This was probably the result of a breakaway goal [Paul Sherman]

Michigan Hockey 2018-19, Game #25: Penn State 5, Michigan 2 Comment Count

David January 26th, 2019 at 10:01 PM

OFFENSE

 

Corsi

House

Possession %

First Period

30 14 64%

Second Period

13 6 36%

Third Period

21 8 48%

Overtime

n/a n/a n/a

TOTAL

64 28 50%

Analysis: Michigan played very well offensively tonight. They absolutely BLITZED the Lions in the first period, taking 14 attempts from the House. They also rang 4 posts. That pretty much summed up the first period and a lot of the night for the Wolverines. Penn State’s defense is not great, but Michigan was able to generate a lot of quality looks. Hopefully they are finding some line chemistry after the Norris injury and will continue to get chances on net in the next few weeks.

 

DEFENSE

 

Corsi

House

Possession %

First Period

17 7 36%

Second Period

23 11 64%

Third Period

23 10 52%

Overtime

n/a n/a n/a

TOTAL

63 28 50%

Analysis: Not one of the better performances from the Wolverines on the defensive end. High volumes from both the House, slot, and overall defensive third look pretty poorly. The worst part was just the continuous flow of OMRs surrendered. I stopped counting at nine, and pretty much all of those come back to the defense. Hughes had too many and Summers also played a part in a couple. Looking at the numbers, this was essentially a 50/50 game that Michigan turned into a rout because they gave away breakaways like I have never seen since I’ve been charting these statistics.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS

 

PP For

PP Against

PP Corsi For

PP Corsi Against

PP Shots/Min For

PP Shots/Min Against

First Period

0/1.5 n/a 4 n/a .66(2/3) n/a

Second Period

0/2.5 n/a 3 n/a .2(1/5) n/a

Third Period

n/a 0/2 n/a 6 n/a .5(2/4)

Overtime

n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

TOTAL

0/4 0/2 7 6 .38(3/8) .5(2/4)

Analysis: Michigan had four power plays tonight. They hit a couple of posts on their first advantage and got close to scoring on another. I would say they were unfortunate not to score on at least one of them, but they also did not create an overwhelming number of shots or chances. That’s how it goes.

Michigan did not have a penalty kill until well into the third period. Penn State did not score on their two advantages. By that point, though, the game was essentially over, and they were just seeing out the time.

 

GOALTENDING

 

Shots Faced

Shots from House Faced

First Period

8 3

Second Period

17 8

Third Period

14 6

Overtime

n/a n/a

TOTAL

39 17

Analysis: Spoiler: four of the five goals came on OMRs, including three breakaways. Fault Lavigne if you must; I refuse to do so. Maybe stop letting guys walk in alone? I guess if Patrick Roy played in college, it would be nice. Not a lot of Patrick Roy-esque goalies playing in college. Is Lavigne a Hobey finalist? No. He’s not really close, but hanging him out to dry repeatedly is not a recipe for success. Neither is it for any goalie.

 

ODD-MAN RUSHES

Defense

Rushes

Advs

Escape%

Offense

Rushes

Advs

Scoring%

1st Period

3 1v0 x2, 3v2 33%   1 3v2 0%

2nd Period

5 a lot 60%   n/a n/a n/a

3rd Period

1 2v1 100%   n/a n/a n/a

OT

n/a n/a n/a   n/a n/a n/a

Total

9(!!) 4 1v0s 55%   1 3v2 0%

Analysis: This was the game. Michigan had a 3v2 and hit the post on the rebound of a shot that was saved. Unlucky, probably. Penn State had nine OMRs. They scored on four of them. Three of the OMR goals were Hughes giveaways leading to breakaways. Summers/Lambert has 1-2. It was just sloppy and bad and burn the tape.

 

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS

I had: Michigan 64, Penn State 63

www.collegehockeynews.com had: Michigan 67, Penn State 66

Comments

Sambojangles

January 26th, 2019 at 11:10 PM ^

I didn't watch the game but the line that three goals game on Hughes giveaways really sticks with me. Was this just the game we were all kinda fearing, when his aggressive style hurt more than it helped? If he was directly responsible for three goals--ouch. Hope he can tighten it up a bit and the team can go on a run the rest of the season. Good chance to at least make it interesting with so many road games left. 

Sideline

January 28th, 2019 at 10:06 AM ^

From my point of view, Hughes went into this game with a 'cocky' edge. The announcers mentioned him saying something to one of the Penn State players along the lines of "you gonna do anything tonight?" insinuating that Hughes was going to get the better of him. That player ended up scoring the second or third goal and was felt all over the ice. 

I think it was just one of 'those games', where they had all the chances in the world in the first period to be up 3-0 or 4-0. 

The team looks significantly better than before the break.

stephenrjking

January 27th, 2019 at 12:03 AM ^

This team, man. Splitsville. Promise shown every weekend.

Honestly, they looked AWESOME in the first period. I started dreaming of a sweep, setting up a 3-point (or so) weekend in Minneapolis, that would propel the team to a tournament run where they were the low seed nobody wanted to play.

Then a bad play and a PSU goal. Then two, then three.

After the second, a Quinn giveaway, it seems like things just fell to earth and Michigan got frustrated knowing they would need to play from behind with an offense that just can't get over the hump.

Repeating what I said in the game thread: Quinn has to be frustrating to his teammates. So gifted (and perhaps he's a great guy, who can know) but he often, often tries to do everything and pays for it. With about a minute to go in the first PP Michigan tried to break out of their own end; Hughes got the puck and literally tried to deke his way past HIS OWN TEAMMATES to set up a rush. 

I love his speed, his style, his athleticism. He does so many things that are dazzling. But that stuff is just painful. It's difficult when your favorite player is also the most maddening.

I'm going to the game Friday with a bunch of friends, mostly Minnesota fans. In the fall I was looking forward to pointing out Hughes to them, explaining that he's the best player on the ice, he's amazing, you've got to watch him, something will happen.

I'll still be saying, "He's amazing, you've got to watch him, something will happen," but there's a decent chance that it will be for their team. 

East Quad

January 27th, 2019 at 8:33 AM ^

Watching the game on TV was maddening. So many defensive errors with no puck luck on offense yielded a frustration not experienced since the Wisconsin MBB game. But - Go Blue!

Get it analyzed, fix it, improve and repeat. Better days ahead.

Reggie Dunlop

January 27th, 2019 at 9:00 AM ^

A week or two ago when criticizing Hughes for regularly creating scoring opportunities for Michigan's opponents, I stopped short of saying this team will be better off when Hughes leaves. After last night...

 

This team will be better off when Hughes leaves.