hockey recaps

Ugh. (Patrick Barron)

That ended badly. Michigan outplayed the Irish for the first 10 minutes then survived long enough to stake a two-goal lead at the beginning of the second period. But Notre Dame tilted the ice after that, tying the game with a knuckler and staking a one-goal lead halfway into the third. At that point the Irish tried to suffocate the game and it bit them when the Pastujovs produced a junker behind the wall of golden domes. The game appeared headed to overtime until a complete defensive breakdown with seconds to go. Mel's first season ends disappointingly, but also better than anyone ever hoped.

Offense

Period	Corsi	House	Possession %
First	13	5	43%
Second	17	5	41%
Third	17	6	71%
Overtime	n/a	n/a	n/a
TOTAL	47	16	49%

As the Irish went into Jackson Lockdown Mode, Michigan gained more possession and a fantastic shift from the Pastujov line resulted in a goal –and a handful of attempts- off of a DZTO. Once the Irish figured out Michigan’s early success, they pretty much clamped down until they Turtled and then got caught.

The Wolverines met their match and somewhat held their own, but their depth was not strong as the game wore down. They produced three goals, felt like they earned two and normally in a game like this that would have would be enough.

Michigan looked really good in the opening ten minutes, and then…pffft…until halfway through the third. Tony Calderone took advantage of a miscommunication in the Irish defense and stepped out of the corner to the dot and beat Morris short-side. Dancs threw a puck at the net in the early second period and was gifted with a goal as Gilbert knocked it behind Morris. Michigan was up 2-0 against a team that struggled to score. Notre Dame all but shut the Wolverines down for the next 40 minutes, though, and clawed into the lead.

[After THE JUMP: The defense was not so great]