penalty kill

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

What just happened (TL;DR): Michigan jumps all over Notre Dame in the first period gaining a 2-1 lead. They follow up their dominant period with a goofy period from goalie Jacob Barczewski. He gives up a couple of stinkers and a third one that he probably wants back. Down 4-2, the Wolverines claw back with a late second period tally, followed by a couple third period power play goals. Barczewski and the defense see the rest of the game out, holding the Irish to only four third period shots on goal. Garrett Schifsky has a goal and two assists. Seamus Casey had four assists. Rutger McGroarty scored a couple goals.

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Forward Notes.

-Despite giving up a goal in the opening six minutes, Michigan blistered the Irish all first period, outshooting them 20-4. Peter joked that they wouldn’t even need the zamboni for the north end of the Yost ice. Ryan Bischel was the only reason the game wasn’t over after the opening frame. After a poorer second period offensively, the Wolverines once again dominated the puck and chances in the third period to see out the game.

-Garrett Schifsky and Dylan Duke bounced between a couple of different lines of Friday night. Schifsky had himself a night. He scored a goal late in the second period to get Michigan back within one. His assist on Rutger’s first goal was probably his slickest move of the evening. He took a pass from Gavin Brindley, skated through the slot to the back post before sliding the puck back to the front post where Rutger was waiting to finish. Garrett is up to 30 points in 35 games on the season.

-Rutger McGroarty and Gavin Brindley each recorded two points on Friday night. Michigan keeps ever so slightly tinkering with their top six skaters, swapping wingers game to game and at times within games. These are the two headliners of the forward corps, though. As postseason hockey heats up, you go as far as your stars can carry you. Friday night was a productive one for McGroarty and Brindley.

The Maestro Is Back (Bill Rapai)

Defense Notes.

-With the exception of a few instances in the second period, Michigan’s defense was very good all night…again, a weird thing to say after giving up four goals. However, they limited chances and shots in the first period. Luca Fantilli and Jacob Truscott did give a bit too much ground to Landon Slaggert on the Irish opening goal, but that was about it for remotely dangerous chances until midway in the second period. In the third, the Wolverine defense shut down the Irish, allowing just four shots on net.

-Seamus Casey is alive! After being MIA for the better part of February, Casey built on a three point night last Saturday evening with a four assist night on Friday at Yost. He assisted on Michigan’s final three goals, with the last power play assist being his best of the evening. The pass to Rutger’s tape could not have been placed more perfectly. The Seamus Casey scoring engine is so vital to Michigan’s offensive success.

-As previously stated, Michigan’s defense was particularly solid. The best part was that it was not just one guy or pair. Up and down the pairings, Michigan’s play with the puck in their own end didn’t fluctuate very much. Tyler Duke was very noticeable in the third period, though, making a handful of plays in his own zone to get the puck up and out.

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

What just happened (TL;DR): LOL. I can’t even. Michigan dominated 47 minutes of the game, holding a 4-1 lead. They then proceeded to give up 3 straight goals, score another at the end to take the lead, and finally cede one last time in the dying minutes to head to overtime. Seamus Casey opened and closed the scoring, garnering two goals and an assist on the evening. Gavin Brindley had two goals and two assists. Noah West had two of the best periods of his life, followed by one of the worst. In the end, Michigan wins in overtime a game they should have won (and maybe lost?) in regulation. I guess that’s progress?

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Forward Notes.

-After looking lifeless at even strength on Friday night, Michigan came out on fire and dominated the first period, followed by most of the rest of the game. They pressed Minnesota from the drop, then back-checked well after obtaining a lead, and even added on in the third AND fought back to take the lead late. The Wolverines scored four even strength goals in different ways and pressured both Minnesota goalies all night.

-Gavin Brindley played with Dylan Duke and Rutger McGroarty. Brindley finished off a 3v3 rush after two deft passes from Dylan and Rutger to double Michigan’s lead early. He also scissored with Seamus Casey, popping out the opposite side, and firing a shot inside the far post from the slot. That was such a timely goal, as Michigan had given up a goal early in the third and the Gophers were building momentum and chances. Michigan needed a response from a star, and Gavin Brindley answered the call.

-Rutger McGroarty had himself quite a two minute stretch at the end of the third period. He grabbed a rebound off of a great shot by Jacob Truscott and lifted it over a down Nathan Airey to give Michigan a 5-4 lead with just 1:39 to go. Then, he fell asleep in the slot, allowing Luke Mittelstadt to sneak behind him for the second game-tying goal, robbing Michigan of a much needed regulation win. That has got to be the most extreme swing of emotion for one player in that short of a timespan all season. Rutger has been great for Michigan all year. That two minute stretch pretty much exemplifies the ride this season has been.

-TJ Hughes took maybe the silliest penalty all year for the Wolverines. Up 3-0 in the middle of the second period with the Gophers and their fans having zero life or jump, he cross-checked a guy from behind into the boards, earning himself an early trip to the showers and his team the only (seemingly, ha) way Minnesota was going to get back in the game…a major power play. Luckily, his teammates stepped up and bailed him out, but the question does wonder how the third plays out if Michigan has the services of one of their top two centers. That is just the situational awareness that the team in general has lacked. Regardless of if that play should have been a penalty, it was completely unnecessary.

-Mark Estapa has quietly been having himself an improved season. He got on the scoreboard, thanks to a goofy decision by normally sound Minnesota goal Justen Close. Close came out to play the puck and fired it straight to Kienan Draper. Draper sent the puck into the crease and Mark Estapa tallied, giving Michigan an not so insurmountable 3-0 lead.

Defense Notes.

-Honestly, Michigan’s defense was really, really good all night. They only allowed five shots on goal in the first period, just seventeen through two periods, and could not really be primarily faulted with any of the five (!) goals. Obviously, there are always things that could have been done better or plays anyone would want back, but Michigan pretty much kept their House and zone clean. While the third period got out of hand, this may have been the first time that I wasn’t complaining about really any defenseman’s play consistently.

-In 2010, Bryan Hogan got hurt in net, as Michigan season was falling apart around them. Walk-on Shawn Hunwick entered the net. Michigan’s team basically had a Come to Jesus moment, saying “EVERYONE…is defending HARD, tonight.” And…they did. They shut down Notre Dame, and won the game…followed by many more that season to preserve the Tournament Streak by winning the CCHA Tournament and even an NCAA Tournament game. It sorta felt like that tonight. Michigan’s skaters knew their starter was not available, and after last night’s lackluster performance, everyone to a man needed to up the ante and get the team to the finish line. And weirdly, even after checking the final scoreboard, they did…sans one forward on one play at the end of the game.

-Seamus Casey is ALIVE! After scoring in 22 of Michigan’s first 25 game, Casey has registered one point (a meaningless secondary assist) in his last eight games…until Saturday night. Casey looked much more like himself, skating, creating, and just pivoting away from guys, keeping the puck moving. He also hit the net twice on the power play and set up Gavin Brindley for his sweet snipe. This is the Seamus Casey Michigan will need for every game for the rest of the season.

-Jacob Truscott was very good on Saturday. Steve Holtz played fine. Luca Fantilli, Tyler Duke, and Marshall Warren all made plays and played very good defense. That is a very weird thing to say about a team that gave up five goals, but here we are!

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

What just happened (TL;DR): After both teams traded goals in the first 10+ minutes of the game, the goaltending and defense took over at Yost…for pretty much the rest of the evening. Ryan Bischel and Jake Barczewski both played really well in a game that looked destined for overtime. With under three minutes to go, Gavin Brindley fed grad transfer Marshall Warren above the slot. The fifth year player launched a shot through Bischel’s five hole to give the Wolverines a 2-1 lead. In storybook fashion, Michigan had to close down the remaining few minutes with stellar defensive structure and a goaltending performance to remember.

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Forward Notes.

-While Michigan’s offense got better as the game moved along, they still struggled to overwhelm the Irish the way they did on Friday night. Notre Dame was much better at shutting down the Wolverine attack…and Ryan Bischel made a bunch of good saves. This has been a bit of a consistent theme for Michigan: struggling with creating –especially high danger chances- on the second night of series.

-Gavin Brindley had a highlight reel goal to tie the game in the first period. He snatched a loose puck in the neutral zone. Flew down the wall, curling below the dot. Then he absolutely sniped the short-side top corner to surprise Ryan Bischel. While giving up a goal short-side is suboptimal…that was quite a shot from Brindley. He also looked more and more dangerous as the night moved progresses, as well. His skating, passing, and shooting are a sight to behold.

-The top line was looking better tonight, as well. Garrett Schifsky and Frank Nazar had a handful of really nice looks. I think this line swap will only add scoring depth and give Michigan two very good lines. The bottom six played well, too. I don’t expect tons of scoring, but they work really hard and play very smart. There’s a lot to like down there.

De-Fense! De-Fense!! (Bill Rapai)

Defense Notes.

-Again, Irish caveats do apply…BUT, Michigan played some very  good defense again…for most of the game. There were a couple of stretches where it got a tad hairy, not being able to clear the zone and such. However, they limited Notre Dame to nine SOGs from the House…and a handful of those were on the power play.

-The last couple minutes after being given the lead were something that this unit absolutely NEEDED. They’ve struggled all year to protect leads, play well late (especially in their own zone), and just close out games. Tonight, that is 100% what they did and did it with flying colors.

-How about Marshall Warren? A ex-captain from Boston College, hasn’t exactly had the year we all expected. But, boy, did he come through at the biggest moment of the season! He fired a shot from straightaway as the minutes were counting down to give the Wolverines a joyous lead. Honestly, he looked pretty good all weekend in all areas of the ice. He wasn’t too bad last weekend, either. If he starts to hit his stride, it would be a massive boon heading into postseason play.