Watching that Minny OT Goal Reminds Me of 2011 NTG

[z_for_three]

When we lost to Minnesota-Duluth on an OT goal in the National Title Game.

Damn those teams from Minnesota!!!

By the way, if you watch that OT Goal from 2011, it's exactly the type of lead-up to a goal that Michigan always seems to struggle with under Red in 5-on-5 situations. When the opponent sets up and/or cycles in our zone, we can get into a funk where we kind of "watch" the puck and stop skating...for whatever reason...maybe we get tired or think a teammate will clear the puck...never sure what it is, but it often leads to great scoring chances and goals against.

So, it's just something to watch as we enter the stretch run here. Can we avoid watching the puck? Can we keep skating and maintain puck pressure? Can we maintain our defensive spacing well in our zone or do we have too many guys chasing the puck? Can we clear the puck under pressure when that's the best option? These types of things become harder come playoff time...but I watch them closely. When we do these things well, we win. When we get stagnant, we struggle.

 

[Capt28]

Might remind you also of the OT goal that ended the 2008 NCAA semifinal game, although that one was nowhere as hard a shot as the one last Friday. But same sort of deal in our own zone, resulting in a good shot from the high slot. It's stunning to me how frequently we try to exit our zone by throwing the puck to the middle of the ice - too often leads to trouble.

 

[alnike]

The teams' mindset is troubling at times. With 25 seconds left in the third period on Friday night, Brendan Warren could have skated puck out of zone or chipped out to neutral zone. He instead takes the risky option of a cross blueline pass that easily gets intercepted and created a turnover scoring chance for MN at the end of the game. The extra attacker goals against OSU and Wisconsin resulted from poor defensive coverage, while the OT goals against MSU (risky PK defense) and MN (turnover) are consistent with the teams biggest weakness.