NCAA FROZEN FOUR: Michigan embraces underdog role 'til the end

ST. PAUL - Leading up to the Frozen Four, veteran Michigan coach Red Berenson repeated time and again that UND was the better team in Thursday's semifinal matchup.

After his team shut out the Sioux 2-0 at the Xcel Energy Center, Berenson didn't change his position. In fact, he went down memory lane to sympathize with UND's position.

"We had to overachieve to win this game," Berenson said. "(The Sioux) have to be stunned. We were in (1997). You have so much confidence and so much momentum. They rolled through the season and rolled through the playoffs. They can't believe it. You second guess yourself. You think you should've shot here or should've scored that. But you can't get it back."

Berenson wouldn't say whether the Wolverines embraced the underdog role, but he reiterated that the Sioux were clearly the favorite.

"I don't think anyone gave us a chance," Berenson said. "I said that it's a pretty hard matchup for us. But can we win one game? Absolutely. And we found a way to do that.

"North Dakota is as good as it gets. They proved it, but they couldn't score."

Once again, Berenson compared the Sioux to his Wolverines of 1997 which fell short of national championship hopes.

"Just like '97, they were the best team and everyone knew it," Berenson said of his Michigan team. "And we got upset then. The best team doesn't always win."

Berenson said his team never expected to be in a position to play for the school's 10th national title.

"Maybe we have a lot of guys surprised to be here," Berenson said. "But we found a way to earn a win tonight and the guys had to pay the price for it."

The low-scoring affair was exactly how the Wolverines envisioned knocking off the Sioux.

"We talked about it at the press conference the other day," Berenson said. "It was asked how Michigan can play against a team that good. Well, that's how it happens."

UND coach Dave Hakstol wouldn't put favorite labels on the game, but stressed the Sioux had the loftiest of expectations.

"You can label whoever you want as the favorite or the underdog," Hakstol said. "No one in that locker room considered the option of losing down the stretch. I'm very proud of the standards the leaders have set. To come close and short of that goal is pretty difficult.

"I feel like we had a good hockey team. We played extremely well down the stretch. Regardless of expectations or rankings from the external side, yeah this is real tough to take. It's very difficult to lose a game and have your season end."