Michigan Hockey Elects Captains for 2020-21 Season
7/10/2020 9:55:00 AM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan ice hockey program has elected its captains for the upcoming 2020-21 season. Rising senior Jack Becker and rising junior Strauss Mann will serve as captains, while rising juniors Nick Blankenburg and Jimmy Lambert will serve as alternate captains.
A 2015 draft pick of the Boston Bruins, Becker has played in 101 games as a Wolverines. Last season, he appeared in 32 games and had 12 points on eight goals and four assists. He was named the Big Ten Third Star of the Week on Oct. 22. As a sophomore, he had 15 points in 36 games. In his first year in maize and blue, he put up 15 points in 33 games en route to the Frozen Four. Becker is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Mann will be the fourth goaltender in Michigan history to wear the "C" (John Thompkins, 1932; Eldon James, 1940; and Henry Loud 1943) and the first to do so in 78 years. The 2019-20 Big Ten Goaltender of the Year, Mann, was a finalist for national goaltender of the year honors. He set Michigan single-season records this past season in save percentage (.939, third nationally), goals against average (1.85, sixth nationally) and shutouts (six). The MGoBlue Male Breakthrough Athlete of the Year, Mann is an AHCA Scholar-Athlete and a CoSIDA Academic All-American.
An honorable mention All-Big Ten selection this past season, Blankenburg appeared in 35 games, finished tied for fourth on the team in scoring with 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) and blocked 43 shots. Blankenburg assisted on both game-winning goals in Michigan's Big Ten quarterfinal series versus Michigan State in March. As a freshman, he led the team in plus/minus and had 10 points and 30 blocked shots. He also is an Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Lambert played in 32 contests and had 13 points this past season, while winning 104 faceoffs and blocking 20 shots. He was named the Big Ten Second Star of the Week on Feb. 11 after a five-point series against Wisconsin. In 2018-19, Lambert led the team's rookies in scoring with 13 points in 31 games.
The storied history of captaincy in the Michigan ice hockey program, now 102 total, includes Al Renfrew, Red Berenson, and Hobey Baker award winners Brendan Morrison and Kevin Porter. More recently, four of Michigan's captains in the last decade currently play in the NHL including Carl Hagelin, Luke Glendening, Andrew Copp and JT Compher.
