*PSA: There will be no Breakdown on Saturday night. Yeah.*

 

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

 

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

	Total Attempts	Even Strength	Power Play	Close (within 1)	Even Strength %
Minnesota	51	48	3	9	42%
Michigan	70	54	16	9	58%

Forward Notes.

-Numbers do not tell the story, tonight, unfortunately.

-First of all, when the game was in doubt (most of the first period), Michigan could not enter the Minnesota zone. They also turned it over at the attacking blue line, leading to plural OMRs going the other way. More on that later. In the first period, Michigan got ZERO attempts from the House. We’re not even talking about shots. They could not get into the House at all and challenge Jack LaFontaine.

-Five of the Gopher defensemen are drafted…and they played like it. Once they had a lead, their in-zone defense got even better…if that’s possible. They disrupted anything Michigan tried to do in the end, deflecting pucks and anticipating passes. Michigan did not play particularly well, but Minnesota executed at an elite level.

-Alex kept chatting me about the scouting Minnesota must have done. And it looked like it. Credit Bob Matzko and his staff. They read the Wolverine entries well and took away Michigan’s dependables. They also locked down the Wolverine power play by beating Michigan to their spots…spoiler alert.

Defense Notes.

-Michigan’s defense was in disarray overall, all night. They gave up eight (!) OMRs and five in the first period and a half. Two of those were breakaways and two more were 2v1s. Usually, OMRs are addressed last, but tonight put them at the forefront. Giving talented players like Chaz Lucius and Matthew Knies great looks is a great way to bury yourself early. 

-Jacob Truscott did not have the best first period. He made a poor play in the neutral zone that lead to Minnesota’s first goal via a 2v1. Later on, he helped a beaten Luke Hughes but couldn’t contain the puck and his abandoned man finished the second goal. Luke Hughes was smoked by Knies, leading to the Lucius goal.

-Lastly, in comparison to Minnesota –who basically forced Michigan to sacrifice a limb to get near the slot- Michigan was allowing Gophers to walk into the House and Crease all night. Despite the goalies bailing them out a number of times, the Wolverines just cannot continuously cede those sorts of opportunities to a decent team…let alone and elite one like Minnesota. They paid for it all night.

 

 

 

 

SPECIAL TEAMS CHART

	PP Opportunities	PP Corsi For	PP Shots/Minute
Minnesota	0/1	3	.5(1/2)
Michigan	0/5	16	.9(9/10)

Power Play. Michigan got a few chances with a man advantage and the Gophers had them very well-scouted. The Wolverines got their customary blasts from the dot, but the Gopher PK was mostly waiting for them. Jack LaFontaine made one big cross-crease save. Michigan mostly tries to get looks from the dots and straightaway. It seemed like Minnesota knew that was was completely prepared for it. The fourth power play finally got Nick Blankenburg a Grade A look from the slot. LaFontaine denied him, though.

 

Penalty Kill. Minnesota had one power play, but it came when the game was well in hand. They created a couple of decent chances, but other than a deflected shot that trickled just wide, Michigan was able to contain them.

 

 

This seems about right (James Coller)

GOALTENDING CHART

	Michigan Shots Faced (House)	Minnesota Shots Faced (House)
First Period	14(9)	9(0)
Second Period	8(5)	8(5)
Third Period	8(6)	13(7)
Overtime	n/a	n/a
TOTAL	30(20!!)	31(12)

Notes. Erik Portillo started and was barely a footnote. While he gave up plenty of goals –and there could be arguments about him stopping one or another- he was hung out to dry with consistency. To his credit, Erik did make a number of point-blank stops, including multiple do-or-die in the transition. Noah West came in to relieve him to start the third period. FWIW, West played pretty well, stopping a breakaway and a 2v1.

 

That seems to be a pretty good look (James Coller)

ODD MAN RUSH CHART

Defense	Rushes	Advs	Escape%	Offense	Rushes	Advs	Scoring%
1st Period	4	1v0, 2v1 x2, 3v2	75%		n/a	n/a	n/a
2nd Period	1	1v0	100%		n/a	n/a	n/a
3rd Period	3	1v0, 2v1 x3	100%		n/a	n/a	n/a
OT	n/a	n/a	n/a		n/a	n/a	n/a
Total	8	1v0 x2, 2v1 x5, 3v2	87.5%		n/a	n/a	n/a

Notes. Michigan was an OMR-ceding factory on Friday night. Most of those stemmed from not being able to carry the puck into the Minnesota zone. Regardless. The Gophers just came at the Wolverines on repeat. In the first period, Minnesota had 3 in 50 seconds at one point. Portillo actually did well, stopping four rushes, including two breakaways. The Gophers did cash a 2v1 to open the scoring.

Michigan created nary an OMR on Friday.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

This is why we talked all year about how OMRs and defensive zone breakdowns can be crippling. While Michigan was able to avoid paying for them against inferior competition, that is not who walked into Yost on Friday night. Minnesota looked like they knew exactly what Michigan was going to do, and they straight up shut the Wolverines down. Michigan does have a chance to respond tomorrow, but Friday did not look like a fluke. The season still has months to go and games to play, but the list of things to to address to change is getting long.