Michigan Hockey Game #42: Denver 3, Michigan 2 (OT)
CLICK HERE for Game Recap from Kristy McNeil and other pertinent information.
FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)
|
|
Total Attempts |
Even Strength |
Power Play |
Close (within 1) |
Even Strength % |
|
Denver |
68 |
56 |
12 |
51 |
50% |
|
Michigan |
57 |
57 |
0 |
57 |
50% |
Catch Up: Michigan mostly laid back and tried not to get into a firefight with Denver. The Pioneers kill with speed and stretch passes...something that Michigan has been vulnerable to when they get aggressive. Instead, it was a lower event game that came down to a couple of bounces and one bad DZTO. Erik Portillo saved what was trending to be a poor game after the first period and turned it into a solid performance. Sucks for Jimmy Lambert losing that puck in his own zone at the end. He's been a rock defensively in his career.
Forward Notes.
-The Hero Line was not very noticeable until overtime. Usually they are at a huge talent advantage when they are on the ice. That was not the case, on Thursday evening, though. They played well in their own zone, especially Matty Beniers. In overtime, I thought they pressed the issue more and got some good looks at getting a winner. I just wish the plan would have been to be more aggressive earlier.
-Michigan's best line all night was their third line. Mackie Samoskevich was very explosive, creating chances flying into the zone. Johnny Beecher was very good, setting up Samo on a number of his looks. Dylan Duke chipped in nicely, as well. That line will be really fun...next year, unfortunately.
-Thomas Bordeleau might have been Michigan's best player on the ice. He's just a wizard with the puck. Not only did he make great passes to move the puck, but he put guys in positions all night. Then, when the Wolverines were down in the third, he collected a loose puck on a rush and sweetly finished a tight chance to tie the game. IF this is his last game in the Maize and Blue, he's been great fun to watch.
-Again, the Blue Collar line scored! Nolan Moyle stabbed a puck deflecting off of a referee and cut a sharp pass to Jimmy Lambert in front who finished to tie the game at 1, early in the second period. After not filling the net much all year, it was enjoyable to see the fourth line contribute six goals in three NCAA Tournament games.
-Give props to Denver. They are a very good team. They played really well in their own zone, back-checking, blocking shots, and not giving away many Grade A chances. Michigan had to earn everything it got offensively.
Michigan had to do a bit too much of this unfortunately (David Wilcomes)
Defense Notes.
-This was an odd game for Michigan's defense. Usually, they are puck-rushing, pinching, and driving offense. Hughes and Blankenburg have 17 and 14 goals respectively. In Boston, they were very conservative. It's not like they never attacked, but they only pushed the issue when it was obvious or a very easy decision. They weren't terrible in their own end...at least after the first half of the first period. For the majority of the game, the defense was very responsible, not giving away very much. They only allowed 33 shots on net. In overtime, the defense was almost perfect...until the one DZTO that lead to the winner. Jourdan Lewis deflected every fade, too...until the last one. It sucks when one is too many.
-Honestly, it's a bummer to watch Michigan lose on a DZTO when the game plan was to be conservative. This was the most dynamically skating, shooting, scoring defense I can remember, and the game plan was be conservative. Could Denver have won a track meet? Sure. Could Michigan? Absolutely. Maybe I'm the aggressive type, but I would just rather lose getting beat at what I do best.
SPECIAL TEAMS CHART
|
|
PP Opportunities |
PP Corsi For |
PP Shots/Minute |
|
Denver |
0/3 |
12 |
8/6 |
|
Michigan |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
Power Play. Michigan did not get a power play on Thursday evening. Lol. I'm not saying that there were many missed calls (at least in regulation), but a 3-0 advantage seems a bit...iffy. Michigan also didn't press the issue on offense like they normally do, so there is some merit to that. Jump-shooters don't gets the fouls that drivers get...but still. I get that it was overtime, but there were a couple of chances to give the Wolverines at least one advantage. Apparently, nothing was blatant enough, though. Alright.
Penalty Kill. Once again, Michigan's penalty kill comes to play. They had a relatively smooth kill on DU's first power play. Erik Portillo was a Swedish Wall on the second man advantage, making five saves in two minutes. The Wolverines had a great team kill on the third, barely allowing Denver a chance to threaten. This was one of the biggest wins for the Wolverines on the season. They took their one of their weakest elements and turned it into one of their biggest strengths.
Erik Portillo had some rebound troubles early, but was really good after that. (David Wilcomes)
GOALTENDING CHART
|
|
Michigan Shots Faced (House) |
Denver Shots Faced (House) |
|
First Period |
7 (1) |
4 (0) |
|
Second Period |
9 (4) |
5 (2) |
|
Third Period |
10 (6) |
5 (3) |
|
Overtime |
7 (4) |
7 (3) |
|
TOTAL |
33 (15) |
21 (8) |
Notes. Erik Portillo had a rough first period. He only had to make seven saves, but he gave up four juicy rebounds. One of those cost him, as Brett Stapley flew down the slot and finished in the wide open net giving the Pioneers a 1-0 lead. After that, thought...I thought he was brilliant. He made saves all evening keeping Michigan in the game, including multiple on Denver's second power play. He also stood tall in the third period, keeping the Wolverines tied just to get to overtime. The second goal was tipped in the slot and redirected. Portillo also made the first stop from point-blank range before the winner. He's had rebound control issues all year, but he's also made more do-or-die saves than anyone else I can remember (at least right now). Erik will definitely want that first one back, but Michigan doesn't get to overtime (or the Frozen Four) without him.
Thomas Bordeleau played quite a game and got Michigan into overtime (David Wilcomes)
ODD MAN RUSH CHART
|
Defense |
Rushes |
Advs |
Escape% |
Offense |
Rushes |
Advs |
Scoring% |
|
1st Period |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
|
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
|
2nd Period |
1 |
3v2 |
100% |
|
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
|
3rd Period |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
|
1 |
2v1 |
100% |
|
OT |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
|
1 |
2v1 |
0% |
|
Total |
1 |
3v2 |
100% |
|
2 |
2v1 x2 |
50% |
Notes.
Michigan entered this game with a plan to limit Denver's transition chances. And they did. To one. They succeeded in executing their game plan. Arguably, it came at the cost of creating their usual volume of offensive shots and chances.
The Wolverines were able to catch the Pioneers in transition twice. Mike Pastujov and Thomas Bordeleau raced in on a 2v1. After a deflected shot/pass, Bordeleau scooped up the puck and beat Magnus Chrona to tie the game at two halfway through the third. Bordeleau also flew in on a 2v1 with Luke Hughes in overtime, but Luke kept the puck and buried it into Chrona's chest. I guess Michigan won the Transition Game, arguably...but did it cost them the game in the end? I guess we'll never know.
Sigh. (David Wilcomes)
FINAL THOUGHTS
I guess it's arguable that the conservative approach worked...for a while. But Michigan has been a firewagon team all year...and I just would have liked to see them get beat at what they do best. Push your defensemen forward, take chances, and make Chrona have an elite game. Denver definitely played well in their own end, but it was frustrating watching Michigan not firing away and trying to out-chance the Pioneers. In the end, Denver's talented players made more plays than Michigan's talented players in a lower event, minimal dangerous chance affair.
Michigan is going to get really talented players. They're going to win games and maybe -MAYBE- finally finish off a season again in glory. But I'm fairly certainly they'll never have a team like this ever again.
Poop. Just poop
I just don’t understand the game plan. Changing the way you played all year in the most important game of the year makes zero sense. And that showed in full relief in that dreadful 1st period. Mel and the staff will think about this one for a long time. As will we all.
A few years back here on the east coast we saw the NY Red Bulls win supporters shields, be the best team in the regular season only to change their style in the playoffs and lose. They did it more than once. Everyone who cared shook their heads in wonder. RBNY just flat out overthought their strategy for no good reason. At least Mel was trying to prevent the mistakes from the last game (and maybe a few others before that) but in hindsight it didn’t work.
and this is the part that hurts the most: But I'm fairly certainly they'll never have a team like this ever again.
there will be other chances, but not other teams like this. hate losing, but especially when this was such a unique team and chance.
Yeah, still nothing but excruciating pain.
Honestly felt like the game plan was finally working in overtime, as we absolutely dominated most of the play. Just felt like they had to not make the big mistake and the weight of our chances would eventually break through. Instead, we made a horrific mistake.
When Michigan had a flurry of awesome looks and couldn't get one in, it felt like it was inevitable that Denver would get a stupid goal sooner or later
When you put it like that, it feels like a Wings playoff game the last few seasons they had a playoff team - just couldn't get the breaks.
Trying to figure where Portillo stands amongst Michigans goalies all time. Tonight wasnt his best night, but I can only recall Erik getting pulled maaaybe once or twice? His puck handling adventures were terrifying from time to time but largely Erik was a rock night in and night out. Extremely steady. Im a tiny Jesus fan for life but I’d take Portillo in net if I had to choose. Best since Montoya? Turco?
Racine and Hunwick maybe.
He had very few games where he had to be the better goalie this year.
The game last night tells his story. If you believe you have the best goalie on the ice you play high event/high pressure hockey.
He was a good goalie for Michigan. And that’s ok. Loss wasn’t on him. Coaching staff didn’t give him a chance to win it or lose it.
He played as well as Denver’s goalie. If we had utilized our talent to trade pressure we likely would be celebrating today.
This was every bit the heartbreak we thought it would be if they lost, especially in OT.
Thats not to say that they were clearly the better team on the ice: they started badly, had a rough last half of the third when they got called for a couple of penalties, and weren’t so dominant during their periods of superior play that it looked like they would destroy the world.
But that made it a tossup game. And we’ve lost a lot of those.
I do feel like the staff/team got thrown off by the end of the Q game. It wasn’t just a reminder; they spent the next 1.5 weeks trying to correct the problems instead of just practicing and shoring some stuff up. They debuted a brand new breakout for the first period to counter Denver’s forecheck, and it didn’t work. They skated Hughes and Power together for the first time (and, sadly, the last time) ever.
They had a lot of time to prep and overdid it, in my opinion. We saw the quotes from Mel about drilling D-zone coverage and such; the team that came out tonight looked nothing like the team that had come out flying in every other game this postseason, all to avoid making defensive mistakes and giving up a lead that happened anyway.
So if there’s a regret to me, that’s kind of what it is. But that’s sports. They fought and came back and tied it and were controlling play in OT and got great chances.
And, of course, the goal went the other way.
Because it always goes the other way. The pursuit of a tenth national title is an image of Sisyphus rolling that rock up a hill season after season. He reaches the top, daring to hope that he is about to complete his task. But, always, at the last moment the rock slips from his grasp and plunges back down the hill. Sisyphus watches in anguish as it rolls down again. He squints, shields his eyes, and sees something as it descends.
On the surface of the rock, tumbling downward, he reads the inscription:
3-2 loss (OT)
Season over
Back to the foot of the hill.
Those defensive zone mistakes. They didn't do a very good job of getting rid of them because that's what cost them the game. Defensively just brutal.
Yeah Denver is a good team. I don’t care. I Love our team and am sad.
I didn't catch the whole game but it did seem like the more conservative play-style caused some issues in the first period and probably wasn't UM's preferred way of playing. But at the same time had they converted and (by my count) half-dozen+ chances late in the 3rd and OT to score a goal we'd be talking about the masterful approach to throw off Denver. They just couldn't quite get it in the end.
Hockey is the most unpredictable sport in my opinion, as a hot goalie or a fortuitous bounce off a board can decide a game. UM will win a title and it probably won't be with the team we most expect, but it does suck to see this collection of players fail to be the ones to do it. Ah well.
TBH, if we had won, I would have talked about how it was a tossup game and Michigan won, and we're due for that. I don't think the first period strategy was effective either way; if they had throttled Denver from scoring, it could have been... but they did not. They did, however, recover nicely, and the game was fairly even after the first 15 minutes with hot stretches for both teams.
One of the frustrations is that Michigan has put teams into the hunt to win a title in basically every category we've seen other teams win titles. We've had the great offense, the hot goalie, the talented team without stars, the star-heavy team, the underdog that barely made the tourney (robbed in Fort Wayne!), the try-hard group that makes it to the FF with smoke and mirrors, the team using defensive responsibility and just enough offense to make the final. All of it.
This is a sport whose titles have been won by some pretty powerful teams... and also won by Yale and Providence teams that barely snuck into the tournament at all, by a Union team from a weak conference, by high-flying teams and by thoroughly boring ones.
This was, finally, the team that didn't have a "Michigan Hockey Summer." Very young, but we got everybody back. Goalie was a strength, not a weakness. Quality four lines deep. Excellent defensemen.
All of them have fallen short. So many in OT. And let's be clear: OT results are relatively random. UMD wins soooo many OT games. It's not because there's something they do in OT that Michigan doesn't. It just happens.
Don't think it's not difficult for me to live here knowing that.
I get that. I've been following this team for years as well, and while I'm slightly more detached from them as compared to, say, football or basketball, I agree it's been infuriating to see UM wear every possible hat and still not win one of these.
I do think the strategy wasn't great to start the game but I get that a team, with 2 weeks to prep, may want to try something else to throw an opponent off; Denver is one of the few teams that can fly with UM and Mel not wanting to get into a track meet could seem appealing. I agree it was, at best, a neutral decision that could have been disastrous, but also it feels like UM is due a bad decision working out for them one of these days.
I do think UM will win a title one of these years, and my guess is it'll be a season where a bunch of upsets happen and UM skates into Pittsburgh or Jacksonville or wherever they hold the FF and they'll face some smattering of teams most people assume are imaginary colleges in New England and upstate NY and schools built out of snow mounds in Minnesota and pull it out and we'll just remember the what and not the how or why two days later. At least, that's what makes me feel better after a game like this.
I guess the area where we differ here is that you have a basically objective, detached idea that "one of these years we'll get it."
I had that perspective in 2002. It has been progressively whittled down from a plank of Michigan Hockey fandom to a toothpick sized-shaving used for kindling.
After titles in 96 and 98 Michigan had a clear lead in championships. Denver has a good chance to tie us this year. I don't like that at all. This should have been the season.
There's always next year!
And, hey, at least Minnesota is losing.
what are you going to do. that was a fucking awful turnover that they will have to live with.
Sorry guys. I spent forever trying to figure out my ESPN+ account. Got it sorted during OT and very literally the minute I got the game streaming, Denver scored to win. It's my fault. Should have stuck with watching the score only.
I was at both games last night. The contrast was significant. In the Minnesotas game both teams were skating with a lot more urgency and crispness from the start. That game was more entertaining to watch, although maybe I was a more relaxed fan because I didn't have a stake in the outcome.
Good Michigan representation throughout the house. I will say TD Ameritrade Garden Arena can die 1000 fucking deaths. The signage to get into the arena was crappy. Fucking stairs to get up to the balcony level? Are you kidding me? And, at your seat, NO FUCKING CUPHOLDERS. You were well and truly screwed if you came back to your seat with a tray of food in one hand and a drink in the other. Where am I supposed to put my $18 beer? On the floor is apparently the answer. Fuck you I say.
Anyway, college hockey is fun. I'm sure my review of the TD entertainment palace and good times fun center was not affected by the game outcome.
I don't usually play this card and I know it sounds like sour grapes, but I thought the referees were awful, particularly in OT. Also, the announcers were practically Denver homers.
I really felt like they were taking it out on M for having so much young, future NHL talent on the team.
I'll agree with the referres....they were abysmal and one sided. I thought the announcing was fair though. You could see they wanted to see Michigan play better in the 1st period, and when they did in the second they acknowledged the fact that they did. Also acknowledged aggressive attack in OT which I think we dominated and had great chances.
When two guys do flyby's on a puck in your own zone it usually leads to disaster....and it did.
there was at least one egregiously missed slew foot non penalty call in OT that would have possibly resulted in a different outcome. but i guess we'll never know...
I want to read about hockey but...
Great game, except for the ending.
Now I get to root for my home team.
It was depressing during the broadcast when they mentioned Paul Stastny, who I remembered when he played for DU, then the Avs, and is now in his 17th NHL season. I'm old.
Anyone know where I can find this guy's sweater. The logo is what MDen calls "sailor vault logo," but they don't carry it, nor do the other usual sources.
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