Owen Power Play Assist

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

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-That was bonkers. Michigan coaxed Quinnipiac into a frenetic pace in the first period, turning Allentown, Pennsylvania into a Wild West Shootout. There were 28 evenly divided shots in the opening frame, alone. The difference was that Michigan was able to finish a couple of their early chances...albeit not their best ones. The worry coming into the game was that we'd be in for a 30 shot total slugfest that one team would win on a coin-flip bounce. While that did come into play during the second and early third period, it was mostly too late for Turtle/Siege Hockey at that point. Michigan won the game at 5v5 and on Special Teams before they almost gave it away...and had to win it again. 

-The Fourth Line. We talked all year about Michigan's speed and skill, draft picks and NHL talent. On Sunday night, near the famous Bethlehem Steel mill, it was Michigan's Blue Collar dudes getting it done. Nolan Moyle crashed the net 33 seconds into the game and put Michigan out front. Jimmy Lambert beat his man to the crease to finish Luke Hughes gorgeous move and pass. Garrett Van Whye outskated and outworked a Bobcat defenseman and then Yaniv Perets to tally a shorty right before the end of the second period. On a team with eight drafted forwards, the Blue Collar line ground out four of the team's seven goals. If the Wolverines are going to get depth scoring like this, they'll be tough to beat in Boston.

-One thing to be discussed more on the HockeyCast is the early goalie-pull by Quinnipiac with almost four minutes left. Alex thought it was a bit early. I was fine with it. The Bobcats were holding a decided advantage in ice position. They had scored three in just seven minutes. Analytics are on the side of pulling early...shoot your shot. It didn't work out, but I don't blame Rand Pecknold and his staff. They were trying to capitalize on a reeling defense and team psyche. In the end it took a nice play from Thomas Bordeleau to intercept a pass. Very nice for fifth year senior Mike Pastujov to get the empty-netter than sent his Wolverines back to the Frozen Four.

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

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-Alex described this as a 60 Minute Power Play for Michigan. While that was clearly an enjoyable use of hyperbole, it was not that far from the truth. Michigan swatted the Yellow Jackets early and often, getting out to a plural goal lead in under five minutes. The crazy thing is that they had multiple more Grade A chances that could easily have gone in, including a couple of rings of the iron. Michigan would score, get bored, give up a goal, score more, get bored, and give up another goal. Then, they would score more. AIC had FIVE attempts on net when this was defined as a close game. While there are nits to be picked, Michigan had a multiple goal lead for 47:33 of this game. 

-Brendan Brisson was the best player on the ice on Friday afternoon. He's been known for his great shot all season and it was no different against AIC. Power dropped the puck to him BELOW the dot and his just buried it from a tough angle. Beyond that, his passing was #eyeballemoji. He made multiple unbelievable passes putting teammates into scoring positions. 

-One of the more telling takeaways from this game was the offensive chance creation from the fourth line. Garrett Van Whye and Nolan Moyle got a handful of very good chances in the first period, alone. GVW was able to bury his first good look to give the Wolverines an early lead. Moyle had a chance even earlier, cutting his way to the net. Nolan also got in tight with the puck several more times, drawing the penalty that would lead to Michigan's power play goal. The fact that Michigan's "Grinder" line was able to create offense as well as their skill lines only reinforces the skill differential between the two teams in this game.

Ethan Edwards finished a filthy Brendan Brisson pass(David Wilcomes)

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

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-Once again, the new top line (Beniers/Brisson/Johnson) was buzzing and creating. For the first period+ Penn State could not hang with them at all. As the game continued on, that line got a bit fancy at times. It’s probably something that you just deal with because when it works…look out. However, it can be frustrating to watch at times. Oskar Autio did enough to keep the same close enough to give Penn State a chance in the third.

-Thomas Bordeleau returned to the ice for the first time over a month. Putting him with an improving Dylan Duke and a popping Mackie Samoskevich makes a lot of sense. While it wasn’t Bordeleau’s best game of the year (shaking off rust and adjusting to linemates, etc), Samo started to shine a few times. Duke got to the front and fought on the board. This is a line to watch going forward.

-Jimmy Lambert didn’t play tonight. The bottom six didn’t do much offensively. They did grind a bunch and kill penalties. They also took a major (HA!) setback when Nolan Moyle was DQ’d early in the first period.

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