January 18th, 2020 at 9:15 PM ^
A very impressive 2 weekends, sweeping on the road at ND and PSU ain't easy.
GO BLUE!!!
January 18th, 2020 at 9:20 PM ^
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
January 18th, 2020 at 9:41 PM ^
Is penn state good? Genuinely asking I don’t follow hockey
January 18th, 2020 at 10:07 PM ^
They were in the top 10. Big time de facto road sweep
January 18th, 2020 at 10:11 PM ^
#6 per the MGoBlue schedule page. Not sure what their source is. They were 1st in conference, now 2nd by a point, behind OSU, tied with MSU.
January 18th, 2020 at 10:35 PM ^
Actually, after the first OT ends, it is a tie in terms of the NCAA. The 2nd OT (and then a sudden death shootout) are for big 10 purposes only, for the extra point. So, Michigan got 2 points tonight (PSU got one) and UM got 5 out of a possible 6 this weekend. Not officially a sweep, but a really good weekend in the road.
January 18th, 2020 at 10:43 PM ^
Fig Things then Ped State, fantastic
January 18th, 2020 at 10:43 PM ^
Question from a non frequent observer: does this team still have a shot at an at-large bid?
January 18th, 2020 at 11:30 PM ^
Well, if we win all the rest of our games, we may have a shot.
Actually, if we win the BTT, then we don't need an at-large bid.
It seems unlikely, though. While this team may be hitting its stride, can they sustain their winning ways? I'd love to play OSU next weekend, but instead we have an exhibition against the US U-18 before that series. 10 BT games left, 8 pts back of OSU. Then WI, @MSU & Duel in the D, ND, finishing @ MN. OSU, MSU & ND currently ahead of us (PSU, too). Hopefully we can get into the top half, so we host a 1st round series.
Currently 24th in pairwise, is the big thing. We'd need to get to, say, 14th, in case of lower ranking teams winning their conference tournament and getting the automatic bid, knocking out bubble teams.
January 19th, 2020 at 4:38 PM ^
not sure they have to win out in the regular season to get the at large, which would kind of be tough anyway. If they go 7-3, and sweep in the first round, that would put them at 19-14-3, if they win the semi, they're in, even if the lose the final. If they lost the semi, they're 19-15-3, which should be good enough. They were 20-14-3 when they got in 2018 as an 8 seed. So a 13 or 14 should be doable even with a semifinal loss, but it would be tight. They cannot lose to Wisconsin, that would be only caveat.
January 19th, 2020 at 6:23 AM ^
Pairwise rankings are the best way to judge. I believe we’re at 23 after last night. You generally need to be in the top 12-14 range to get an at large spot. 16 teams make the tourney and a couple outside of that 12-14 range will win a conference tourney and get an auto bid.
Still a lot of work to do, but there are plenty of games left against quality opposition to make up ground. We were in the mid 30’s before the ND series.
January 19th, 2020 at 10:16 PM ^
Thanks all for the detailed answers!
January 18th, 2020 at 11:32 PM ^
It was funny - I wound up listening to the hockeycast last weekend (it was a long run and I wanted the content), and I could hear some tiny bit of optimism that maybe Michigan could turn it around with these games coming up. Nobody expect two sweeps but maybe some points, as the powerplay and PK were getting better and Mann was still amazing in net. So this little run they're on is pretty nice and, I hope, a sign of sustained growth.
January 19th, 2020 at 8:19 AM ^
Strauss Mann is a SOPH. people.
a Sophomre! We could have a really good run the next 2 years
January 19th, 2020 at 8:29 AM ^
IF Mann stays for another couple years, yes we could have a couple good runs. A strong netkeeper makes a world of difference.
January 19th, 2020 at 10:40 AM ^
Getting to the time of year you want to play your best hockey and this team is showing signs of coming together. Hope they can make a late season run now!
January 19th, 2020 at 12:21 PM ^
Thats Great BUT maybe to little to late..would prob have to run the table short of winning the Conference toruney to get into the NCAAs
January 19th, 2020 at 12:34 PM ^
It’s so nice to see a Michigan athletic team win some games that it’s not favored to do so, on the road, against quality opponents. That’s all we’re asking for once in a while in football and basketball right? A couple of wins where we are underdogs, have a great game and topple the giant (at least for one day)?
That was what was toughest about the loss to Iowa in BBall. M had a chance to win a game they really weren’t expected to, and came up a little short. Keep trying guys! The hockey team did it, you can too!
January 19th, 2020 at 7:09 PM ^
Whoa.