#chaoshockey

1 hour and 15 minutes

Trying something new here: David Nasternak hosts a special hockey edition with Anthony Ciatti. If you’re late to the party here’s your chance to meet the team and where they’re going. Let us know if you’d like more of these in the future.

Recorded at the Residence Inn Ann Arbor Downtown in the Notre Dame room, which is the safest room in the building because Rutgers doesn't play the sport that Notre Dame plays in the Big Ten.

We Couldn’t Have One Without the Other

We can do this because people support us. You should support them too so they’ll want to do it again next year! The show is presented by UGP & The Bo Store, and if it wasn’t for Rishi and Ryan there would be VERY long hiatuses between podcasts.

Our other sponsors are also key to all of this: HomeSure Lending, Peak Wealth Management, Ann Arbor Elder Law, the Residence Inn Ann Arbor Downtown, the University of Michigan Alumni Association, Michigan Law Grad,Human Element, Lantana Hummus and Ecotelligent Homes

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1. Boston University

starts at 1:00

Exceeded our best hopes by ten pairwise spots. Tighter than the 6-3 score, weird bounces, Michigan hung on with two really good goals. Weird to see Michigan less talented than an opponent, though it wasn’t by that much. Except for an amazing play by a guy literally already in the NHL this morning Mel was able to scheme these guys out of the middle. Weird BU coaching: left their best power play weapon off special teams.

2. Northeastern

starts at 19:00

If we had to pick one team not to play in the first round it would have been them or Duluth. Swallowed whistles of playoffs helped neutralize that power play but the real difference was using Hughes to control possession against that top line. Michigan outplayed them 5-on-5 so that PK time was a big deal. Very impressed with Primeau’s son versus Michigan’s onslaught.

3. How Did We Get Here?

starts at 32:31

Mel Pearson with the best first-year coaching job at Michigan since 1969. Started the season behind Michigan State, broke out after the break despite losing Will Lockwood. The more time Mel got with the defense the less leaky they became, helped that Lavigne locked down the starting spot in net—they can practice to emphasize his hugeness. Underrated moment for this year: the Pastujov line coming together to provide a solid third line—Michigan has its lower lines for 2-3 more years! Norris playing a defensive role despite being a 1st rounder is a huge value for this team. Slaker really came along too. Mel doesn’t ask guys to do things who don’t have those skills.

4. Frozen Four Preview

starts at 50:56

Notre Dame: every game has been the same, Michigan barely surviving but proving they’re similarly talented—ND is just many more years into their Mel transition. Jeff Jackson might be one of the best coaches in college hockey history and is still at his peak over a decade into his last job. Giving him two weeks to prepare for this is not great. ND not a behemoth this year—not more talented than M in terms of draft picks, etc. Great goalie, but stay out of the box and play five-on-five.

Minn-Duluth had to play through injuries and five players at the Juniors so they’re really good when they’re together. Duluth will have home ice. They’re like Notre Dame with more offensive talent, and older, and with NoDak’s fans. Excellent on special teams. Not really rivals in hockey but want to slay this dragon.

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MUSIC

• “NHL on ESPN Theme”
• “Hartford Whalers Song”—Brass Bonanza
• “NHL 94 (Genesis) Intro Theme”
• “Across 110th Street”

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3/2/2018 – Michigan 6, Wisconsin 5 – 19-13-3, 11-10-3 Big Ten
3/3/2018 – Michigan 7, Wisconsin 4 – 20-13-3, 11-10-3 Big Ten

keystone flops [Bill Rapai]

Just when you think Michigan has banished chaos from its ranks, Wisconsin rolls into town. This weekend's playoff series was, in a word, bonkers. Michigan scored on their first shot Friday; Wisconsin scored on their first shot Saturday. In between there was a lot of hyper-aggressive forechecking from the Badgers, power play goals by Michigan, and wave after wave of odd-man rushes both ways. Your favorite and mine was a four on one(!) set up by Quinn Hughes and finished with authority by Dakota Raabe and Niko Porikos:

CLIP: @Kootzy gives Michigan a 4-2 lead on the TIC-TAC-TOE play from @NikoPorikos and @JCecconi9! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/hnhlLSonrv

— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) March 4, 2018

This is the hockey equivalent of Brent Hibbits throwing down that thunder-dunk on Isaac Haas. It was that kind of weekend.

In the aftermath, Wisconsin is wondering what happened to their season…

“We expected more out of this group,” said sophomore center Trent Frederic, who led the team with 17 goals. “It is what it is. It’s hard to look back and say we could have won here, could have won here.

“I wouldn’t say we really ever got any bounces all year. Last year, some stuff went our way. Maybe we weren’t as fortunate or maybe that was ourselves. But it just felt like one of those years (where) we were always fighting it.”

…and your author agrees. Michigan played the Badgers four times in their Hey We're Good Now second half and got more or less run out of the building twice. That did not happen against anyone else. One of those times they got run was Friday, a 6-5 Michigan that saw Wisconsin pile up a 53-29 shot advantage. It was all for naught because Michigan was 4/5 on the power play. The only other team that's handed Michigan their ass like that this year is—sigh—Ohio State. OSU is fighting for a one seed. Wisconsin's season is over because they are 5 games below .500.

[JD Scott]

Wisconsin is almost terrifying. They're VCU on ice. They crippled Michigan's breakout Friday in a game that felt immediately out of hand, but Michigan scored first because one of their defensemen let a puck dribble by him and suddenly Michigan had a two-on-one gifted to them. It continued in this vein, which Michigan scoring slam-dunk PP goals as the Badgers got the puck to the left point and tried to shoot it through four or five bodies, with some success.

In the aftermath there was nothing to do but be glad those maniacs are done and hope that Michigan gained some valuable experience at breaking out of the zone against a heavy forecheck. I guess they were resilient? When Wisconsin punched, Michigan punched back. That they had to punch back after they flung the puck from their defensive zone directly to a Wisconsin stick and then fished the puck out of the net… well, they fixed that on Saturday, a much saner game by shot counts (but not goals). Nicholas Boka's return gave Michigan a second pair of defensemen who have the confidence and skill to break that forecheck, and the tables turned.

The bid's locked in now and the rest of the season is gravy. But also BC, BU, North Dakota, and Minnesota are down or flailing towards the finish line. There's no juggernaut this year, and now that Michigan's in they've got as good a shot as anyone. As long as they stay out of the box.

[After THE JUMP: a mercifully boring pairwise section and an invitation for small schools to jump in a lake.]

[Ryan McLoughlin]

Friday, February 3, 2017

Michigan 5, #11 Ohio State 4

1st period

ALLEN GOAL

UM 1 0SU 0 EV 08:21 Assists: Shuart & Winborg

Winborg wins the faceoff and knocks the puck to Shuart on his right. Shuart sort of accidentally shovels it forward to Winborg, but Winborg again scoops it up and back to Shuart.

With the puck now solidly on his stick, Shuart’s determined to do something purposeful with the puck. He shoots, and the shot is blocked by the OSU defender in front of him. The puck bounces off the defender and ends up to his left.

This next bit happens so quickly that I’m not sure whether Shuart passes to Allen or whether Allen picks up the loose puck himself. Either way, Allen has the puck. He splits two defenders and finds himself with a wide-open net, as Frey is still sliding across after squaring to Shuart’s shot.

[After THE JUMP: 2015-16 redux (for 40 minutes at a time)]