OFFENSE

	Corsi	House	Possession %
First Period	6	2	40%
Second Period	21	8	64%
Third Period	17	4	63%
Overtime	8	1	73%
TOTAL	52	15	60%

• Analysis: After getting into the second period, Michigan dominated the puck and mostly controlled the game. While they didn’t get tons of shots from the House, they were still able to hold the zone and keep Marotte honest. Anthony always talks about how a high number of easy saves will keep a goalie warm. That’s pretty much what happened tonight. Michigan did have a few chances to finish at even strength, but they could not get the winner. Van Whye bombed a loose puck from the slot to tie the game. He had a similar chance to win it, but it went wide. Clarkson was not a great possession team last season, and they did a great job of keeping the puck out of the net altogether. Michigan had chances, but not enough finishes.

[Hit THE JUMP for more on the defense, special teams, goaltending, odd-man rushes, and Corsi]

DEFENSE

	Corsi	House	Possession %
First Period	9	2	60%
Second Period	12	4	36%
Third Period	10	3	37%
Overtime	3	1	27%
TOTAL	34	10	40%

• Analysis: The defense was mostly strong all night. Clarkson got a few good looks, but I’ve seen way worse in the last few years. The forwards back-checked very well, and the puck was not stranded in the Michigan zone very often. Clarkson did not look to have many difference-makers, so Michigan was able to match up however they wanted. DZTOs were kept to a minimum and breakouts were acceptably successful. York and Pehrson both looked comfortable on and off the puck, especially for freshmen. We’ll see how much offense the back end can add, but controlling their own is priority number one, and they did so tonight.

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Oof [Rapai]

SPECIAL TEAMS

	PP For	PP Against	PP Corsi For	PP Corsi Against	PP Shots/Min For	PP Shots/Min Against
First Period	0/2	1/2	10	10	1(4/4)	1(4/4)
Second Period	0/2	0/1	3	5	.25(1/4)	2(4/2)
Third Period	0/3	0/1	6	1	.6(3/5)	.5(1/2)
Overtime	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
TOTAL	0/7	1/4	19	16	.62(8/13)	1.13(9/8)

• Analysis: Woof. Michigan has struggled on the man advantage under Pearson, and it was no different tonight. Mostly dominating even strength, Michigan also had the majority of time spent up a skater. They took a big 0-for-7. They also had multiple 5v3s, and came away with a bagel. Not only did they not score, but aside from a few chances, they could not create many dangerous looks on net. That is probably the most troubling point. The Wolverines outskated the Knights, drawing penalty after penalty, yet could not consistently hold the zone and move the puck quick enough to change Marotte’s angles. Too many chances came from below the dots…even on 5v3s. Michigan should have won this game just on chances and attempts alone. However, they still have not figured out the same old bugaboo.

The Wolverines did look better on the penalty kill, however. Luce took a silly penalty near the end of one penalty kill, and the defenders ran out of gas in the second two minutes, leading to a tipped shot in front of Mann. Michigan also killed a 5v3 and stayed in their lanes much better. I guess one thing at a time?

 

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This Mann [Rapai]
 

GOALTENDING

	Shots Faced	Shots from House Faced
First Period	14	7
Second Period	11	4
Third Period	6	2
Overtime	0	0
TOTAL	31	13

• Analysis: If there was any doubt who the number one between the pipes was heading into the season, that has been put to bed. Strauss Mann looked phenomenal in the first half of the game, keeping the Wolverines in a defensive struggle. He controlled rebounds, pushed pucks to corners, moved well in the crease, and even made a few game-changing saves. Obviously, this was just one game– and we’ve seen single game standout performances in the past- but given the final couple of games of last year and now a couple games to start this year…he looks to be trending very positive.

ODD-MAN RUSHES

Defense	Rushes	Advs	Escape%	Offense	Rushes	Advs	Scoring%
1st Period	1	3v2	100%		n/a	n/a	n/a
2nd Period	1	3v1	100%		n/a	n/a	n/a
3rd Period	n/a	n/a	n/a		n/a	n/a	n/a
OT	1	2v1	100%		n/a	n/a	n/a
Total	3	3v2, 3v1, 2v1	100%		n/a	n/a	n/a

• Analysis: Michigan gave up three OMRs. Two of them were on the fringe with one needing a nice save from Mann. That’s not an ideal number, but none were super egregious. I can live with that. Michigan also did not generate an OMR. They did force a number of DZTOs, but no OMRs.

 

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS

I had: Michigan 52, Clarkson 34

www.collegehockeynews.com had: Michigan 52, Clarkson 34