2023 big ten hockey tournament

3/18/2023 – Michigan 4, Minnesota 3 – 24-11-3 (9-7-3-5 B1G) - B1G Tournament Champions

Most teams have a certain sort of "typical game" that defines them. That game is a description of the formula that the team uses to win and perhaps the players that are key to get you there. If I asked you what a 2022 Michigan Football game was like, what would you say? You'd probably tell me it involved strong defense that gets off the field and then an offense featuring a punishing OL and elite RBs that hog time of possession and choke the life out of opponents. That's what I'm talking about here. 

You can apply this to hockey, or any other sport that involves two sides against each other. A typical Tampa Bay Lightning game over the past couple seasons of their dynastic run atop the NHL involves a smothering forecheck that wears you out, big defensemen who beat you up in the corners, a top notch 1-3-1 PP, and great goaltending. A typical New Jersey Devils game from 1995-2012 involved the neutral zone trap, bone-crunching defensemen standing you up at the blue line, a steady and consistent goalie in net, and just enough offense to beat you 2-1 in a playoff game.

The great teams in every sport have a formula to beat you. It doesn't always go that way, great teams also have other ways to win, but as you lean back in a nice chair decades from now, sipping scotch in front of the fireplace and jog your mind about a legendary team you once watched, the "typical game" I've described is what comes to mind first. It's the memory of success that lingers in our mind, the fastest descriptor to tell your grandchildren about how/why X team from the good ole days was great. 

[Patrick Barron]

I bring this up because a few weeks back, when David and I were bemoaning the lack of structure in this Michigan Hockey team's play, I mentioned this very point and the absence of such a "typical game" for the 2022-23 squad. I asked him, "what does the ordinary Michigan game look like? What's their typical formula?". At the time we concluded that there wasn't really a typical game, the closest thing to it was playing high event, rag-tag games that end up with the team in the winged helmet leaning on their elite talent to finish more chances than the opposition. Not so much a formula but a testament to the caliber of players on the roster. 

This was true a few weeks ago, when Michigan swept a bad Wisconsin team in far from reassuring fashion, tying the first game with under thirty seconds left before winning in OT and blowing a three goal lead the second night, only to score the game-winner with three minutes to go in regulation. At that point, it seemed like there would be no "typical game" for this group, just a collection of random victories linked together only by the shared offensive brilliance of players like Adam Fantilli and Luke Hughes. They lacked a core identity, cohesive 60 minute games of structured, focused defense and potent offense. 

But over the past two weeks, something has changed. They played their most scripted, disciplined game of the season last week against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Yost, a performance I marveled at in the game column last week. It was a welcome sign but didn't necessarily mean much if it couldn't be replicated. But then it was replicated on Saturday night against Minnesota. Michigan went in to Minneapolis, in front of 10,305 Gopher fans, and played another structured, well-coached game. They made a few mistakes, which happened to be punished in the largest way, but for the second straight week Michigan completely muzzled a team in-zone at 5v5, tilted the ice on a top ten opponent, got steady goaltending, and ultimately nailed down a win in a playoff tournament. It took a long time to get there, but Michigan has found its typical game. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Narrative, bullets, and brackets]

Hockey takes out #1 overall Minnesota on the big ice and wins the B10 tournament for the second year in a row, locking in a 1 seed (possibly the 3rd) for the NCAAs. Kindly remove all interim tags.

And you can't have one without the other.

Also men’s gymnastics won the Big Ten, and Mason Parris completed a perfect season to win the heavyweight national title. Nothing else happened today.

Tonight we're doing our third ever MGoWatchalong, and second for Michigan Hockey. If you've been on the site the last month or so, you're probably now decently familiar with these. It's a stream of myself, Brian, and David watching the Michigan Hockey game tonight against Minnesota. The stream is embedded below (also on the MGoBlog Live YouTube channel): 

If you would like to follow along, we will do our best to provide regular time stamps during the stream to tell you where we are, allowing viewers to sync their TV to our audio. If you would like, feel free to subscribe to the channel on YouTube so you can get notifications when we go live in the future! Moreover, if you would like to participate in the banter, feel free to comment in the live chat or tweet at us. We may read your comment/answer your question live on air! 

Enjoy!