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

What just happened (TL;DR): Despite the disparity in shots and attempts, Michigan out-finished and (surprise!) won the game early against Wisconsin on Friday night at Yost. The Wolverines took an early lead on a great chance from Garrett Schifsky. Frank Nazar doubled the lead in the second period, and Dylan Duke tallied on the power play as the second period closed. The defense was very solid around Jake Barczewski all night, and he put up one of his best performances in Maize and Blue, locking the door with 42 saves.

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-Score effects played a large role in this game. Michigan outplayed and outfinished Wisconsin in the first couple periods, setting themselves up for another chance to close the game. For the second Friday night in a row, they did just that. Despite allowing an early third period goal, the Wolverines put the clamps on the Badgers, backchecking well and not giving up very many multiple chances.

-Following the Hero Line, the second line has been very good once again. Garrett Schifsky (with some puck luck) received a deflected pass from Dylan Duke, walked down the slot, and buried his chance to open the game. TJ Hughes and Dylan Duke both got point on the power play later in the evening. If this line can contribute behind the top line…look out!

-Speaking of the top line, Frank Nazar notched his 11th and 12th goals of the season. He finished from a sharp angle in tight after receiving a feed from Gavin Brindley. Later on, he sniped a one-timer from Seamus Casey into the top corner. Rutger McGroarty also tallied a couple of assists. This is the third game in a row that Michigan has run out the Hero Line. It is also their third game in a row (in the Big Ten) that they’ve hit the five goal mark. Works for me.

-While they didn’t get on the scoresheet, I thought the third line of Josh Eernisse, Mark Estapa, and Philippe Lapointe was very good. They were physical on the forecheck, got the puck down low, and created some chances in tight. They don’t have the finishing acumen of the top couple lines, but they can be a menace to play against…especially around the net.

We Must Protect The House (Bill Rapai)

Defense Notes.

-Michigan looked like they did during the first 4.5 periods of last weekend’s series all night against Wisconsin. When the game was in doubt, they kept their House clean, cleared anything loose in front of Barczewski, and stayed very positionally sound. They also limited their egregious DZTOs. Like we’ve talked about all season, when they do that, they’re almost impossible to beat.

-While he only had one assist (ONLY!) Seamus Casey created so many chances for his teammates. He almost got the third line a goal but losing a guy in his own end and feeding Josh Eernisse and Mark Estapa in front. He also created space for himself for multiple chances. His assist came on a very nice play, once again getting below the goal line and feeding a one-timer to an open Frank Nazar. The guy is more than worth the price of admission.

-Ethan Edwards played really well in his third game back. While he did take a frustrating penalty in the third, he came out of the box to an empty and got himself on the scoresheet. Edwards is going to be key to Michigan’s defense and their hopeful second half run. A good night for him!

-Michigan dressed seven defensemen again. This time, they rotated Luca Fantilli and Steve Holtz in that 6th spot. While he was on the ice for the only goal against, Luca looked good with the puck on his stick. He also made a few nice plays in the defensive end as well. It would be good to see him earn more and more ice time.

Ethan Edwards got on the board after getting out of the box (Bill Rapai)

SPECIAL TEAMS CHART

Power Play. Michigan scored about 30 seconds into their first power play. TJ Hughes made a nice cross-ice pass to Rutger McGroarty. Rutger fired a shot-pass into the low slot that Dylan Duke expertly redirected. A very Dylan goal. That was all the Wolverines would need from the power play on the evening.

Penalty Kill. This was one of the best nights of the year for the Wolverines on the penalty kill. They easily diffused the first three Badger advantages. ON the fourth, Wisconsin pulled Kyle McClellan, rolling the dice to get back into it late in the third. After Ethan Edwards was released, he was able to score his first goal of the season into the empty net. While they did have one minor breakdown on the first kill, most of the rest of the shots were from distance and chances that Jake Barczewski could handle. Very encouraging.

Goaltending photo caption (Bill Rapai)

GOALTENDING CHART

Notes. Jake Barczewski started in net for the Wolverines and had one of his better performances of the season. As previously stated, Michigan’s defense played very well around Jake, rarely hanging him out to dry, and allowing him to see most everything coming at him. He did have to make one major save on an early penalty kill. He also was great in the crease, tracking the puck on the ice and freezing it. In the third period, Barczewski was at his best, completely shutting down the Badgers, as the Wolverines played a lot more defensively and tried to limit the Grade A chances. In the end, he did make 42 saves. If you protect him, he will slam the door. He did on Friday night.

ODD MAN RUSH CHART

Notes. Michigan gave up a 2v1 pretty early in the game (on which Casey made a nice deflection), and then settled in and didn’t give up much else in transition. That’s another very solid performance in the second half of the season.

The Wolverines got their two OMRs within about a minute or so at the start of the second period. After the 2v1 was broken up, Garrett Schifsky had a look on a 3v2 and he rang the iron. It wasn’t a busy night in transition for either team.

FINAL THOUGHTS

We saw this last week. Michigan pummeled a top team in the conference and in the country. They were better in all phases, once again. They have a chance to double it up tomorrow night at Yost. Last week, they did it for 1.5 periods on Saturday night. Wisconsin definitely seems more structured and not as prone to giving things away as MSU did last weekend. So, Michigan is going to have to be defensively sound and win on special teams again. But…they’ve shown they can do that against the better teams. It’s time to finish a weekend sweep. 7pm at Yost on BTN-.