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

What just happened (TL;DR): Michigan’s grinders dunked a couple of garbage area goals from defensemen. Erik Portillo bounced back and should have had a shutout if not for a baseball goal from Jagger Joshua at the very end. Dylan St Cyr played well, again, against Michigan, but it wasn’t quite enough. Michigan returned the 2-1 favor from Michigan State last night.

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-Corsi says this was a pretty even game, but I believe that has some score effects to it. Michigan had much more dangerous chances until the third period when they had a plural goal lead and Erik Portillo was on top of his game. Michigan went into lockdown mode and dared Michigan State to unlock them…and the Spartans could not. When the game was in question, Michigan created the better opportunities and came very close to getting another goal or two. Dylan St Cyr played well, again, and kept Michigan State within a long shot to win until the waning moments.

-Once again, it’s the Dirty Work Dudes, Dylan Duke and TJ Hughes. Duke deflected a Hughes shot on the power play, and TJ Hughes raced down the ice and finished a beautiful pass at the back post. Hughes has really popped so far this year, being put in tremendous positions to succeed. He’s been an enlightenment. TJ is up to 9-10-19, over a point per game. Yikes.

TJ Hughes and Dylan Duke do the dirty work

Defense Notes.

-Michigan’s in-zone defense was tremendous, again. They didn’t give up any real Grade A chances until late in the third when MSU really went all out. Also, despite a few stray rebounds from Erik Portillo, guys tied up Spartan attacker and cleared loose pucks. They also broke out of their zone with crisp, smart passes. Everyone seemed under and control and in rhythm. This was one of Michigan’s better defensive games of the year. I’ve ripped on Luke Hughes enough this season, but he was great in the defensive end all night.

-While Seamus Casey continues to be an amazement all over the ice, this bullet point goes to Keaton Pehrson. He’s fallen down the depth chart a bit as a senior, now fighting for minutes on the third pairing. Tonight, he made a phenomenal pass from one wing to the back post to hit TJ Hughes for the game-winning goal. Pehrson has never really been an offensive defenseman, but tonight, he made the pass of the night.

Duke in his office (Bill Rapai)

SPECIAL TEAMS CHART

Power Play. The stats don’t reflect it, but Michigan was weirdly effective on the power play. They moved the puck really well and created numerous chances that just could not find the net on the first advantage. On the second, they finally got the bounce as Luke Hughes hit Dylan Duke in the shoulder/arm and it deflected behind Dylan St Cyr. The rest of Michigan’s power plays weren’t as productive, but they also didn’t need to be. In fact, they used their fifth advantage just to kill two of the remaining five minutes.

Penalty Kill. Again, Michigan did a really nice job of short-circuiting the Spartan power play. They kept MSU to the edges and cleared the puck quickly and efficiently. Erik Portillo killed off the third power play, making a few very nice saves, while defensemen tied up attackers looking for rebounds. Jagger Joshua did finally hit a home run off a high bouncing rebound with five seconds left to get MSU on the board. It didn’t impact the outcome, though.

A little bit found (Bill Rapai)

GOALTENDING CHART

Notes. Erik Portillo had a much needed bounce-back effort. Most of the chances he faced in the first couple periods were from distance and easily tracked. He made the biggest save of the game on a breakaway by Daniel Russell. In the third period, Michigan State upped their game and offensive pressure. Erik Portillo rose to the occasion and made all of the plays. Jagger Joshua finally beat him on a baseball swing with a few seconds left to spoil the shutout. After his rough go in East Lansing, this was a breath of fresh air result for the Big Swede.

ODD MAN RUSH CHART

Notes. Michigan got a little unlucky, as they turned the puck over in the offensive zone just as their power play ended. That resulted in a nice stretch pass to Daniel Russell. Erik Portillo arguably came up with his biggest blocker save of the evening on that chance.

Somehow, Michigan was able to finagle a 3v1 on a penalty kill. That’s not that easy to do. Jackson Hallum’s speed created it, and he JUST missed hitting Gavin Brindley backdoor for a shortie. Following MSU’s breakaway Seamus Casey sprung Rutger McGroarty on his own breakway. He beat St Cyr but not the crossbar.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In the end, a split was probably the most likely outcome…especially without Adam Fantilli. Michigan probably played well enough to get the sweep, but they could not do enough on Friday. Saturday was basically the same, without the goofy Portillo goals. The only issue is that Michigan gained no ground on, well, anyone, really. That will need to change starting next month. Until then, there will be a month of rest, practice, hopefully growth, and getting consistent. See you in mid-January.