100% best thing ever

CLICK HERE for Game Recap from Kristy McNeil and other pertinent information and HERE for current Pairwise Rankings.

What just happened (TL;DR): Michigan just bounced Michigan State in their first ever NCAA Tournament meeting, sealing the Wolverines THIRD STRAIGHT Frozen Four appearance. After an unlucky bounce in an evenly played first period, Ethan Edwards tied the game at one via an odd man rush in the second. Heading into the third period, all tied at one, Michigan re-upped their best third period of the season by beating Trey Augustine FOUR times in the final 14 minutes. Dylan Duke earned Most Outstanding Player of the Regional on the back of his game-winning and game-sealing goals to go with his earlier assist. Jake Barczewski was also absolutely nails once again. Oh, and Frank Nazar had the Assist of the Year. See below!

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-Michigan and Michigan State played a very even game through two periods with Michigan probably getting more dangerous chances overall. Michigan would get some looks with their top six, but Trey Augustine was there pretty much every time. Finally, the Wolverines started finished their chances in the third period. This is where it felt like Michigan just had better scorers and finishers. While State has depth and attacks in waves, it was once again Michigan’s individual efforts that sent them to St. Paul.

-Dylan Duke had himself a weekend. After tallying twice against North Dakota, Dylan added a couple more goals on Sunday night. He gave Michigan the lead on a phenomenal individual play flying down the boards, swooping above the crease, and beating Augustine to the far post. He later added to it with a power play deflection that put the cherry on top of the sundae for the Wolverines. He’s really starting to have a flair for the dramatic getting some really clutch goals in the career in Maize and Blue.

-Speaking of flair, Frank Nazar lead a 2v1 rush into the Spartan end, pulled the puck back between his legs, and hit Gavin Brindley on the tape to double Michigan’s lead to 4-2 with 7:06 to go in the game. Words do not do this pass justice. Go find it on Twitter (@Nastyisland, I posted it). I’ve seen goals scored this way (hello Kent Johnson and Brendan Brisson), but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an assist like that. He also had a double dangle going through two Spartans, but his chance was fired wide of Augustine in the second period.

-Gavin Brindley finished Nazar’s ridiculous pass and assisted on Dylan Duke’s tip. Brindley has had his lines jumbled, played up top on the power play, and was given a phantom penalty early in the game. It was a weird weekend for him, I thought. Regardless, he forechecked well and wreaked havoc in both games.

-Philippe Lapointe was having a nice game until he took maybe the worst penalty of the season. He was called for boarding in the offensive zone with 10:35 left in the game. That just cannot happen. He’s a fourth year player, wearing a letter. His team is up a goal, half a period from the Frozen Four. The PK breaks down, and MSU pulls even. Thankfully, his teammates bailed him out and scored three more times. If not, it could have been a long trip back to Ann Arbor.

Defense Notes.

-Seamus Casey was scratched for the biggest game of the season. That just sucks so bad for him. On the ice, though, Michigan did actually manage very well. The biggest thing is losing what he bring is a major loss. It also spreads around minutes and responsibilities. Steve Holtz and Luca Fantilli both had to take on more. For the second game in a row, they both did very well. Over the course of the season, they have been points of concern on Michigan’s blue line. They were not against North Dakota, and each backed up that performance with another solid one against Michigan State. Major props to each of them.

-With no Seamus Casey, Ethan Edwards put in a very Casey-esque performance. Another blueliner who has been up and down this season was very up again. He finished the 3v2 rush by getting into the slot and burying his chance, tying the game. Edwards also sprung Nazar on his 2v1 and eventual insane pass. Ethan was credited with an assist on Duke’s final goal of the evening, as well. That’s a 1-2-3. If you really squint, maybe you can kinda see 26 instead of 73.

-Marshall Warren might have been the best defenseman on the ice for the Wolverines…again. He’s really starting to stack games. Without Casey, he was another Wolverine that was going to be relied upon for more. Marshall was solid in his own zone, skating well, and moving the puck. He also used his size and thickness well again. It was very apropos for Jacob Truscott to find him for his goal, breaking the 1-1 deadlock with a tally from inside the dot. They’d struggled together throughout the season at times, but on a Sunday night outside of St. Louis, they combined for a crucial goal.

CLICK HERE for Game Recap from Kristy McNeil and other pertinent information.

What just happened (TL;DR): After a couple of periods to forget, Michigan played their best third period of the season against an elite opponent in a big time game. After a little puck luck, Michigan’s jumbled line of Garrett Schifsky, TJ Hughes, and Dylan Duke assembled the prettiest goal of the season at the most crucial time of the season in what would be the game-winner. Michigan came from behind, flipped the third period on its head, shut down their opponent, and then held the fort to close the game. Who’s breaking narratives, now?

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-For the first two periods, Michigan couldn’t get much going. They barely had the puck during the opening half of the beginning frame. While they finally got some possession, they over-passed, and didn’t just shoot the puck on a beatable goalie. In the second period, they started doing so and got rewarded early. Once the third period started, the Wolverines were flying, dominating puck possession, shots, and attempts.They registered the first nine shots of the third period. Each period seemed to bring improvement with offensive creation. That’s what you want to see.

-Two of Michigan’s goal resulted from just throwing the puck on net. Both goals were deflections in front of the crease to open shooters at the side of the net. Steve Holtz fired the first one that Frank Nazar scooped up, beating Ludvig Persson. Tyler Duke fired the second one, hitting Garrett Schifsky on its way to TJ Hughes’s stick, giving Michigan a 3-2 lead. Another point in my previews was just getting pucks to Persson and making him make a lot of saves. Once the shot total started rising, the goals started flowing.

-Perhaps the prettiest goal of the season was the fourth and game-winner. Garrett Schifsky made a slick pass ahead to TJ Hughes, who softly sauced a pass across the low slot to Dylan Duke, who smoothly fired the puck in the net. Michigan bounced, jumbled, and blendered their lines seemingly all night. While there seemed to be a bit of discombobulation at times, it paid off watching the goal hit the back of the net.

-Michigan looked very much locked down for the first couple of periods. They overpassed a ton in the first. They also just didn’t create enough in the second. Major props to the coaching staff and players for figuring some things out and dominating the third period.

Defense Notes.

-Early in the first period, the Wolverines made the Big Mistake. For two periods it was the difference and on track to being what ended their season. On a 2v3, North Dakota made a simple scissor move, crossing their forwards upon entrance. Instead of just racing back to protect the house, Ethan Edwards chased Abram Wiebe to the boards. Marshall Warren did as well (same with Garrett Schifsky, who I don’t fault as much due to circumstances), leaving no one on Hunter Johannes streaking into the slot. Johannes fired into the top corner to open the scoring. A simple switch, an extra man back…didn’t matter. It ended with North Dakota’s best chance of the night.

-After that though, Michigan was really, really good defensively. They didn’t allow much, even less from dangerous areas, and pretty much locked down the third period, sans a play or two. Not too bad. Maybe they just needed to get one out of their system?

-Marshall Warren, again, was really good. He got back a few times to eliminate potential breakaways. He was strong and physical around the net and on the boards. He’s really developed into the player Michigan hoped they were getting last summer.

-Seamus Casey apparently took a big hit in the first period and never returned. That…is really bad news. I have no idea what the reason is, but not playing in the final two periods is not what we need to hear this time of year. The good news is that Luca Fantilli and Steve Holtz both played pretty well in his absence. It’s not often we’ve seen both of them play as much as they did tonight…but here we are. And we’re still standing!

-This will be known as the Keaton Pehrson Game. The former Michigan Wolverine registered two assists and scored a goal. I joked in the preview that he would score the overtime winner that would end Michigan’s season. Well, instead, he helped both teams. Two previous times in his career, he had a two point night. On Friday, he registered two assists for the Fighting Sioux and deflected a puck into the net for Michigan. His deflected goal came off of a play by Ludvig Persson hitting him with the puck. We’ll call it a three point night…the largest scoring night of his collegiate career.

UFR GLOSSARY is here. Video note: I went back to Streamable because Youtube's been awful lately.

FORMATION NOTES: Saban got creative in his last coaching appearance. I called this one "Pistol TTBy (X)" for Trips to the Boundary with a covered X-receiver.

Reminder that "RB" means the halfback set up on the same side as the strength and a letter in parentheses means that player is covered. For example I called this "Single-Wing RB (Y)." There's a WR on the far left covering #45.

Michigan's passing downs exotic was that 30-wide front with a stand-up DE in the B-gap that I started calling "Crable" at some point because I'm an aughts guy.

In the 2nd half Bama started using two-back sets and setting up their RT in the backfield (they weren't calling anything this game) to give Milroe more protection. Speaking of respect…

[Patrick Barron]

Out of respect for your time and our photographers' skills I'm going to refrain from inserting too many screenshots of the Rose Bowl being gorgeous. Going from this to soulless NRG with its "Sports go sports! Who knows the words to Journey?" hype man that every person in the building wanted to defenestrate shifted my position from "It would be cool if they played the championship every year in the Rose" to "I am ready to rip up the streets of any host city that's not Pasadena."

[After THE JUMP: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh SEE-YUH!.]