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

 

What just happened (TL;DR): This was a very similar game to last night except: Michigan was much smoother and calmer in their own zone, not giving Lindenwood as many offensive zone Grade A chances; Michigan did not get the puck luck they did on Friday, despite still overwhelming an inferior opponent; Roni Salmenkangas was very, very good in goal for the Lindenwood Lions.

 

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

	Total Attempts	Even Strength	Power Play	Close (within 1)	Even Strength %
Lindenwood	30	28	1	18	23%
Michigan	103	94	18	66	77%

Forward Notes.

-Michigan rolled all four lines all night, and they all looked very good. Adam Fantilli scored his first and second and then only his first goal after it was changed to Dylan Duke. Fantilli is going to be tons of fun this year. Jackson Hallum stood out to me as being very calm and aware on the puck, making smart decisions.

-Once game, this was a demolition. I’m not sure I’ve seen Michigan put these numbers up since I’ve been covering them (starting in ‘15-16). 77% possession is video game stuff. Lindenwood is only playing their fourth game as a program, but…still. Obviously, the puck luck and finishing weren’t there as much, but holy buckets. Getting this many chances…and dangerous chances…bodes very well going forward.

Defense Notes.

-Almost every defenseman made one discernible mistake…but not much more than that. They were much better in their own zone, not giving the puck away very often. The defensemen were also under control and stayed more positionally sound than on Friday night. This was the game that was hoped for and then played by the blueliners.

-Seamus Casey got his the first goal of his career, going bar down to lengthen the Wolverine lead to 3-1. Aside from misplaying the one puck at the blue line that lead to Lindenwood goal, Steve Holtz was much better all over the ice. Luke Hughes was his normal high-flying self…with only a couple bad mistakes. Jay Keranen got a lot of run, again. He looks like he’ll be the seventh defenseman.

 

Adam Fantilli with the SNIPE! (Bill Rapai)

 

SPECIAL TEAMS CHART

	PP Opportunities	PP Corsi For	PP Shots/Minute
Lindenwood	0/2	1	.25 (1/4)
Michigan	1/5	18	1.5 (9/6)

Power Play. The Wolverines power play was not as dominant as it was on Friday, but they still created plenty of chances, especially in their first couple of advantages. They continued their X Formation when on the 5v3, and it paid off for Adam Fantilli who buried the first goal of his Michigan career. Michigan switched to that formation during the year, last season, and it worked a few times. Glad to see it sticking.

 

Penalty Kill. Michigan had two penalty kills and pretty much controlled the puck the entire time. The Wolverines did not seem to be at a disadvantage when they were down a skater. Lindenwood set up their power for a bit on their second advantage, but the Lions didn’t really threaten at all.

 

 

Here’s to you, Roni Salmenkangas (Bill Rapai)

GOALTENDING CHART

	Michigan Shots Faced (House)	Lindenwood Shots Faced (House)
First Period	3 (3)	16 (9)
Second Period	7 (5)	17 (12)
Third Period	7(5)	8 (6)
Overtime	n/a	n/a
TOTAL	17	41

Notes. Erik Portillo bounced back with a much better game on Saturday evening. He had better rebound control (for the most part), sprung a transition chance, and even had a nifty poke check. This was not One Of Those Performances because he did not have a ton to do for most of the game, but he was much better than Friday evening…which was to be expected.

His counterpart, Roni Salmenkangas was very, very good and stole much of the show. He made 38 saves facing 41 shots against a Top 10 team on the road, including MANY high danger chances. Great performance.

 

Michigan got in their own way a couple too many times in transition (Bill Rapai)

ODD MAN RUSH CHART

Defense	Rushes	Advs	Escape%	Offense	Rushes	Advs	Scoring%
1st Period	1	1v0	0%		1	2v1	0%
2nd Period	3	1v0, 3v1, 3v2	100%		2	1v0, 3v2	0%
3rd Period	n/a	n/a	n/a		n/a	n/a	n/a
OT	n/a	n/a	n/a		n/a	n/a	n/a
Total	4	1v0 x2, 3v1, 3v2	75%		3	1v0, 2v1, 3v2	0%

Notes. Lindenwood’s best scoring chances came in transition. They got a couple breakaways –including one they converted following a botched play by Steve Holtz, one of his only gaffes of the evening. Erik Portillo came out to shut down the second break, a 3v1, AND another 3v2. It’s sometimes difficult to not give up OMRs when you constantly have the puck in the offensive end. However, I’m sure this will be a coaching point going forward.

Michigan generated a few of their own on the offensive end, as well. Samo and Fantilli created their third of the season, but couldn’t score. Luke Hughes also broke in alone, but was denied by the glove.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Michigan was absolutely dominant on the weekend. They made some errors on Friday, but they cleaned most of the up on Saturday. That’s exactly what you want to see from a young, promising, well-coached team. Bounce-back efforts are a good judge of character and attention to detail. That’s exactly what Michigan delivered on Saturday…without dipping their offensive chances. Awesome. It’s going to be fun against the Terriers of BU next Friday at 7pm.