Michigan's 'flower' brings some thorns to his game

Bryan Hogan didn't even flinch.

Asked about the durability of teammate Chad Langlais, who will play in his 173rd consecutive game at defense for Michigan on Saturday in the NCAA Frozen Four championship, the team's backup goaltender went on a rant.

"We all joke around because he's the complete opposite of an ironman," Hogan said with a snort. "I don't understand how; he's kind of like a flower. He's a little soft."

On cue, Langlais entered the Wolverines locker room with a large bag on ice on his right hand meant to ease the swelling from taking a slash in Thursday's semifinal victory over North Dakota.

"See?" Hogan said, still laughing.

All of this is simply a case of good-natured ribbing found in every hockey locker room from pee-wees to the pros.

"We go at it like brothers," Hogan said.

"It's amazing how he's done it for this many games," Hogan said. "He grinds it out, gets hacked up quite a bit. He shows all the younger 'D' what it takes to be a Michigan 'D' guy."

That last part took some time.

Langlais made it a bit of a habit spending time in the penalty box. He racked up 74 minutes as a junior last season, a number padded by three 10-minute misconducts for jawing at game officials.

This season? Nothing more than 12 minor penalties in 43 games as the team's lone senior on the blue line.

"I wanted to set a good example for the other guys," Langlais said. "It's part of growing up, part of evolving your game. I didn't want to spend a lot of time in the box this year. You grow up as a player and a person being here. They put a lot of responsibility on you at Michigan."

He's one that has not only been durable but reliable. In nine NCAA tournament games for the Wolverines, Langlais is a plus-8

"The postseason is the biggest time of the year, and I feel like you have to step up and show the rest of the guys what to do," he said.

Big-time experience This year's seniors were freshmen the last time Michigan went to a Frozen Four. But some of the younger guys came to St. Paul primed for the big stage, too.

Kevin Lynch is among them. The sophomore forward helped the United States to a gold medal in the 2009 IIHF World Under-18 championship.

"It's experience that helps you through those moments," Lynch said. "That can help our team. Being veterans out there, you know that this is one shot and if you don't take advantage of it, it can slip away."