Michigan breaks their annual exams and holiday hockey fast in the method they’ve traditionally used for 54 years when they travel to Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit both Saturday and Sunday for the Great Lakes Invitational (GLI) tournament.
The Wolverines take on tournament host Michigan Tech in the tourney opener at 1pm on Sunday, December 30. Michigan State plays Lake Superior State in the follow-up game on Sunday. Winners play winners and losers play losers Monday, January 1, in the championship and consolation games. Both Monday New Year’s Eve games are televised on Fox Sports Detroit with the championship game at 2:30pm and the consolation at 11:30am.
There likely is no likelier place to break the first half inconsistencies that plagued Michigan both on offense and defense than in the annual GLI get-together. The Wolverines have won 17 of their 54 consecutive annual trips to the tournament that started at Olympia Stadium, moved to Joe Louis Arena and now has a new home at Little Caesar’s Arena. Those 17 tourney titles are the most by any team.
The Wolverines will be challenged by the absence of their two top performers from the season’s first half. Sophomore defenseman Quinn Hughes and sophomore forward Josh Norris are in British Columbia, Canada, competing for Team USA in the IIHF World Junior Championships. While losing players to that annual tournament has been a common circumstance for Michigan, Hughes and Norris have played crucial roles in the Wolverine offense this season and will be dearly missed.
Keeping the puck out of their own net was also met with inconsistent frequency by Michigan in the first half of the season. Junior goaltender Hayden Lavigne and freshman netminder Strauss Mann will both have the opportunity to cement themselves as the starter in net as the second half of the season commences.
Michigan Players to Watch
Junior forwards Will Lockwood and Jake Slaker will be charged with supplying offense in the Wolverine attack in the absence of their ‘SNL’ linemate Norris. Lockwood has scored five goals and added 10 assists for Michigan to date this season and Slaker has chipped in with seven goals and six assists.
Michigan Tech Player to Watch
Senior Jake Lucchini has led the Huskies offensive attack with six goals and 13 assists, nearly doubling the point total of Michigan Tech’s nearest offensive performer.
Notebook
From 1988 to 1996, Michigan went on an unprecedented run of GLI championship victories, nabbing nine straight highlighted by Brendan Morrison’s three straight tourney MVP performances in 1994 through 1996.
Michigan head coach Mel Pearson’s name has become intertwined with GLI tourney history, having played in the event for his alma mater Michigan Tech and served as head coach for both the Huskies and the Wolverines over the last handful of years. Pearson recorded one of the most memorable goals in tournament history in 1979 when he broke a 4-4 tie in the third overtime to give Michigan Tech a tourney win over Michigan.
Michigan is represented by a long list of winners of the GLI MVP award, the Jack Tompkins Trophy. Wolverine puck fans will recognize some very likely and equally unlikely names among the long list of Michigan MVP winners: forward Mel Wakabayashi (1965), goaltender Robbie Moore (1974), forward Murray Eaves (1979), goaltender Paul Fricker (1980), forward Todd Brost (1988), goaltender Warren Sharples (1989), goaltender and current Michigan goaltending coach Steve Shields (1990, 1991), forward Cam Stewart (1992), forward David Oliver (1993), forward Brendan Morrison (1994, 1995, 1996), goaltender Billy Sauer (2007), forward Louie Caporusso (2008), forward Luke Glendening (2010), defenseman Kevin Clare (2011), goaltender Steve Racine (2014), and Kyle Connor (2015).
The Wolverines take on tournament host Michigan Tech in the tourney opener at 1pm on Sunday, December 30. Michigan State plays Lake Superior State in the follow-up game on Sunday. Winners play winners and losers play losers Monday, January 1, in the championship and consolation games. Both Monday New Year’s Eve games are televised on Fox Sports Detroit with the championship game at 2:30pm and the consolation at 11:30am.
There likely is no likelier place to break the first half inconsistencies that plagued Michigan both on offense and defense than in the annual GLI get-together. The Wolverines have won 17 of their 54 consecutive annual trips to the tournament that started at Olympia Stadium, moved to Joe Louis Arena and now has a new home at Little Caesar’s Arena. Those 17 tourney titles are the most by any team.
The Wolverines will be challenged by the absence of their two top performers from the season’s first half. Sophomore defenseman Quinn Hughes and sophomore forward Josh Norris are in British Columbia, Canada, competing for Team USA in the IIHF World Junior Championships. While losing players to that annual tournament has been a common circumstance for Michigan, Hughes and Norris have played crucial roles in the Wolverine offense this season and will be dearly missed.
Keeping the puck out of their own net was also met with inconsistent frequency by Michigan in the first half of the season. Junior goaltender Hayden Lavigne and freshman netminder Strauss Mann will both have the opportunity to cement themselves as the starter in net as the second half of the season commences.
Michigan Players to Watch
Junior forwards Will Lockwood and Jake Slaker will be charged with supplying offense in the Wolverine attack in the absence of their ‘SNL’ linemate Norris. Lockwood has scored five goals and added 10 assists for Michigan to date this season and Slaker has chipped in with seven goals and six assists.
Michigan Tech Player to Watch
Senior Jake Lucchini has led the Huskies offensive attack with six goals and 13 assists, nearly doubling the point total of Michigan Tech’s nearest offensive performer.
Notebook
From 1988 to 1996, Michigan went on an unprecedented run of GLI championship victories, nabbing nine straight highlighted by Brendan Morrison’s three straight tourney MVP performances in 1994 through 1996.
Michigan head coach Mel Pearson’s name has become intertwined with GLI tourney history, having played in the event for his alma mater Michigan Tech and served as head coach for both the Huskies and the Wolverines over the last handful of years. Pearson recorded one of the most memorable goals in tournament history in 1979 when he broke a 4-4 tie in the third overtime to give Michigan Tech a tourney win over Michigan.
Michigan is represented by a long list of winners of the GLI MVP award, the Jack Tompkins Trophy. Wolverine puck fans will recognize some very likely and equally unlikely names among the long list of Michigan MVP winners: forward Mel Wakabayashi (1965), goaltender Robbie Moore (1974), forward Murray Eaves (1979), goaltender Paul Fricker (1980), forward Todd Brost (1988), goaltender Warren Sharples (1989), goaltender and current Michigan goaltending coach Steve Shields (1990, 1991), forward Cam Stewart (1992), forward David Oliver (1993), forward Brendan Morrison (1994, 1995, 1996), goaltender Billy Sauer (2007), forward Louie Caporusso (2008), forward Luke Glendening (2010), defenseman Kevin Clare (2011), goaltender Steve Racine (2014), and Kyle Connor (2015).
