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

What just happened (TL;DR): Michigan blew another one goal lead late in the third against the high-powered Gophers. This time, though, they played them much better throughout the game and probably deserved a win in regulation. Just got beat on two plays late. Jacob Truscott did the point-rescuing in overtime with his game-winner and second goal of the game. Winning in regulation one of the last couple nights would have been preferred, but getting 3 of 6 points in Minneapolis this year is a good weekend.

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-Gavin Brindley and Adam Fantilli were again popping all evening. Brindley created the first goal, zooming by a guy and getting a chance on net. Fantilli followed him and fired the puck into the open short-side. Brindley is FAST, man. Jackson Hallum basically did the same thing, creating a rebound and open net for Fantilli one period later. After a slower series last night, Adam Fantilli appears to be front and center again!

-Mackie Samoskevich also had a very nice game, creating chances and shots all evening. Unfortunately, he left the ice holding his shoulder, and it didn’t look good. There has been no official word as of the time I am typing this. Moving Samoskevich to the second line was a brilliant move by Naurato. The second line with TJ Hughes and Rutger McGroarty looked dangerous all game, despite not scoring. That gave Michigan two very good, fast, dangerous lines. Hopefully, Samo is okay and able to play next weekend. If so, those top two lines should remain the same.

Defense Notes.

-Once again, Michigan defense looked pretty good for most of the game, making smart, smooth plays to get out of the zone and keep the high flying Gophers out of dangerous areas. They just got beat a couple of times behind the net that both led to goals. Good teams take advantage of the opportunities they get. That’s what Minnesota did. Logan Cooley beat Ethan Edwards to the dot to erase the icing call. Then Bryce Brodzinski beat Dylan Duke to the slot to finish the game-tying goal.

-On the offensive side, Jacob Truscott is on a tear. He stepped into the slot and fired a snipe to give Michigan a 4-3 lead, late in the second period. He backed that up with his OT winner, walking inside the dot. He now has three goals in his last three games. Ethan Edwards also opened the scoring with his speed, getting into the slot on a 4v3 (spoiler). Edwards also made a number of good exits with his skating.

-I’m not convinced that Luke Hughes, Seamus Casey, and Ethan Edwards shouldn’t each be on their own pairing going forward. I liked that a lot.

SPECIAL TEAMS CHART

Power Play. Michigan finally held zone time and created a handful of decent looks on their last advantage. They just couldn’t hit the net. Before that, though…woof. Their first couple of power plays were yawns. They had an All You Can Eat Five Minute power play to start the third period, and they created almost nothing. Worse than that, they gave away multiple prime scoring chances, including a couple of rushes. Ugh. BAD! Hopefully, this was just an outlier, and it gets back on track next weekend.

Penalty Kill. Michigan gave up a very easy, quick goal on their second penalty, highlighted by Aaron Huglen being allowed to walk from the corner to the crease. Adam Fantilli also did not crash down. The rest of their kills were actually very good. They took overlapping calls and were forced to kill some 5x3 and did a pretty good job on that. They also wiped out an early Minnesota man advantage with ease, surrendering nothing in a dangerous area. It’s starting to feel like a better penalty kill with one or two complete breakdowns….sorta of like the general feel of the defense. I supposed that is kind of progress.

Erik Portillo held strong to give Michigan a chance on Saturday (Marc-Gregor Campredon)

GOALTENDING CHART

Notes. Once again, Erik Portillo gave up four goals and still played pretty well. Maybe he would like the second goal on a Minnesota power play back? But Aaron Huglen was allowed to walk from the corner to the crease without being bothered at all. Yes, it went 5 Hole, but Adam Fantilli was just watching from the slot, and Huglen was basically in the crease. Hard to put that on a goalie. The other three goals were two bang-bang plays made by beaten skaters and one deflection off the post and in. Portillo didn’t have a SC Top Ten save, but he had plenty of expected saves all game, especially on the penalty kill. He did take a silly “slashing” penalty on Matthew Knies as he skated through the crease in the first period. However, if Michigan gets this Portillo going forward, they will have little to complain about.

Ethan Edwards tallied the opening goal on a 4v3 (Marc-Gregor Campredon)

ODD MAN RUSH CHART

Notes. Michigan gave up three OMRs on Saturday night. Erik Portillo made two big saves (one of the them a lucky bounce) to shut down a couple of the transition chances for the Gophers. The first 2v1 went off of the inside of Erik’s skate and JUST wide of the far post. Whew.

Michigan took advantage of their speed on the larger ice and created many OMRs. Ethan Edwards joined a 3v3 and finished a chance from the slot to open the scoring. After that, the only real scary rush for Michigan was Luke Hughes firing in alone on a breakaway. He waited just a bit too long and was way too wide when he finally took his chance. Overall, though, getting six OMRs is a impressive positive going forward.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Last night I used this space to praise Minnesota. I still think nothing differently. But, Michigan skated with them and arguably outplayed them on Saturday night…until those last two individual races. It definitely sucks to not finish either game and get a win in regulation. However, they kept their heads up and won one of the games in OT that essentially served as a weekend split. There are still some wobbles on the team, but they are getting better. They do need to close games out better…or just score on a long power play and not let it get to that point. At some point, they need a sweep. Next week hosting Penn State sounds like a good time for that. Both games are at 7pm. Friday on BTN+ and Saturday on BTN.