MLax vs. Rutgers, 12:00
Important game for the lax team. It's a safe bet that Maryland and Hopkins take the top two spots in the B1G, and Ohio isn't unbeatable but they're not very likely to fall out of the top four, either. It's basically Michigan, Rutgers, and Penn State fighting for the fourth and final spot in the B1G tournament.
Rutgers is both better offensively and worse defensively than Michigan (according to the efficiency numbers I keep) whereas Michigan has shaken out just slightly worse than average on both sides of the ball. Rutgers is nasty good on faceoffs, though. Should be a very even contest. The loser will have a very, very uphill battle to make the B1G tournament, especially if that's Rutgers, who hasn't yet played Maryland.
3-2 Blue. Great to have Hat Trick King back.
KJ makes it 7-6 BLUE!!!
Hat trick for KJ! He is now the all-time leader at Michigan in points. 8-6
Gettin' totally destroyed at the faceoff X but still winning by two. That FOGO is probably worth two of Rutgers's four wins all by himself.
HAT TRICK KING!! He puts two goals in in 7 seconds. 10-6!!
TURNOVER! Michigan ball!
BALLGAME! Michigan wins their first B1G game in history, second conference game ever!
10-8!! Now 1-1 against Rutgers all-time.
This was actually Michigan's second conference win ever. Their first-ever conference home win.
Hard fought win. Great to have Ian King back on the field. Key win to have a chance at the B1G tournament.
removed
Glad the LAX team has been making positive strides!
Now beat the damn Terrapins
I live in Maryland. I have patients who gleefully wear their UMd, Notre Dame, OSU clothes when they come see their UMich doctor.
LAX is a big sport out here with tons of talent at the high school level.
MD, Johns Hopkins are power schools in LAX, Towson and the Naval Academy can be competitive on any given year.
But B1G Network will help with exposure in the area. And certainly, the kids who are thinking about schools just below the Top10 schools right now know that Michigan is a much more attractive locale than Towson, Bucknell, Villanova, etc.
I think it's a lock that we have to win one more to make the conference tourney. Impossible to get there without it. The rest of the schedule is Ohio, Hop, and PSU - losing all of them would guarantee we finish behind Ohio and Hop in the standings and no better than tied with PSU, which of course would then own the tiebreaker.
In order of winnability from easiest to hardest, I'd say PSU, Ohio, Hop.
Alright - good win. They def needed that one. They have to beat Penn State at the end of the season. And maybe they can sneak one past Ohio St or Hopkins. Speaking of which, Ohio State beat Hopkins yesterday. It will likely be a tough uphill battle vs Hopkins on the road but this is likely the weakest the Blue Jays will ever be. Now is the time for Michigan to sneak a W from them....
Was anybody at the game yesterday? How was the turnout?
I'm curious as to why they scheduled it on Easter Sunday. And why they didn't tack it on to the Sping Game as in years past. I'm sure with all the interest in Harbaugh there would have been a big crowd on hand. I thought that was becoming a decent little tradition.
Release says attendance was 800 and some change. To be expected I suppose on Easter Sunday.
I seem to recall that the date of the spring game was changed within the last couple of months, so I would guess that had something to do with it. That and the regime change with both new Jims taking over. Probably other factors too having to do with the Big Ten starting up. I suspect they have less flexibility with their own conference scheduling than they did with the ECAC. I'd love to see them do what Ohio State does with their spring game and lacrosse game combo. They play the lacrosse game first, then have a real game for the spring game, which helps draw huge crowds for both. Winning also helps I suppose.
Huge win yesterday though. Nice to have King back. They got dominated at faceoffs for the second straight week, but this time found a way to overcome that.
Ohio State looked great last night against Hopkins. Chances for an upset depends on which Buckeye team shows up on Sunday. The one last night or the one that laid a goose egg against ND and lost to Detroit. Hopkins, as much as they are struggling, will be a really tough out, especially on the road. That game is their homecoming (yes, they have their school homecoming in the spring at a lacrosse game). Penn State seems to be the best chance to get another win and hopefully lock down a tournament spot.