power play more like pooper play i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm trying to delete it

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

What just happened (TL;DR): Similar to Friday night, Michigan lead after the first period 2-1. Notre Dame won the second period, 2-1. Gavin Brindley finished a well-worked goal to give Michigan a 4-3 lead early in the third. Down the stretch though, Jake Barczewski made two amazing pad saves, and the defense limited the Irish shots and chances. Sounds like a game-closing #NarrativeChange to me. TJ Hughes tallied two goals. Rutger McGroarty dishes three assists. Gavin Brindley chipped in a goal and an assist.

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-At even strength, the game was relatively, well, even. Michigan had slight edges in shots and chances, but the difference ended up coming in the quality department. The Wolverines were able to dissect the Irish defensive zone and get looks and shots from the House with relative ease. Notre Dame, on the other hand, didn’t create a ton of chances, but finished the chances they got.

-Once again, it was Michigan’s Names that did the damage. TJ Hughes finished a very nice play between Gavin Brindley and Rutger McGroarty in the dying seconds of the opening period. Rutger’s Grade A look was denied, but Hughes crashed the net and poked the puck in to give Michigan a lead going to intermission. He also tallied on a power play tip.

-Dylan Duke tied the game in the mid second period on a very Dylan Duke goal. After his wraparound was denied, Josh Eernisse’s chance deflected back to Dylan, and he was able to slam the puck in with his second chance at the edge of the crease. Duke lead the team with even strength shots on net and chances attempted. He’s up to 21 goals, now, to pair with his 21 assists…in 36 games.

-After scoring twice on Friday, Rutger McGroarty did his work passing the puck on Saturday night. His most impressive play was skating down a loose puck in the offensive end, and flipped it back to Tyler Duke. Tyler got to the net, and slid it across to a waiting Gavin Brindley for the go-ahead, game-winning goal. Rutger leads the team with 34 assists. Gavin leads the team with 23 goals. Both guys will be counted on to continue to push Michigan through this tournament and into the next.

Defense Notes.

-Once again, Michigan’s defense all around was pretty good. They did a solid job of keeping Notre Dame to the edges and not asking Jake Barczewski to bail them out with tons of Hero saves. This is the third game in a row where it is tough to blame many goals on the in-zone defense. As a unit, their puck management has also started to improve, not giving away as many DZTOs as in previous months.

-Seamus Casey and Tyler Duke each had an assist. Casey came on a shot that was deflected on a power play. Tyler’s was on a nice skating and passing play that got the puck across to an open Gavin Brindley for the final goal of the game. While the rest of the backend crew has continued to solidify, these two have been the most proficient in the offensive end, as well.

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.

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

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.

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

What just happened (TL;DR): After a back and forth first period, Michigan took control of the game in the second, scoring twice to build a two goal lead. They give up a power play goal late in the period, then steady the ship for most of the third period. After taking a third penalty – and almost killing it off- a cross-ice one-timer ties the game…followed by a sleepy shift where Owen Lindmark can walk right in on Jake Barczewski and win the game. Barczewski was okay, not great; the penalty kill was bad. Once again, the Wolverines did almost enough…but blow their third third period lead of the young season.

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-As the number above state, Michigan generally outplayed Wisconsin at full strength. They only allowed six shots in the first period (maybe too many dangerous chances, though). They generally limited everything the Badgers did in the second period. Then locked down the third until the late penalty…and the ensuing shift. They did a lot, but I guess just not quite enough.

-Frank Nazar was awesome. Not only did he finish a sweet rebound goal on a 2v1, but he won a puck battle behind the net to feed Garret Schifsky. He and Schifsky were tremendous all night getting out in transition. Nazar also had that huge chance on the breakaway that would have been massive. Playing as the 2C has been great for him, and he’s building chemistry with Schifsky.

-The man who is allowing Nazar to play 2C is the 1C…Gavin Brindley. He definitely looks like he’s taking The Leap. Brindley sniped two goals, on Friday night, picking a corner on the first and sneaking one inside the post (behind a tremendous Dylan Duke screen) on the second. While there were initial concerns of if this team could score…those have all but been eroded.

-Jackson Hallum looked to take a big hit in the second period…and did not return…at least to my eyes. Hopefully, he’s okay. He’s been great so far this season. With injuries at the back starting to mount, staying healthy at forward becomes an even bigger deal.

Defense Notes.

-Josh Orrico played in place of Luca Fantilli. He had a rough go in the first period, getting beat down the slot for Wisconsin’s first goal on a centering pass from the boards. He also had some bobbles on his next couple shifts. After that, I honestly don’t remember seeing him. If he played it was not very much. Michigan is in quite a position from where they were a few months ago with defensemen. Luca not playing is a huge deal. After a bit, Michigan decided just icing five guys at the back was the way to go.

-After a rough first period, Michigan’s defense improved. They didn’t give up tons of shots early on, but the chances were pretty dangerous. Steve Holtz vacated the net front to check a guy who had ghosted Kienan Draper. Owen Lindmark finished an easy chance in tight now that he was all alone. Holtz’s night would get better, but he’s had a couple of rough first periods.

-Tyler Duke had a slick drop pass to set up Gavin Brindley’s first goal; he also got beat up the boards on the game-winning goal. Marshall Warren also vacated the slot to go cover for Duke –and missed the pass break up on the way…Rutger McGroarty also did not backcheck Owen Lindmark, allowing him plenty of space to get the shot off…just a perfect storm all around.

-At times, it feels a little like last year when the defense was good…until it really, really wasn’t.