Matching 3-0 victories over Michigan State on Friday and Saturday have earned Michigan a berth in the Big Ten Hockey Tournament semi-finals.
A stifling Wolverine team defensive effort backed up by two perfect performances by sophomore goaltender Strauss Mann held the Spartans off the scoresheet for 120 minutes of weekend playoff hockey.
Saturday’s effort featured a pair of Michigan second period goals that were very different. A tic-tac-toe power play passing gem resulted in senior forward Will Lockwood’s opening goal and freshman forward Johnny Beecher’s end-to-end solo rush added to the winning margin.
Michigan earned an initial 1-0 series lead with a Friday night 3-0 shutout of the Spartans on the strength of Mann’s 25-save performance and a pair of power play goals by senior forwards Jake Slaker and Nick Pastujov.
Mann completed his back-to-back shutouts by stopping 20 Michigan State shots on Saturday.
The first period was tightly played unsurprisingly given the importance of the game. Michigan’s only lineup change from Friday’s game one was to insert junior forward Michael Pastujov in place of redshirt sophomore forward Emil Ohrwall. Pastujov justified his assignment with one of the best offensive chances of the initial period, a chance that saw his shot just miss the open side of the Spartan net.
Michigan finally drew first blood offensively early in the second period on a power play opportunity. An efficient and sharp passing sequence between grad transfer forward Jacob Hayhurst, Lockwood and sophomore defenseman Nick Blankenburg produced an open shot for Blankenburg in the high slot. Blankenburg’s one-timer was tipped by Lockwood and beat Michigan State goaltender John Lethemon for a 1-0 Michigan lead.
Beecher’s highlight reel unassisted goal at 18:28 of the second period pushed Michigan’s lead to 2-0. Beecher started a rush from deep in his own zone, beat a Spartan defenseman just inside the offensive blue line and barreled alone toward Lethemon in the Spartan net. Shifting the puck to his backhand, Beecher lost control of the puck right at the goal mouth. The freshman Wolverine forward regained control of the puck and circled back around to snap a shot from the top of the circle past Lethemon.
Senior forward Jake Slaker added an empty net goal with just 47 seconds left to match Friday night’s 3-0 final score.
In other Big Ten tournament play on Saturday night, Ohio State edged Wisconsin, 2-1, in overtime.
The combination of Michigan and Ohio State’s series wins sets up a one-game elimination semi-final contest between the two next Sunday afternoon in Columbus, televised on the main Big Ten Network. Penn State will host the winner of the Notre Dame-Minnesota series in the other semi-final.
A stifling Wolverine team defensive effort backed up by two perfect performances by sophomore goaltender Strauss Mann held the Spartans off the scoresheet for 120 minutes of weekend playoff hockey.
Saturday’s effort featured a pair of Michigan second period goals that were very different. A tic-tac-toe power play passing gem resulted in senior forward Will Lockwood’s opening goal and freshman forward Johnny Beecher’s end-to-end solo rush added to the winning margin.
Michigan earned an initial 1-0 series lead with a Friday night 3-0 shutout of the Spartans on the strength of Mann’s 25-save performance and a pair of power play goals by senior forwards Jake Slaker and Nick Pastujov.
Mann completed his back-to-back shutouts by stopping 20 Michigan State shots on Saturday.
The first period was tightly played unsurprisingly given the importance of the game. Michigan’s only lineup change from Friday’s game one was to insert junior forward Michael Pastujov in place of redshirt sophomore forward Emil Ohrwall. Pastujov justified his assignment with one of the best offensive chances of the initial period, a chance that saw his shot just miss the open side of the Spartan net.
Michigan finally drew first blood offensively early in the second period on a power play opportunity. An efficient and sharp passing sequence between grad transfer forward Jacob Hayhurst, Lockwood and sophomore defenseman Nick Blankenburg produced an open shot for Blankenburg in the high slot. Blankenburg’s one-timer was tipped by Lockwood and beat Michigan State goaltender John Lethemon for a 1-0 Michigan lead.
Beecher’s highlight reel unassisted goal at 18:28 of the second period pushed Michigan’s lead to 2-0. Beecher started a rush from deep in his own zone, beat a Spartan defenseman just inside the offensive blue line and barreled alone toward Lethemon in the Spartan net. Shifting the puck to his backhand, Beecher lost control of the puck right at the goal mouth. The freshman Wolverine forward regained control of the puck and circled back around to snap a shot from the top of the circle past Lethemon.
Senior forward Jake Slaker added an empty net goal with just 47 seconds left to match Friday night’s 3-0 final score.
In other Big Ten tournament play on Saturday night, Ohio State edged Wisconsin, 2-1, in overtime.
The combination of Michigan and Ohio State’s series wins sets up a one-game elimination semi-final contest between the two next Sunday afternoon in Columbus, televised on the main Big Ten Network. Penn State will host the winner of the Notre Dame-Minnesota series in the other semi-final.
