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

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-Michigan dominated this game getting 41 pucks on net and 23(!) of those came from the House. Yikes. The Wolverines were unlucky to not come away with more goals. To some extent, it was be expected that Michigan would have an advantage against a Badger team that has had a struggling start to the season.

- Tonight, it was the Kent Johnson/Matty Beniers line creating and finishing the scoring. KJ finished a tricky set up after Owen Power pulled the puck out of his skates and found a gliding Johnson in stride. Nick Blankenburg got the secondary assist from the opposite corner. Later, KJ and Beniers each had beautiful set-up passes to Blankenburg alone in front to make the lead 2-0. While the B&B line carried the team in Duluth a couple of weekends ago, this line has started off Big Ten play on the right…skate. I will say that I did not notice Granowicz on that line as much. It will be interesting to see who ends up playing with those two as the season unfolds.

-Jared Moe was very, very good in net for the Badgers. If not for him, Michigan probably ends the game in the second period and the score if much worse. Michigan has seen Moe in seasons past suiting up for the Golden Gophers. He seemed to save his best performance for this evening.

-Once again, we’ve seen the Van Whye/Moyle line on the ice in a 4v4 or 3v3 situation. Alex mentioned it again, tonight. At first it seemed like it could be to win a crucial faceoff. However, they got a solid shift in tonight in 4v4. That is another situation to monitor as the season transpires. It would appear difficult to keep both the KJ/Beniers and Bordeleau/Brisson pairs on the bench for those circumstances.

Defense Notes.

-After getting off to a better start in the first period, Michigan’s defense did surrender quite a few shots from the House…20 to be exact. A lot of those looked like basic defensive breakdowns in addition to the transition chances that will be discussed later. This is still a bit of a concern.

-Nick Blankenburg and Owen Power showed their offensive capabilities, tonight. Captain Nick had a goal and an assist, including a very deft finish from close-in. Owen Power also tallied the same, despite his goal being a bit lucky, coming off of a fortunate bounce on an attempted backdoor pass to Dylan Duke.

-Alex and I debated Jay Keranen’s performace all evening. I thought Keranen had a very nice first period in his own zone. He looked solid when playing against the puck. Alex pointed out that he looked to be the culprit of several OMRs. I asked Trusted Press Box Friend Peter, and he thought Keranen looked fine on defense, but he looked to be trying a bit to hard to make something happen on offense and ended up with a couple of mistakes. It will be interesting to see how Michigan continues to figure out their third pairing.

We just needed to post this photo (Marc-Gregor Campredon)

SPECIAL TEAMS CHART

Power Play. Michigan got a couple of chances on the mad advantage on Thursday. They created a few shots from distance on the first opportunity but nothing Grade A. On their second chance, the Wolverines fed Brisson on his dot a few times. This was not Michigan’s best night on the power play, but they also did not need it to be.

Penalty Kill. Wisconsin’s power play lived up to it’s 5% scoring rate billing, tonight. The Wolverines gave the Badgers four advantages…and the Badgers gave the Wolverines better scoring chances, despite having an extra skater. After last weekend, Michigan needed a few successful kills, but they got two Garrett Van Whye breakaways…with a Moyle rebound! Unfortunately for Michigan, Jared Moe was equal to every one. Michigan needs to have a couple more games like that before anything is deemed ‘fixed,’ though.

Fly the Hagelin Flag (Marc-Gregor Campredon)

GOALTENDING CHART

Notes. Erik Portillo started his seventh game in a row for the Wolverines on Thursday night. After a slower first period, Erik was called upon repeatedly in the second frame to save 14 shots, including 9 from the House. He also stoned four different chances in transition. Two of those rushes he made multiple saves. While he does give up stray rebounds from time to time, his positioning, size, and shot-stopping ability are all elite. He notched a shutout for the first time this season. It has definitely been building all season.

SO WAY TOO MANY AGAIN (Marc-Gregor Campredon)

ODD MAN RUSH CHART

Notes. Well, after giving up zero OMRs in the first period, I got my hopes up. Silly me. After that, Michigan surrendered five more transition chances. In addition to the breakaway, there were also plural 2v1s. Erik Portillo again came up huge saving six shots out four rushes. Wisconsin also rang the post. Michigan has been pretty lucky so far, this season, not giving up goals of off their OMRs; however, keep giving up 5+ per game and the goals will come.

The Wolverines did generate four OMRs of their own. They were highlighted by Garrett Van Whye’s multiple breakaways. He did not convert on either. Moyle was also stifled on his rebound attempt. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

This was pretty much what we talked about on the HockeyCast. Michigan looked like they should be better than Wisconsin in many different ways…and that bore out to be pretty true on Thursday. Again, this season is about finishing series with sweeps…especially against teams that Michigan should sweep. This is one of those series. Good job by the Wolverines, but the job is only half done.