disappointment

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

What just happened (TL;DR): Michigan turned in another stinker performance in a national semifinal. While they did generate some chances in the last couple of periods, they just gave away chances in transition like no other. Unfortunately, Erik Portillo’s (probable) last game in the Michigan crease was probably his worst. He got banked twice and flat out missed a harmless shot from the boards. Quinnipiac played much steadier and and stronger in their zone, waiting for Wolverine mistakes. This year, they came in torrents and the Bobcats pounced and feasted.

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-Quinnipiac got the game style and scoring sequence that they wanted in the first two periods. They all but erased Michigan’s offense from their forward lines. The bottom three lines for Michigan mostly went unnoticed as they collectively managed just five shots on net all evening. Depth scoring has been something that the Wolverines got for enough of the year, but they struggled just to get a puck on Yaniv Perets all night. Eric Ciccolini did ring the iron in the third period, probably Michigan’s best chance in the final stanza.

-After having a rough first period, the top line did kick it into gear and generated plenty of chances in the second (not quite as many in the third). Adam Fantilli scored a typical blast from the dot in the second period to tie it after Luke Hughes teed him up nicely. Rutger McGroarty and Gavin Brindley both had great chances to get on the board all night. This was not a vintage Michigan offensive night –thanks mostly to suffocating Bobcat defense, but the top line did a lot. Hopefully, it’s not the last time we see them together.

-There’s really not a whole lot that’s been left unsaid. Look, Adam Fantilli is the best player I’ve seen at Michigan. Kyle Connor was great, but Adam is at a different level. He also has that MacKinnon fire and competitiveness. He scored and somehow his the underside of the bar without scoring. He creates, he muscles, he dishes…he backchecks. He stayed in the middle of the ice looking around and waving to the fans after the game. That doesn’t mean it’s a done deal that he’s leaving…but it easily could be, too. I wouldn’t blame him. Either way, Adam, (if you’re reading this), it’s been amazing watching you all year. I’ll be hard pressed to not get your jersey when you’re tearing up the NHL.

Defense Notes.

-WOOF. The in-zone defense wasn’t the worst it’s been all season, but it was inconsistent, especially early. They did settle down a bit as the game progressed. The transition tracking was pretty horrendous, though. That will be discussed later.

-Unfortunately for Luke Hughes, his last game in Maize and Blue will be a haunting one. He’s been tremendous and other-worldly many times in his career. On Thursday night in Tampa, though…it was rough. Not only did he turn the puck over too many times, he also got toasted on the Jacob Quillan breakaway goal. Just afterwards, he left a QCat alone at the top of the crease for an easy deflection that ultimately went high. Now, ESPN reported that he was regurgitating consumables into a trash can behind the bench…so that could easily have had some impact, ha. Luke did make an awesome dish for Adam Fantilli for his game-tying blast from the dot. Luke has been quite the interesting case in his career. Many highs and lows. It’s unfortunate for it to end like this.

-On a much more positive note, Seamus Casey was the best non-Adam Fantilli player on the ice for Michigan. His Makar-esque goal in the first period, dancing through basically every yellow sweater before slipping the puck around Perets temporarily tied the game. He also shook another Bobcat and drew a penalty, getting into the slot. Casey also used his body well to keep the puck in the zone and not be out-muscled by a larger opposing forward. That is a really good sign. The shakes and dekes are expected…adding some body positioning to win a physical battle at the blue line is +++.  He could have been at fault for OMRs, but I didn’t see any specifically…but on a night when there were like a million, everyone probably was at one point

[Upchurch]

Do you regret not going for it or—excuse me, let me rephrase this. Do you regret not punting on 4th and 4 in the fourth quarter instead of going for it and possibly pinning the Buckeyes deep in their own territory?

“We had a good play called. Wish we could have executed it better but wanted to be aggressive, wanted to attack there. Now, we don’t pick it up, easy to say wish we would have punted it, but… I felt good with the call. Felt good with the decision.”

John [was] real emotional just a minute ago talking about how much this game meant for the senior class and not being able to get it done. Can you assess his performance and the emotions that go into this game as well?

“Yeah, emotional game played by emotional guys. I have the same regret. Wish the seniors could have gone out with the win.”

You had it rolling at 14-0. What, in your mind, changed after that?

“Think both teams played well. They made plays, we made plays. They made—that was their part of the ballgame where they cracked a few runs and the quarterback got out and made a play. We had a few mistakes offensively, we had a few mistakes defensively and… think we had a few more than they did.”

[After THE JUMP: what happened on the interception; DPJ: do-stuff-right guy; how close Peters was to going]

1/29/2009 – Michigan Not That Many, Ohio State Many – 14-7, 4-5 Big Ten

You're just an old man. And you don't appear to be a 6'10" shotblocking menace, either. Jerk!

Well, that appears to be that. Other than Iowa and Northwestern there doesn't appear to be a game on the schedule Michigan should win. Michigan's schedule is way backloaded and they could not afford to lose to Penn State or get swept by Ohio State and lose at home to Wisconsin.  It's asking too much of them to win another five Big Ten games and arrive at the magic .500 conference record: it's the NIT for us.

And that's disappointing, sure, but they were supposed to be an NIT team when the year started and will be one when it finishes. Ekpe Udoh's transfer left… well, you know the deal. You've seen the team play in the Big Ten. Sometimes it looks like a really good AAU team has wandered onto the court in Michigan's uniforms. Sometimes Kelvin Grady ends up trying to check a seven-footer under the basket. They're too small and young and all that.

There isn't that much more to say. The problems are glaring. The starting power forward is a 6'4" freshman. They were 0-11 from 3 in the first half and are now 222nd in the country in three-point shooting at a measly 32.5%. They're sixth in number of threes launched and that number keeps going up. (It's now at 47.3%.) Whatever mojo they had earlier is obviously gone and doesn't seem like it's coming back. The defense is really terrible for obvious reasons.

I feel like I'm repeating myself. Does it feel like I'm repeating myself? I don't have much to say about the team other than "well, obviously." That Indiana game was a clear as day warning, and I said this then and said it now. I appear to be out of things to say re: this team.

It's just too bad it was a mirage.

Bullets

• Novak should be suspended a game for the elbow.
• Harris is proving he's a good player who's nowhere near ready for the NBA of late: 3-18 in his last two games and though he put up 22 and 12 against Ohio State those came with ten(!) turnovers. The ultimate crap scenario is for Michigan to miss the tourney and then for one (or even both) of the stars to leave. I think that's getting less likely as we continue and they play more and more poorly, but stranger things have happened.
• I guess I don't understand the offense when it so often finds one guy inside the arc and four guys spaced around the three point line. Other teams will cut to the basket with much greater frequency. Is that by design? Or does it just reflect on the general youth of the team?
• I don't even know if the team is going to be any better defensively next year. They'll get Morgan and McLimans and Cronin and should return everyone except the sparingly-deployed Jevohn Shepherd, but man, all three of those big men are major projects.
• What happened to LLP? Yeesh.