michigan hockey 2022-23

​The last words I wrote from the Denver Breakdown were "But I'm fairly certainly they'll never have a team like this ever again." Last year was supposed to be THE YEAR. It was not. This year is not THE YEAR. Or is it? Last year Michigan had seven (!) first round draft picks, surrounded by multiple other draft picks, supported by multiple super seniors that had been through wars. This year Michigan has four first round draft picks (plus two more who will be in July, including a top two superstar), surrounded by multiple other draft picks, and a few contributing upperclassmen.

The difference is experience. Last year, only three of Michigan's top fifteen point-getters were freshmen, and their stars were mostly all in their second season. This year, six of Michigan's top nine scorers are freshmen...the other three are sophomores. That's a lot of youth. But what did Paul tell Timothy? "Let no man despise thy youth"? Alright. Sold.

Plus, a week's worth of Teeth Jokes...

The Field

Michigan’s Regional (Allentown, PA )

(1) Michigan, (2) Penn State, (3) Michigan Tech, (4) Colgate : Wow. If you really squint, you might be able to see last year's Allentown Regional. Thanks to HOCKEY CHAOS, Michigan again draws an autobid ranked in the 20s in Pairwise. Colgate de-plaqued two top ten teams to whiten their chances of making the Tournament. They play the role of AIC. Penn State is the lowest two seed, but must be in this regional thanks to hosting the hosting rule. Michigan has seen them plenty this season and has played very well against them 2-3 times. The Ice Lions sound a little like last year's St Cloud team. Run 'n Gun and hope not to give up as many. Finally, Michigan's three seed is ALEX'S NEMESIS! The last time Michigan saw Michigan Tech...no one scored a goal...including overtime. Woof. Pun intended! The Huskies don't score very much, and they give up even less. Lol Quinnipiac! Is this 2022 or 2023? New sweaters, same teams.

(1) Michigan vs (4) Colgate

[David Wilcomes]

Things Michigan Needs to Do Against (because David likes stealing Alex's thunder from the full preview on Friday):

1. ATTACK! Did I take the same three bullets from last season? Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe. But, if the regional is the very similar, then the points of emphasis will be as well. Don't let the game shorten and get even more random. Michigan is loaded with NHL shooters and puck movers. Move the puck and shoot! Go get the game and drill the Flossers Raiders early and often. Michigan took the game to AIC last season and it was all but over in the second period. Don't let Carter Gylander Goalie you. He's been fine this season and is coming off very good performances against Quinnipiac and Harvard. If you can get an early goal or two, you can create a cavity and their defense won't be able to root around him, elongating the uncertainty.

2. Play With Underdog Intensity. Again, Michigan has taken a couple of weaker opponents a bit too lightly at times (Wisconsin, Notre Dame). However, they came out ON FIRE against Ohio State and it completely changed the trajectory of the game. Once they took the fight to Minnesota in the second period, the game changed as well. This seems to also be constant narrative with Michigan. Play hard and take the game to the opponent. While this seems simple and easy, it hasn't always been for this team this season.

3. Don't Take A Major...or other penalties. Lol. This is just a constant. When Michigan stays out of the box -like the last two games- they've played much better. Also, the Tooth-Cleaners have good special teams numbers and Michigan has had issues on the penalty kill at times. If this game is mostly played at 5v5, it takes away a potential advantage for the underdog. Plus, uh, a five minute power play and losing a skater for the game is not a great idea when the season is on the line. Michigan has done a much better job of that lately. Keep it up.

Final Thoughts: This is single elimination hockey. The reality is that you need to play well and not be super unlucky...especially when you get a favorable draw. Michigan has played their two best games of the season in their last two games. They HAWT. There's always nits to pick, but this team looks ready. It looks like they have the bracket. On paper, this is a walk-over. But..."That's why they play the games!" Do these things and Michigan should be crowned with a tournament win.

Alex's Take: Getting the first goal is always so big in this kind of game. You don't want to play from behind on a team that's simply gonna try to win 2-1, hoping they survive a shooting gallery. If Michigan takes a 2-0 lead, hard to see Colgate coming from behind in that situation (and this analysis applies to Michigan Tech too in a regional final). Get the first goal, force Colgate to loosen their defensive screws due to score effects, and then toast them with your superior skill and skating. Let your shooters do the work... you'll have chances, just gotta finish 'em. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: All of the games that don't involve Michigan]

[NOTE: This recaps the MSU series from the previous weekend. This episode was delayed a week due to travel circumstances. Content is the same since Michigan Hockey has been on break]

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup and Player after THE JUMP]

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

[Writeup and Player after THE JUMP]