2022 ncaa hockey tournament

4/7/2022 – Denver 3, Michigan 2 (OT) – 31-10-1, Season Over 

They call the sort of overtime that is played in the NCAA Hockey Tournament "sudden death". The moniker makes logical sense- when a goal is scored, the game is suddenly over and the team that loses has died the "sudden death". That is the sort of death that the 2021-22 Michigan Hockey team suffered at the Frozen Four in Boston, losing on a Carter Savoie overtime "sudden death" winner against Denver. It came suddenly indeed, on a play that started as a mistake, with two Wolverines overskating a loose puck waiting to be cleared from the zone, before the Pioneers seized it and quickly turned it into a dangerous pass and then a goal. It was a quick departure from an overtime period that Michigan had largely controlled play in, and that's where the sudden nature is valid. 

But at the same time, the death that this hockey team died was not completely sudden. In some ways, it was slow. The slow death march of sorts began when the team took the ice for the opening puck drop and were completely devoid of energy. Throughout the first period, one could have said Michigan was as flat as the Iowa landscape. They were outplayed by Denver handily in the opening frame and though they had better second and third periods, Michigan was the lesser team in the entire sixty minutes of regulation. They amassed far fewer shots on net and scoring opportunities than Denver, using the magic of Erik Portillo and a pair of fortunate bounces to keep the game even and push it to the extra session. 

That sensation of never leading, frequently being on their heels, and struggling to keep up made it feel like Michigan was dying a slow death. Outside of two good looks in the overtime period, there were few moments where the fan pulse indicated that the Maize & Blue were going to actually come out of the game victorious. As the seconds rolled away, it merely felt like we were getting closer to finding out when the true moment of death would be. The Savoie overtime goal was just the final blow that sealed the slow death known as a lackluster performance in the biggest game of the season. From that view, it wasn't so sudden, but rather the final punctuation that made your author think "yeah, that seems right". 

[David Wilcomes]

Moreover, one, particularly someone with a longer sense of fandom for Michigan Hockey, may be able to argue that the slow death began when Michigan got to overtime in the first place, because NCAA Tournament overtimes have been downright disastrous for the Wolverines over the past two decades. Especially those taking place in the Regional Final or later. Starting with the 2003 season, Michigan is 0-6 in overtime games taking place in that round of the tournament or lataer. They also lost a game to Notre Dame in the Frozen Four in 2018 in the dwindling seconds of regulation, which at that point is essentially overtime, and were also stunningly upset in the first round of the 2009 tournament in overtime by Air Force. The only redeeming moments in that span are a pair of OT wins in the first round in 2011 and 2016. 

Getting to overtime in a round like the Frozen Four meant that to the most snakebitten of fans, the slow death began at that moment. We were doomed the moment the puck dropped on the extra session and the only sudden element of the death was the goal that put us out of our misery. Perhaps this was a particularly cynical view, but for the diehard Michigan Hockey fans, this was a mindset inhabited the moment overtime began. 

That is the nature of a loss with so many doom-related factors: a poor showing in regulation casting an ominous sense of failure, only to be tossed the dual-sided bone of hope and also hopelessness called overtime. The slow death began when we saw the performance the team put on in regulation, then continued when we started to realize the only way for *Michigan* to win the game was *overtime in a Frozen Four*, before a quick mirage of aspiration when Luke Hughes rushed down the ice on a 2 on 1, followed by the dashing of said mirage when the puck wound up in the chest of Magnus Chrona, and finally brought home by the Savoie goal. At that moment, as Erik Portillo stared down into the ice while experiencing the agony of defeat, it was full circle. The slow and sudden nature of this cruel death had converged, and the season was over. The torture of the Frozen Four, and overtime in that round, lives on. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Making peace with the end] 

ESSENTIALS

OVERVIEW

The final weekend of the college hockey season is here and Michigan is still standing. The Wolverines made it through the testy Allentown Regional and booked their tickets to the Frozen Four, where they will meet the winners of the Loveland Regional, the Denver Pioneers. Two #1 seeds meet in the first of two semifinal games tonight at the TD Garden in Boston, and it figures to be an explosive battle of two high-powered offenses. 

[David Wilcomes]

THE US 

Michigan arrives in Boston after a healthy layoff following the heart-stopping Quinnipiac game in the regional final. The Wolverines have plenty to work on after a leaky defensive effort against the Bobcats, and I'm wondering whether the defensive pairings change tonight. The Nick Blankenburg-Ethan Edwards duo in particular looked very rough in that game, and we shall see if Mel Pearson decides to go back to the Owen Power-Blankenburg top pair, or if he sticks with this configuration. I'd expect the forward lines to stay the same, the Brisson/Beniers/Johnson line at the top, followed by the Bordeleau line, the Beecher line, and then the GVW line. When you score 12 goals in two NCAA Tournament games, it likely means the forwards aren't changing. 

Erik Portillo will get the start, as has been the case in every game this season. His numbers took a bit of a hit after giving up seven total goals in the two games a couple weekends ago, but anyone who watched those games knows it was far from his fault. He has been excellent this season and is arguably Michigan's biggest advantage over the Pioneers. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Meet the Pioneers]

1 hour and 39 minutes

The Sponsors

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, SignalWire (use the code MUPPETS), Prentice 4M, where we recorded this, Team Fan Club, and introducing The View from the Cheap Seats podcast by the Sklars, who join us for the Hot Takes segments. Please go subscribe and like their podcast,and leave your hot takes about this game in the reviews.

1. Spring Game - Offense

starts at 1:00

It's been so long since there was a spring game we could actually talk about. Instead of a punting exhibition we got Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum smack-talking each other from across the field. It was fun. Davis Warren looked to be functional, Bowman maybe not as much. Yes, Alex Orji's name is pronounced the way you think it is. Mullings might be the closest to replacing Hassan Haskins as the power back (Wisconsin recruited him for running back, after all). Idaho... Almost impossible to grade the offensive line based on how much it was mixed around but the starting five are probably decided anyways. Comment below if you think Seth should UFR the Spring Game!