of those fans in attendance at either of the weekend games may not have realized was that this entire weekend was completely meaningless.

The Michigan hockey team could have boarded a charter plane for Acapulco with the rest of the Michigan campus, returned yesterday, and still won the conference championship.

The Wolverines could have been downing their spring break tequila shots on the beach, forfeiting their last two games of the regular season, and still received an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.

That's why losing was funny. It meant absolutely nothing. The Wolverines racked up the league title because of the faltering of Michigan State and Northern Michigan on Friday night, not because of their own spectacular - or in this case - wretched play.

But there was a good reason that the Wolverines stayed and played these games instead of turning into bar-hopping beach bums for the week.

Even though this weekend lacked meaning in the conference standings, it did not lack importance for Michigan as it enters the CCHA playoffs. In that sense, this weekend may have been one of the most important of the season - and the Wolverines executed it perfectly, even with that little bit of humor.

The importance of this weekend was to prepare the team for playoff hockey. The results of the games were meaningless - what mattered was the style in which the games were played.

This weekend was used for the Wolverines to prove they were ready for the conference tournament in which they will try to defend last season's crown.

That's what the fans in Bowling Green saw on Friday. Until only one minute remained in what became a 3-1 Michigan victory, the Wolverines thought they were playing to clinch the regular-season conference championship. And fittingly, they played their hearts out. When the Wolverines thought it counted, they played playoff hockey.

Saturday showed the flip side. While the last game of the season should have mattered to Michigan, the team admitted that in the lockerroom before play even started there was no desperation. There was no desire for victory. The championship was in the Wolverines' hands and Saturday was just all fun and games.

Once again, Michigan executed perfectly. I'm not condoning the team's poor play and lack of attentiveness throughout the evening, I'm simply recognizing the need to have a lackluster game in a season and the Wolverines' perfect placement of that lackluster game in their schedule. The "we couldn't care less" play came when the game meant the least.

But once again, what Michigan's poor performance on Saturday lacks in meaning to the conference standings it gains in importance upon entering the playoffs.

Michigan was taught a lesson at no cost. The loss showed the Wolverines that they are not invincible. And for a team that has only suffered one conference loss since the turn of the new year and the return of their starting goalie, the brush with reality sends that important message.

Since the beginning of the new millennium this year's team was showing signs of the 1997 team, which donned some of the best talent this university has ever seen. That squad, led by Hobey Baker winner Brendan Morrison, only lost four games all season, clinching both the regular-season and conference tournament championships.

That team lost in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. And that loss was their first brush with reality.

Now it's this team's turn to try for the triple crown. One down and only two to go. But this time reality has already set in for Hobey Baker candidate Mike Comrie and his 2000 squad. Michigan taught itself a lesson on Saturday night. And admittingly, the team laughed a little along the way.

But all joking aside, the 6-3 loss was the last time this season that the Wolverines will ever be able to look past an opponent - and it's a good thing that they got it out of their system.

- Stephanie Offen can be reached at soffen@umich.edu.