shawn hunwick

Eventually, Michigan won the game (Bill Rapai)

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

What just happened (TL;DR): LOL. I can’t even. Michigan dominated 47 minutes of the game, holding a 4-1 lead. They then proceeded to give up 3 straight goals, score another at the end to take the lead, and finally cede one last time in the dying minutes to head to overtime. Seamus Casey opened and closed the scoring, garnering two goals and an assist on the evening. Gavin Brindley had two goals and two assists. Noah West had two of the best periods of his life, followed by one of the worst. In the end, Michigan wins in overtime a game they should have won (and maybe lost?) in regulation. I guess that’s progress?

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

 

Total Attempts

Even Strength

Power Play

Close (within 1)

Even Strength %

Minnesota

63

47

16

24

48%

Michigan

64

50

14

13

52%

Forward Notes.

-After looking lifeless at even strength on Friday night, Michigan came out on fire and dominated the first period, followed by most of the rest of the game. They pressed Minnesota from the drop, then back-checked well after obtaining a lead, and even added on in the third AND fought back to take the lead late. The Wolverines scored four even strength goals in different ways and pressured both Minnesota goalies all night.

-Gavin Brindley played with Dylan Duke and Rutger McGroarty. Brindley finished off a 3v3 rush after two deft passes from Dylan and Rutger to double Michigan’s lead early. He also scissored with Seamus Casey, popping out the opposite side, and firing a shot inside the far post from the slot. That was such a timely goal, as Michigan had given up a goal early in the third and the Gophers were building momentum and chances. Michigan needed a response from a star, and Gavin Brindley answered the call.

-Rutger McGroarty had himself quite a two minute stretch at the end of the third period. He grabbed a rebound off of a great shot by Jacob Truscott and lifted it over a down Nathan Airey to give Michigan a 5-4 lead with just 1:39 to go. Then, he fell asleep in the slot, allowing Luke Mittelstadt to sneak behind him for the second game-tying goal, robbing Michigan of a much needed regulation win. That has got to be the most extreme swing of emotion for one player in that short of a timespan all season. Rutger has been great for Michigan all year. That two minute stretch pretty much exemplifies the ride this season has been.

-TJ Hughes took maybe the silliest penalty all year for the Wolverines. Up 3-0 in the middle of the second period with the Gophers and their fans having zero life or jump, he cross-checked a guy from behind into the boards, earning himself an early trip to the showers and his team the only (seemingly, ha) way Minnesota was going to get back in the game…a major power play. Luckily, his teammates stepped up and bailed him out, but the question does wonder how the third plays out if Michigan has the services of one of their top two centers. That is just the situational awareness that the team in general has lacked. Regardless of if that play should have been a penalty, it was completely unnecessary.

-Mark Estapa has quietly been having himself an improved season. He got on the scoreboard, thanks to a goofy decision by normally sound Minnesota goal Justen Close. Close came out to play the puck and fired it straight to Kienan Draper. Draper sent the puck into the crease and Mark Estapa tallied, giving Michigan an not so insurmountable 3-0 lead.

Defense Notes.

-Honestly, Michigan’s defense was really, really good all night. They only allowed five shots on goal in the first period, just seventeen through two periods, and could not really be primarily faulted with any of the five (!) goals. Obviously, there are always things that could have been done better or plays anyone would want back, but Michigan pretty much kept their House and zone clean. While the third period got out of hand, this may have been the first time that I wasn’t complaining about really any defenseman’s play consistently.

-In 2010, Bryan Hogan got hurt in net, as Michigan season was falling apart around them. Walk-on Shawn Hunwick entered the net. Michigan’s team basically had a Come to Jesus moment, saying “EVERYONE…is defending HARD, tonight.” And…they did. They shut down Notre Dame, and won the game…followed by many more that season to preserve the Tournament Streak by winning the CCHA Tournament and even an NCAA Tournament game. It sorta felt like that tonight. Michigan’s skaters knew their starter was not available, and after last night’s lackluster performance, everyone to a man needed to up the ante and get the team to the finish line. And weirdly, even after checking the final scoreboard, they did…sans one forward on one play at the end of the game.

-Seamus Casey is ALIVE! After scoring in 22 of Michigan’s first 25 game, Casey has registered one point (a meaningless secondary assist) in his last eight games…until Saturday night. Casey looked much more like himself, skating, creating, and just pivoting away from guys, keeping the puck moving. He also hit the net twice on the power play and set up Gavin Brindley for his sweet snipe. This is the Seamus Casey Michigan will need for every game for the rest of the season.

-Jacob Truscott was very good on Saturday. Steve Holtz played fine. Luca Fantilli, Tyler Duke, and Marshall Warren all made plays and played very good defense. That is a very weird thing to say about a team that gave up five goals, but here we are!

you could get a solid half-hour from this photo alone

We've been sitting on this prompt for a while and there's no better time to break it out than when the top live sporting event of the week is watching The Last Dance when it first airs.

Someone please forward this post to Bob Iger. Thanks in advance.

The Last Ride

Somebody already took "Dock Ellis throws a no-hitter on LSD" so I guess I'll settle for one of the most ridiculous college football stories of our time.

Imagine the successful head football coach at a football-mad and success-starved college program gets in a one-vehicle motorcycle accident that he's fortunate to escape with minor injuries. Two days later, the coach, sporting a neck brace and a visible case of road rash, opens his press conference by thanking everyone for the support for him and his family. A Sugar Bowl hat is perched on his head.

"I don't remember a lot about exactly what happened," says the coach, before going into a detailed account of a one-man motorcycle accident.

What if I told you the coach was lying his ass off?

I am, of course, talking about Bobby Petrino's 2012 downfall at Arkansas. Mere days after that press conference, Petrino's story began to unravel. The then-51-year-old married man and father of four had not, it turned out, been alone on that motorcycle. The young woman Petrino said had stopped her car to help him after the accident? Tape of the 911 call revealed she was actually Petrino's passenger. She was also, notably, his mistress of more than a year—a 25-year-old former Arkansas volleyball player who Petrino had hired to the athletic department without disclosing his, uh, conflict of interest.

As these details emerged, Petrino was placed on administrative leave by athletic director Jeff Long. One day after a "Save Our Coach" rally drew "modest" support on campus, Long fired Petrino with cause. In a written statement, Petrino finally accepted "full responsibility" for his actions, though he also left room for self-pity:

The simplest response I have is: I’m sorry. These two words seem very inadequate. But that is my heart. All I have been able to think about is the number of people I’ve let down by making selfish decisions. I’ve taken a lot of criticism in the past. Some deserved, some not deserved. This time, I have no one to blame but myself.

Suddenly without a coach in mid-April, Long didn't have many replacement options. He turned to a man as desperate as him: John L. Smith, who'd taken two years away from coaching following his disastrous tenure at Michigan State before spending the last two seasons as the Razorbacks's special teams coach. (Yes, special teams. Not a typo.)

Smith was in such dire financial straits that he accepted a ten-month deal with 71% of his pay deferred, which aroused suspicion that he was trying to avoid his creditors. Smith filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy a week after signing the contract. The aforementioned creditors later sued Smith for fraud, accusing him of hiding his assets, and settled for $750,000.

In Petrino's final three seasons at Arkansas, the Razorbacks won 29 games. In the eight seasons since, four coaches have combined to win 37 games.

I need every salacious detail, please.

— Ace

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of our responses.]

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Fuller

The Question:

Ace: Since Michigan just had a low-key Senior Day to send off Max Bielfeldt, this seems like a good time to ask: What's your favorite Senior Day memory? (Any sport may apply.)

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The Answers:

Dave Nasternak: Back when I was in school—while Football was just starting its decade+ of beatdowns to OSU and Basketball was...well, it was pre-Beilein (mostly)- the place to be for sports in Ann Arbor was Yost. My Senior Day story(s) come from the Ice Hockey team. Hockey in the CCHA was weird. Not bad, but weird. If you were good enough -and Michigan generally was- you hosted a playoff series at home after the regular season had ended. So, while there was Senior Day, there was also Last Game At Yost Day. In the 06-07 year, TJ Hensick's Senior Day came super early.

Guest starring Jeff Tambellini. Bork!

It was February 3rd. It was the back end of a home-and-home against Western. Michigan won 3-1 but...it was relatively uneventful and everyone knew we'd see the seniors for one last series. They somehow managed to play 3 more series of road or neutral ice games before finally coming back to Yost for the CCHA Quarters. After disposing of Western in Game 1 of a best of 3, we knew Game 2 would be it.

It was really bittersweet for me. I was also a senior and while I hoped to get into Grad School at M, I thought it could be my last game at Yost, as well. TJ Hensick might have been my favorite M athlete when I was in school. He burst onto the scene as a freshman, leading the team in points. He would end up leading the Wolverines in scoring 3 of his 4 years, finishing 2nd in his sophomore year.

After his junior season, I'd read that Hensick was close to signing with the Avs, but decided to give it one more go at Yost. While the year didn't end up the way any Wolverine dreamed, Hensick had another phenomenal year. In his Last Game At Yost, Hensick didn't disappoint. He tallied 4 points, 3 of them being goals for his only career hatrick at home (I'm pretty sure). Michigan won very comfortably, 8-3. While Michigan has had a handful of great players since -Porter, Kolarik, Hagelin, Hunwick, now Hyman- there hasn't been another Mighty Mite center (especially with that kind of puck control) since. I taped Hensick's Last Game At Yost (on VHS!!) and later converted it to dvd. I still get a little choked up, watching it.

A season later, Kevin Porter's last series at Yost was also a weekend to remember, including The Day That Yost Changed. My bronze medalist might be Chris Perry's Senior Day, as I made it onto the field as a wide-eyed freshman...but I'll leave those games for someone else.

[Hit the JUMP for Swedish flags, the one that preceded Molly, and some non-hockey we swear]