Goal-by-Goal Analysis: Ohio State

[Ryan McLoughlin]

Friday, February 3, 2017

Michigan 5, #11 Ohio State 4

1st period

ALLEN GOAL

UM 1 0SU 0 EV 08:21 Assists: Shuart & Winborg

Winborg wins the faceoff and knocks the puck to Shuart on his right. Shuart sort of accidentally shovels it forward to Winborg, but Winborg again scoops it up and back to Shuart.

With the puck now solidly on his stick, Shuart’s determined to do something purposeful with the puck. He shoots, and the shot is blocked by the OSU defender in front of him. The puck bounces off the defender and ends up to his left.

This next bit happens so quickly that I’m not sure whether Shuart passes to Allen or whether Allen picks up the loose puck himself. Either way, Allen has the puck. He splits two defenders and finds himself with a wide-open net, as Frey is still sliding across after squaring to Shuart’s shot.

[After THE JUMP: 2015-16 redux (for 40 minutes at a time)]

WINBORG GOAL

UM 2 OSU 0 EV 19:23 Assists: Luce & Boka

Boka gets a pass up the boards and moves it quickly. That’s extra important in this sequence because the defense was already moving to respond to the puck low on the boards and must continue to do so to react to the puck being swung to the opposite side of the ice.

Luce shoots, and it appears that he pulls a Lidstrom: he intentionally fires a shot at the boards, as it will bounce off and create a great opportunity for the netfront skater to jam the puck in.

The defender is fronting Winborg, which puts him in perfect position to take the bounce off the boards and tap it in. Winborg’s also screening Frey; as such, he has no idea where the puck is until it’s been tucked into his net.

2nd period

MARODY GOAL

UM 3 OSU O EV 06:47 Assists: Dancs

Michigan wins a board battle, as Dancs digs the puck out and passes down the boards to Marody.

Marody carries it in off the boards, grabs the attention of a defender, and makes almost a 90-degree turn to get away.

Carrying the puck high accomplishes two things. First, it grabs the attention of two defenders; Sanchez and Marody cross paths, and both look like they’re anticipating a drop pass from Marody to Sanchez. Second, it gives the necessary time to set up a netfront screen; that the screen ends up being two skaters wide is an added bonus. Marody sees this, realizes how little Frey can see, and fires an incredibly accurate shot that hits the near-side top corner.

Laczynski Goal

UM 3 OSU 1 PPG 10:08 Assists: Miller & Joyaux

OSU wins the faceoff back to Joyaux to the left of the circle, and he quickly swings the puck to Miller at the point. Miller starts sliding to the middle of the ice as the defense is still trying to get set.

Miller shoots so far away from the net that it’s clear he was either attempting to hit the Michigan defender in the slot or the OSU player skating toward it; I don’t think it’s a pass because it seemed too heavy, though it could have been intended as one that would get to the slot quickly. Either way, it ends up hitting Slaker’s stick and bouncing to his left.

The screen cap below is painful for Michigan fans, but it’s worth noting just because of how incredibly close Slaker came to knocking this puck away.

I think the only way this could have been better defended is if Luce comes off the skater to Lavigne’s right a half second earlier and instead attempts to cover the other skater near the crease. Still, with the weird bounce and guys trying to get into position off the faceoff (let alone Luce having to cover two guys), I think it’s just a bad bounce. Laczynski has an open net to backhand the puck into and Lavigne has no shot at stopping it.

MARODY GOAL

UM 4 OSU 1 PPG 10:51 Assists: Slaker & Lockwood

Slaker pushes the puck down to Lockwood, who carries toward the net. He tries to split two very close defenders and gets caught. The puck subsequently  pops up in the air, arcing toward the crease.

An OSU defender tries to clear it, and in the process he accidentally banks the puck off of another OSU player’s skate. Slaker has skated from near the boards to the slot and is in prime position to gain possession and turn on the puck.

Slaker flings a shot into traffic that Frey stops with his body. The puck falls down, and he then has to fall forward to cover it.

Frey reaches with his glove to cover. Marody stabs at the puck, and the strength of the move knocks the puck out of Frey’s glove. It trickles in after rolling under Frey.

Kearne, who ends up at the top right position of OSU’s box PK, lets Marody get to the front of the net. One of the two netfront defenders gets tangled, and though Kearne does move across the zone to cover Marody when he’s out near the wing, he just lets him skate unchecked to the front of the net. I could understand why he’d stay back if he thought he had to cover the point, but he never even looks back in that direction.

MARODY GOAL

UM 5 OSU 1 PPG 16:04 Assists: Piazza & Slaker

It’s worth noting that this is a 4-on-3 power play, which gives Michigan plenty of room for their best passers to move the puck. Marody passes to Slaker at the point, who in turn passes to Piazza.

Piazza executes an excellent (and subtle) shot fake, which gets the nearest defender to drop to his knee. This naturally slows the defender and gets his stick on the ice, which gives Piazza a clear idea where the passing lane is (and where it isn’t).

He threads a cross-ice pass to Marody. The pass is so well executed that Marody just has to scoop it up and throw it on net; you can see in the screen cap below that Frey has absolutely no shot at getting that far across the crease in time to stop the shot. Also worth noting is that the pass was put in the only place it could be, but that still left Marody in a position where he had to reach back to get the shot off. He does so, but the shot is basically all arms with very little hip rotation. It just shows how good Marody’s shot is; having him back in the lineup certainly makes a difference.

3rd period

Schilkey Goal

UM 5 OSU 2 PPG 00:06 Assists: Jobst

There’s a scrum at center ice and I can’t really tell whether Michigan won the faceoff back or OSU won it and pushed it ahead. Either way, when the puck leaves the circle it hits Cecconi’s skate and is redirected to an open Schilkey, who’s quickly picking up speed.

Schilkey’s defended pretty well in that there’s a stick in the shooting lane when he lets the puck go. Lavigne’s positioning is just a little off and his reaction a little slow; the puck goes past his left leg pad and just inside the post. Adding insult to injury, he gets the pad into the area the puck travelled a few milliseconds after the puck is past him.

Fidler Goal

UM 5 OSU 3 EV 00:17 Assists: Jobst & Schilkey

OSU sends the puck deep, and this time the Yost boards work to Michigan’s disadvantage. Lavigne seals the bottom of the net and watches as the puck slides past him, hits behind the net, and slides out to the opposite faceoff circle.

Schilkey slides down from the circle and fakes a slap shot. Piazza’s able to get his stick into the shooting lane and blocks Schilkey’s shot attempt. The puck, though, pops almost straight into the air. When it lands, the nearest player is another OSU skater, Jobst. He shoots, Lavigne makes the stop, and the rebound comes out to his right.

Luke Martin sees where the direction of the rebound and is turning to lock down Fidler’s stick when Fidler dives forward and snaps the puck into the open net. Martin was in position and doing the right thing here, so it’s more an unfortunate rebound than a defensive miscue here.

Joshua Goal

UM 5 OSU 4 PPG 08:58 Assists: Myer

Joshua establishes position in front of Lavigne, which Myer sees from the blue line. He fires a shot on net that squeaks by just under Warren’s stick.

Joshua pulls a Tomas Holmstrom and redirects the puck past Lavigne. It looks like Cecconi sees the puck, reads the trajectory, and attempts to knock it down out of the air rather than take the body.

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Michigan 5, #11 Ohio State 6

1st period

Schilkey Goal

UM 0 OSU 1 PPG 05:32 Assists: Jobst & Myer

Myer holds the puck in at the blue line and pushes it down the boards to Jobst. Jobst cuts toward the middle of the blue line, steamrolling through the Michigan checker in front of him. The Michigan defender who was covering the blue line tries to stick-check from behind, but that, too, is skated through. This leaves two Michigan defenders out of the play and Lockwood tasked with covering Jobst as he carries into the high slot.

That creates a 2-on-1 in the middle of the ice, as Lockwood stays in his lane and covers Jobst. Schilkey’s open and ready to one-time it, so Jobst passes.

Lavigne seems to be in position—he even gets his glove up—but the puck goes between his helmet and glove and just under the bar. That’s a perfectly placed shot.

MARODY GOAL

UM 1 OSU 1 EV 09:01 Assists: Unassisted

Myer is under duress and tries to clear the puck, but he does by flinging it into the middle of the ice. Clearing the puck to the middle of the ice is always a bad idea.

Marody is there to pick up the loose puck. He does so and carries into and through the high slot. Marody sees that Frey is momentarily screened as Sanchez cuts through the slot, and he sees in this an opportunity to shoot and catch Frey by surprise.

Marody picks and hits the near-side top corner as Frey is dropping his pads and before he can get his glove up. Bad turnover, great on-ice awareness from Marody to notice a momentary screen, and a well-placed shot lead to this goal.

Joshua Goal

UM 1 OSU 2 EV 12:08 Assists: Gust & Laroque

Aaaand now Michigan’s on the wrong end of a centered clearing attempt. To Merl’s credit, he may have been trying to just tap the puck forward to his teammate who’s on the red line. That’s not what ends up happening, though, as the puck goes through the skates and toward the middle of the rink.

The puck’s quickly moved up-ice to the right winger, Gust. He fires a long shot on net that Lavigne stops. He steers the rebound to his right…

…directly to Joshua. OSU has a 3-on-2 in the screen cap above, and though Merl tries to get back into the play he’s unable to. His man is the one who’s open and who scores off the rebound.

PIAZZA GOAL

UM 2 OSU 2 EV 17:32 Assists: Warren & Slaker

Slaker wins the faceoff, pushing it to his left. Warren immediately passes back to Piazza.

Piazza puckhandles and flings a shot on net that somehow finds the back of it. Frankly, I’m not certain what happened. I think the goaltender went to extend his left pad, which leaves the five-hole open, and didn’t realize that the puck was headed straight for him and not out to the side.

SLAKER GOAL

UM 3 OSU 2 PPG 18:59 Assists: Dancs & Marody

The red line’s drawn in below just to show that OSU is cheating a little bit to their right, so Piazza makes the smart decision and passes to Marody to his right.

Marody cuts toward, but not to, the middle. That’s important because the two defenders near the slot put their sticks in place to block entry. Marody sees this and passes to Dancs, who has creeped out just enough to catch a pass on his forehand while still screening the goaltender.

I think both OSU skaters near the net and the goaltender think that Dancs is turning to jam a shot on goal, but he instead backhands an incredible pass to Slaker. All Slaker has to do is shoot it accurately into the wide open half of the net he’s left with. All told, that’s an incredible pass from Dancs.

2nd period

SANCHEZ GOAL

UM 4 OSU 2 EV 06:51 Assists: Marody

An OSU skater tries to move the puck back to one of his defenseman to reset the rush. The only problem is that the puck is mishandled by the defenseman.

Marody and Sanchez immediately pounce, though credit goes to the defenseman who misplayed the puck for getting back into the play and getting his stick near the passing lane. Marody waits until he sees the lane he wants, and when it isn’t there he saucers it over the defender’s outstretched stick.

It’s a bang-bang play and another where all the shooter has to do is tap the puck into the open net. Sanchez takes the pass and converts the goal that will get Frey pulled.

Jobst Goal

UM 4 OSU 3 PPG 10:15 Assists: Myer & Gust

OSU wins the faceoff back to the blue line, where the puck is gathered by Gust and passes laterally to Myer.

Warren is slow to rotate, leaving an open shooting lane for Myer. He shoots and the puck hits the end of Lavigne’s stick.

The puck goes airborne and is batted in by Jobst, who came in off the boards unnoticed and unchecked.

SHUART GOAL

UM 5 OSU 3 EV 15:32 Assists: Winborg & Allen

Michigan does a nice job of passing to keep the defense moving here; the puck is first moved up the boards and then down to the area behind the net.

Allen sets up Winborg in the slot, but Tomkins stops the shot. Shuart has drifted off the boards to the slot and is in position to gain possession of the rebound because all three of OSU’s nearby defenders have completely collapsed on net.

They’re in position to block a poorly-aimed shot, and Shuart’s first attempt is indeed blocked. The puck goes back to him, however, and he’s able to jam it past Tomkins (presumably five-hole, though I’m not sure) despite Tomkins’ valiant backbending effort to smother the puck.

Wiitala Goal

UM 5 OSU 4 PPG 17:49 Assists: Weis & Laczynski

OSU dumps the puck in, which creates a footrace between Laczynski and Martin. As they reach the puck Martin uses his stick to hold down Laczynski’s, with the problem being that Laczynski turns and has possession of the puck. He passes just before another Michigan skater (Warren) swoops in front of him and takes away the lane.

Wiitala is the player behind the net in the screenshot above, and that’s worth noting because he glided through the slot and in front of Luce to get where he is in said image. He’s now out from the back of the net and posting up next to the net. Luce sees the pass from the corner to the slot and is understandably concerned with covering Weis. With no help defense, Wiitala is wide open for the redirection.

3rd period

Jobst Goal

UM 5 OSU 5 PPG 08:33 Assists: Schilkey

This has to be about the most conventional way to get scored on while on a 5-on-3 PK. Schilkey carries down the wing and passes essentially through De Jong (who’s in great position and plays this well) to Jobst in the slot.

Jobst roofs one and is fortunate to tuck it just under the bar. This is a fast-rising shot from close to the goaltender, and it happens to be perfectly placed. In other words, it doesn’t move the needle in regard to how Lavigne performed over the course of the series.

Schilkey Goal

UM 5 OSU 6 EV 19:30 Assists: Jobst & Myer

If I did take screenshots here, there would only be one. I think the GIF captures what happened well enough: there’s an inability by Michigan to clear the zone, the puck is passed from the corner to the top of the circle, and there’s yet another undefended player ready to uncork a very wound up one-timer.

--------

[James Coller]

The Ohio State series was the best two forty-minute performances Michigan has put together since November. The problem, of course, is that they played forty good minutes each night. Their inability to put together a complete game is a bit baffling; it could be youth, it could be confidence, or (and this is the explanation I prefer) it could be tired legs from spending so much time chasing the puck in the defensive zone. The last supposition is why Michigan lost on Saturday, though of course the roots of the loss run throughout the whole period, not just the last few seconds.

There are, however, some reasons for Michigan fans to feel renewed optimism for the rest of the season. To be clear, I’m not saying that this team is suddenly going to become last season’s offensive juggernaut. The final fate of the team will still come down to whatever they can do in the Big Ten Tournament, and expectations shouldn’t be ratcheted up just yet. There were subtle signs of improvement, though. I thought Michigan did a much better job with their defensive rotations in four of six periods. Guys weren’t standing and staring at the puck but were instead switching who was covering which skater depending on the opposition’s positioning and puck location. That was something that had plagued Michigan all year, and that alone could make a world of difference if they can figure it out for an entire game. The other reason for hope is Cooper Marody. He’s rounding into the player he looked like he might become during his freshman season. It didn’t take long for him to shake off the rust of a missed half season, and since his return he’s been Michigan’s best skater. He’s the offensive threat that good-not-great offensive players like Lockwood and Slaker need to buoy their point production.

As with any column-like substance that predicates its arguments on portions of games, concerns abound. There were still too many unchecked players in the middle of the ice. By the other side of that coin, there were still too many shots from the home plate area. Lavigne was solid in net, but he allowed a few uncharacteristically soft goals in the series. Michigan’s penalty kill is just okay, and they’re giving the opposition too many chances to test their luck against it.

What this team will end up being is, twenty four games in, still up in the air. Defensively, it seems that they’ll be a work in progress all season. The wild card is the offense. If Kile and Calderone return from injury soon (and if Lockwood, who took a hit to the head from a teammate in a collision near the boards Saturday) then there’s a chance that, coupled with Marody being Marody, they’re able to narrow the shot differential and hold themselves in games against most of the conference. If they continue to rotate multiple key pieces out of the lineup, then stringing together a couple of good periods followed by just one bad one would seem to be their ceiling.