When the Olympians of Michigan’s No. 2 hockey team — Owen Power, Kent Johnson, Matty Beniers and Brendan Brisson — competed in Beijing, China, Team Canada and Team USA lost in the quarterfinals. And being knocked out of the tournament left a sour taste in their mouths.

Luckily for them, they’ll get that chance when the Wolverines play their own playoff games.

“They should come back with some confidence after playing (at the Olympics),” Michigan coach Mel Pearson said. “But you should also come back with ‘Hey, I got something to prove. I got something to prove to these guys here that I’m ready to come back and play for Michigan.

This chip on the shoulders of the Olympians should help them continue their dominant seasons. The four join the Wolverines in a hot streak led by key depth contributions.

But there is a problem: they have not been in line.

They will once again have to adjust to the college game with minimal chance to warm up before the playoffs start. It’s nothing new for them – they quickly adapted to the Olympics in the round robin – but the near end of the season could also mean they’re running out of time to prepare for a long playoff streak.

Again, this limited time might add to make the most of that extra motivation. It’s much easier to turn failure into success when those wounds are still bleeding. And with championships on the line from now on, the Olympians have a chance to do just that.

“Hopefully they don’t have any trouble getting motivated for these last few games, and I know they don’t,” fifth-year senior forward Mike Pastukov said. “But they really want to get back on track to win and be on the right side of the game.”

It is important to note the difference in jurisdiction between the NCAA and the Olympic teams. The four Olympians shone against the professionals and other top juniors, scoring goals and recording long minutes to help their teams win.

Power led Canada in ice time, while Johnson tied as the top scorer. Beniers led the American forwards in ice time and Brisson scored twice in limited ice time.

Learning to play a few steps above the NCAA gives them an edge against the college teams they now face. And while it is likely that the Olympians will continue their success, there is now an added urgency.

It’s likely Michigan will go far in the Big Ten tournament, and the NCAA Tournament awaits shortly after. After proclaiming their all-season goal of winning a national championship, the Wolverines will get their shot in just over a month.

All four will play key roles in this run – despite Michigan’s success without them – and it could determine how far the Wolverines go. They compose his best line, record his best defensive minutes and create his best power play unit.

In the meantime, they can practice for that run against Notre Dame this weekend, the only Big Ten team that Michigan hasn’t beaten even with its Olympians in the lineup. Winning those games and securing the top seed in the Big Ten tournament would be a great start to redemption.

The four Wolverines can’t go back and play the Olympics again, but they can use this loss as motivation from now on.

If successful, they could hold different medals in April.