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

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-Unlike Friday night where Michigan got a number of Grade A chances but didn’t finish them (some wide and other robbed by Dobes), the Wolverines rarely created many good looks or challenged Jakub Dobes at all. The ice, once again, probably did not help, but the Buckeyes mostly kept their prized goalie clean, and he was able to snuff out everything Michigan threw at him at even strength.

-The second period was just a mess. There were so many penalties or Maybe Penalties and reviews and stoppages. Neither team really got anything going 5v5. It was not a very fun watch from any perspective.

-Let’s be real. Michigan was down some players. Thomas Bordeleau didn’t play again. Obviously Owen Power and Kent Johnson are gone for the rest of 2021. They also lost defenseman Steve Holtz to an injury last night. The fact that they got through the first 48 minutes with a chance to tie/win should be a testament to the team. However…

Defense Notes.

-The issue I will have with this game is that after the third or fourth goal went in, they just ran out of gas. That’s reasonably understandable. After that though, they did seem to spend a lot of energy scuffling and fighting and that is exactly what Ohio State wanted. Starting with the slush/ice, they wanted this game (especially after last night) to be a mess and brawl…and that’s how it ended. Michigan at times can become undone and get talked into dumb penalties and silly scrums. While “that is hockey” can be true to an extent, getting multiple misconducts and ejections is not a great look…especially in this sort of situation

-I did not see Jacob Truscott after the first half of the game or so. He is in contention for Team USA, but if he doesn’t make it, he will be a huge part of Michigan’s GLI games. If he’s hurt, though…and not knowing Holtz’s health, might Michigan have to look at the Club Hockey roster? We’ll see, I guess.

-Jack Summers played his second game in a row and Keaton Pehrson was finally in the lineup again for the second time since mid November. Neither looked great. Summers had a very rough opening few minutes, costing Michigan a goal, and then committing a DZTO that was essentially an in-zone breakaway. He also knocked Patrick Guzzo into Noah West that started the biggest brawl of the night. Both will be called upon in a couple weeks to play big minutes in the GLI.

Nick Blankenburg found a new friend with whom he could celebrate (@MVictors)

SPECIAL TEAMS CHART

Power Play. There were many power plays for Michigan on Saturday night. They looked competent on maybe a couple of them. With no Power, Bordeleau, and Johnson things looked out of sync for the most part. Guys are playing in unusual spots. New players are being forced into action, as well. Finally, Samoskevich hit an open Blankenburg in the slot, who got Michigan in the board late in the second period. The Wolverines had a five minute all-you-can-eat power play after the game was done.  They did nothing with it.

Penalty Kill. Michigan took a bunch of penalties and paid for it right away. Jack Summers did not come down to check Travis Treloar below the goalline, and he walked into the crease and beat Portillo’s poke check finishing far post to open the scoring. After that, though, the Wolverine penalty kill was pretty good. Erik Portillo made a few big saves, but he mostly wasn’t facing very dangerous looks. On a night where everything went wrong, the penalty kill was acceptable.

Noah West got in the game for the second time in two weeks (James Coller)

GOALTENDING CHART

Notes. Erik Portillo played most of the game until it got out of hand at 5-1. For what it’s worth, I thought Portillo did a good job keeping his disjointed team in the game for 48 minutes or so. Despite being down 2-0, he made a handful of big saves in transition and on the penalty kill. As stated previously, the defense was not the cleanest on Saturday night. Once the third goal went in, he was probably done. Ohio State tallied a couple more in less than a minute and it was time for Noah West. Alex and I will probably debate the first goal on the power play. Perhaps Portillo could have been better, but anytime someone walks into the crease, I struggle to criticize the goalie. He had no shot on the next three goals at all.

ODD MAN RUSH CHART

Notes. The Wolverines gave up three really good chances off of OMRs. Just a few minutes into the game, Hughes was roasted by Dunlap on a 3v2, Keranen kinda came over to help but couldn’t get back to his guy, and the pass across was finished by Eric Cooley to make it 2-0. Later on, Portillo made big saves on a 2v1 and a breakaway to keep Michigan vaguely in the game.

Mike Pastujov had the only good look for Michigan in transition. He walked in on a breakaway and was stoned by Jakub Dobes. Scoring on that might have changed the game, but the Wolverines were already on razor-thin margins.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The short-handed Wolverines started really slowly, giving away two goals in the first ten minutes. Then, the game ground to a half for about the next 30 minutes. After getting back within one, everything just fell apart with about 12 minutes to go in the game. Then, they fought, scuffled and slogged through the final few minutes despite the contest being decided. It would have been nice to push this game to OT and grab some extra points, but OSU almost always splits, and the did it to Michigan this weekend, too. It’s been a roller coaster first half with more ups than downs, but there are still plenty of issues to fix. I think we could all use a couple weeks to rejuvenate and recover.