hockey

Per Michael Spath on twitter, Michigan forward Phil DiGiuseppe has signed with the Carolina Hurricanes which voids his last year of eligibility with the team.

And so begins another summer of Michigan Hockey and seeing who will still be here once the new season begins. Losing him is not crippling, but also not ideal. Hopefully everyone else stays because the depth still eligible and the incoming recruiting class has the ability to make some noise next year.

EDIT: per Mark Edwards on twitter, Alex Guptill has also signed an entry level deal with the Dallas Stars

It's gotten lost in the other game today, but if UM Hockey wanted to make the NCAA tourney, they had to root for Western to beat North Dakota. Which they didn't do.

North Dakota defeats Western Michigan to keep NCAA hopes alive, and knock out Michigan

— College Hockey News (@chnews) March 22, 2014

After 22 straight years in the NCAAs, Michigan is out for the 2nd year in a row

— College Hockey News (@chnews) March 22, 2014

Michigan is not dead yet.

They could find their way into the tournament, after all.

Union just plowed Cornell who is now out of it, bumping Michigan back IN at No. 15 overall.

If multiple things happen here, Michigan could get in and could get in higher than the 15-

• (7) Quinnipiac needs to beat (14) colgate in the ECAC Tournament Semifinals
• (9) Providence needs to beat (18) new hampshire in the Hockey East Tournament Semifinals
• (4) Ferris State winning tonight against (24) alaska-anchorage would boost Michigan's SOS.

Quinnipiac is not televised, Providence is at 8 on NBC Sports and Ferris is on at 7 on FS Detroit Plus.

Anyone else receive an email from Michigan Athletics this morning seeking donations in the "Ice Hockey Legacy Fund"?  Timing of this email (which appears to be a mass email, perhaps to all hockey season ticket purchasers, but maybe to a broader base than that) seems curious, in light of yesterday's flop against Penn State in what was a must-win game.  Personally, I would have waited to send that request; seems a little like throwing salt in an open wound to ask for donations for a program that has been nothing short of disappointing this season (and last).  

Hopefully that image upload worked.  In the event it didn't, the email seeking donation quotes the hockey locker room wall: "A rich tradition from the past and potential for future glory where anything but the best is unacceptable.  To uphold the greatness and excellence that Michigan Hockey represents by becoming a part of something greater than ourselves.  It's time to join the legacy."

On a related note, I wonder how many season ticket purchasers will opt not to renew.  There's no question part of the purchase motivation is to follow and watch a winning team.  Between the inconsistent play, lackluster performances, and the overall decline of the Yost experience, I wonder if there will be more than just a handful of people who decide they'd rather not purchase tickets.  I will keep buying (for now), but I'm not sure everyone else is in that same boat.

Michigan opens the Big Ten Tournament with Penn State, in a must win game for the 5th week in a row. Winner plays Wisconsin tomorrow. The game is on BTN.

Forwards

Guptill-Compher-DeBlois

Motte-Copp-Hyman

Di Giuseppe-Nieves-Moffatt

Kile-Lynch-Allen

Defense

Downing-Bennett

Clare-Lohan

Serville-Sinelli

Goalies

Nagelvoort

Racine

Audio

YES DO MORE THINGS THAT MAKE PEOPLE STAND UP IN FRONT OF YOUUUUU

So you’ve turned your calendar to March and watched some snow melt (finally), and your mind has naturally turned to brackets and the anxiety that goes hand-in-hand with single elimination contests. If you’ve thought about single elimination games that involve ice and rubber spheres instead of hardwood and rubber spheres then we’re on the same page.

At 3pm on Thursday Michigan plays Penn State, the lowest seeded team in the Big Ten Tournament and the team that has given Michigan more problems than first-ranked (in the nation) Minnesota. If Michigan wins, there’s a 96% chance they make the NCAA Tournament. If they lose, that drops to 40-50%. Pretty straightforward and terrifying.

If this is the first hockey game you’ve watched or just the first one you’ve watched this season then this guide’s for you. Think of this as a time investment. If you read it and Michigan wins on Thursday then you’re all set for the NCAA Tournament! If you read it and they don’t win then you must be some sort of human jinx, please don’t watch the basketball team.

Who to watch on offense:

#17 JT Compher, C, FR/#18 Andrew Copp, C, SO

I couldn’t split these two up and put one in the category below because they jointly set the tempo for Michigan. Both are going to forecheck hard enough to create offense, though they can create off the cycle as well. Both of these guys have the mindset of a third-line center with the hands and hockey IQ of a first-liner.

And if those guys aren’t on the ice?

#27 Alex Guptill, LW, JR

Put the puck on his stick and he’s a potential NHLer. Take the puck away from him and, uh, results may vary. He was a healthy scratch once this year essentially because he was putting in zero effort on the defensive end, but he’s since rebounded. He’s not going to win any awards for “best defensive forward,” but he has an incredible ability to move with the puck in tight spaces and keep it away from defenders.

Who to watch on defense:

#37 Mac Bennett, D, SR

This isn’t supposed to be a slight to the other defensemen but actually yeah, it’s kind of a slight to the other defensemen; Bennett is the only one that doesn’t make me nervous when he’s on the ice. He’s a senior, but more important is that he’s made strides in terms of playing a simpler, more balanced game. He’s a calming influence on a very, very young d-corps who knows when to rush the puck and how not to turn it over in the defensive zone as much as the other defensemen.

And if he isn’t on the ice?

#22 Andrew Sinelli, D, JR

He used to be a forward but the transition may be the best thing that’s ever happened to him during his time at Michigan. Sinelli will need to continue to work on little things like gap control, but he’s got the skating ability to hang with most anyone. He’s been really impressive since switching positions mid-season.

What about that guy who lets people use composite materials to throw pieces of rubber at him?

#35 Zach Nagelvoort, G, FR

Since Compher came in with considerable hype I’d say Nagelvoort is the real surprise contributor this season. He wasn’t supposed to be playing this season, but an injury to starter Steve Racine pushed him into the lineup and he hasn’t relinquished that spot since. Nagelvoort likes to handle the puck near his net and has a very good glove hand. His positioning is very good and he stays square to shooters. Hard to ask for more than that from a freshman.

What about the team, the team, the team?

Offense:

Coin flip. Averaging 3.12 goals/game is good enough for 20^th in the nation, but which offense shows up is anyone’s guess. They can hang six on anyone in the nation or they can score one, and they’ve done both against great and terrible competition respectively.

Defense:

Coin flip. They’re giving up 2.56 goals/game, which again places them 20^th in the nation. Some nights they look unstoppable (see last Saturday’s game against Minnesota) and some nights they look beyond confused (see the entire Great Lakes Invitational).

Power play:

Michigan has scored on 26 of their 129 opportunities (20.16%). This places them 17^th in the nation, with the caveat being that every team ahead of them has had more power play chances. They’ve looked better in recent weeks as Luke Moffat has emerged as a legitimate special teams scoring threat. Eight of his 13 goals have come on the power play, so watch for #9 when Michigan has the man advantage.

Penalty kill:

While it’s not the worst in the nation, it’s the team’s weak spot when considering that they’re ranked somewhere around 20^th in the nation in all other team scoring categories. Michigan has killed 105 of 129 penalties (81.4%), which ties them for 35^th nationally with American International, which is a school that I did not know existed until I just wrote it down.

Tl;dr. What do I really need to know?

Michigan has to beat Penn State if they want to make the NCAA Tournament and start The Streak™ over. We don’t know which version of Michigan will show up; it will either be the team that can beat anyone in the nation or it will be the team that gifted Penn State two of its three B1G wins.