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

 

Setting The Stage:  Michigan (20-13-3-0) and Minnesota (22-9-5) are set to renew their rivalry as they battle for the right to play in next week's Big Ten Tournament Championship Game against Michigan State. This will be the 3rd year in a row that Michigan has played a Tournament game at Mariucci, with the previous two both being victories for the Big Ten Tournament Championship. Tonight is the 5th meeting of the season between the Wolverines and Gophers. Michigan won 3-2 at Yost in a shootout on November 11th and won again on March 2nd, taking a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory in the last game of the regular season. Michigan advanced to this game by defeating Notre Dame in the Big Ten Quarterfinals 5-4 and 4-3 last weekend at Yost. Minnesota defeated Penn State 5-1 and 3-2 in overtime in Minneapolis last weekend.

 

 

The Battle: In a complete contrast to the game these two teams played two weeks ago, where wide-open hockey was the order of the day, this was a classic playoff game where every inch of ice was contested from the drop of the puck to the final horn. This game was won by the Wolverines in the trenches, where they consistently beat the Gophers in puck battles in both the offensive and defensive ends of the ice. This section is commonly taken up with the exploits of Brindley, McGroarty, Hughes and Casey after Michigan victories but tonight the spotlight is on players like Draper, Estapa, Eernisse, and Warren who hounded the puck all night and generated a lot of offensive plays on transition from their stellar defensive work.

 

Kienan Draper opened the scoring just over three minutes into the 1st period on a rebound from a shot by Chase Pletzke. It's worth noting that the assist Pletzke received on that play was his first since the 2020-21 season. The Wolverines appeared to extend the lead just over three minutes later when Luca Fantilli scored from the front of the net after being set up by Phillippe Lapointe, but Minnesota challenged the goal and the play was ruled offside. Michigan did extend the lead to 2-0 late in the 2nd period after Gavin Brindley took a long pass from Marshall Warren and put a laser over Justin Close's right shoulder just under the bar. Rutger McGroarty started the play retrieving a loose puck in his own end and making a cross ice pass to Warren.

 

Minnesota had a couple of good looks in the 3rd, but Barczewski was up to the challenge until Jimmy Snuggerud fired a wrist shot by him with 1:29 left in the 3rd while the goalie was pulled for an extra attacker. Barczewski was screened on the shot by the Gophers' Oliver Moore and never saw the shot. Although Minnesota had the puck on the perimeter after they pulled the goalie again with less than a minute left, Michigan didn't allow them to penetrate the house and the exclamation mark on the great team defensive effort happened when T.J. Hughes blocked a shot near the end of the game.

[AFTER THE JUMP: More Winning Content]

 

 

Gavin Brindley scored the game winner [Bill Rapai]

 

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

 

 

Forward Notes:  The top line of Schifsky, McGroarty and Brindley were quiet statistically by their standards but Brindley showed why he's the most dangerous offensive threat in the Big Ten with the game winning goal, off a great shot that went top corner blocker side late in the 2nd period. The major story line was the way Nazar's line with Duke and Eernisse smothered Minnesota's top line of Nelson, Snuggerud, and Pitlick, holding them to three total shots on the night. Snuggerud scored Minnesota's lone goal, but that was after they pulled the goalie late in the game. Eernisse did a great job of leaning on Snuggerud every chance he could, never allowing him open ice.

 

The heavy play of Draper, Estapa, and Lapointe consistently forced Minnesota's defense to move the puck quicker than they wanted to with a number of those attempts resulting in turnovers. Another notable point for the forwards was that the Wolverines won over 64% of the faceoffs on the night. The stats don't show it but the Wolverines won a lot of 50-50 draws when their forwards jumped into the circle and helped secure possession of the puck.

 

Michigan Faceoff Statistics

 

 

Defense Notes: Defense in this game can be broken down into two different classifications, Team Defense and Defensemen. The Team Defense was probably the best we've seen this season. There was always a high forward in the offensive zone which prohibited Minnesota from getting any odd-man rushes. This also allowed the Wolverine defensemen to have good gaps in the neutral zone and shut down the Gopher offensive drives before they got started.

 

In the defensive zone, the forwards were consistently in the shooting lanes and also made themselves available for quick outs when the defense gained possession of the puck. The defensemen themselves collectively played a great game. Marshall Warren, who has really stepped up this last month, played a strong physical game. Seamus Casey periodically displayed his offensive magic, but also didn't put himself in situations where he would be out of position defensively.

 

 

Team Defense [Bill Rapai]

 

 

Special Teams Chart:

 

Power Play: For a change, the referees let the players play and didn't call the ticky-tack penalties that they are known to call in Big Ten games. Michigan had one powerplay on the night and it happened in the 2nd period. The Wolverines moved the puck well and were credited with four shots but didn't really threaten Close seriously.

 

Penalty Kill: The penalty kill only had to face one Minnesota man advantage and they did an excellent job of not giving the Gophers any grade 'A' scoring chances and holding them to only two shots. The penalty killers played with controlled aggression forcing the Gophers to make plays they didn't want, and before they wanted to.

 

Goaltending Notes: With the help of some great team defense, Jake Barczewski had a great night between the pipes, facing only eight shots from the house, and none of them were from the low slot area. He was tested from the perimeter and did a really good job in his rebound control and placement, which was also a major reason for no shots in the low slot.

 

Goaltending Chart

 

 

Shutting the door when it counts [Bill Rapai]

 

 

Final Thoughts:

This was as complete a playoff game you can ask for, especially on the road where there is no perceived pressure to 'put on a show' for the fans. Michigan played a heavy game, finishing checks and leaning on Gopher players all over this ice. It's not uncommon in the playoffs for each team's top players to cancel each other out and the team that wins and moves on is usually the team whose depth players win their shifts and contribute on the scoresheet. There is no doubt that Brindley, McGroarty, Dylan Duke and Casey will continue to lead the way offensively but it's the play of players like Estapa, Draper, Eernisse, Warren, and Edwards who can be the difference next week in the Big Ten Tournament Final and in the NCAA Tournament after that.

 

Next Game:

Saturday March 23 vs Michigan State at Munn Arena in East Lansing - 8:00pm