OFFENSE

• Analysis: Once again, the Wolverines overwhelm a beleaguered Badger defense/goalie and get very good scoring opportunities from in and around the net. They were also the benefactors of a couple of rather soft goals surrendered by Daniel Lebedeff. Summers shot from the point seemed to slide under his pads and Pehrson’s shot was saved and somehow still fumbled into his own net…I guess? It was a a head-scratcher, for sure. The Lockwood-Beecher-Hayhurst line was very good tonight. Hayhurst also had his signature moment beating a couple of defenders and deking Lebedeff to finish in an open goal. That’s been coming all season.

DEFENSE

• Analysis: Wow, that’s some Penn State sh-yeah. Michigan did keep the majority of the Badger attempts out of the House. That’s an improvement from last night. The sheer volume might be a bit unsettling, but crazy, end-to-end games happen sometimes. Wisconsin has some extremely talented forwards, and Michigan mostly did well against them, especially tonight. There were breakdowns and failed clears for sure, but this is probably one of the more talented group of forwards (and defense pairings, for that matter) that Michigan will face.

[Hit THE JUMP for more on special teams, goaltending, and odd-man rushes]

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Analysis: Michigan took one penalty on Saturday night. Their end of the first-period kill was going very well until Martin unwittiingly tried to sneak a clear up the middle that was gloved down and eventually finished from the Gradest of A chances. In all, Michigan did a great job all weekend of not giving the Badgers many man advantages. The Wolverines got one power play and managed a decent look or two but didn’t finish either. It was a slow night on the special teams front.

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Mann devours almost everything, and when he doesn't he directs it to the right places [Scott]

GOALTENDING

• Analysis: Copy and paste. Might as well. Mann is basically the same every night. While he wasn’t standing on his head, Strauss was rock solid on almost everything he did in and around the net. Now it is extremely rare to see a misplaced rebound. He had one crazy, super late pad save on a shot that seemed destined to finally beat him. Mann denied a point-blank shot to tie with under a minute left after the game got too close He had zero chance on the goals that did go in-- Martin’s horrendous DZTO and Ciccolini’s unchecked attacker in the low slot, and Miller’s extra-attacker bomb from straight away. When not put in an impossible situation (and even sometimes then!), Mann has been great even when facing a high volume of tough scoring chances.

ODD-MAN RUSHES

• Analysis: Once again, Michigan only gives up one real 2v1. Mann was well-positioned and saved the attempt from the slot. While the Wolverines have been scoring more since the mid-season break, this is an area that can undermine that. This weekend has provided defensively sound transition play, though.  On the offensive end, Michigan created multiple chances and finished one 3v2 thanks to a beautiful cross to Slaker who sniped Lebedeff to gain a two-goal advantage. The Wolverines also had various other OMRs, even getting shots on net, which has not always happened this season. Finishing one out of four isn’t too bad.

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS

I had: Wisconsin 77(24), Michigan 74(34)

www.collegehockeynews.com had: Wisconsin 79, Michigan 75