Friday Notebook Playoff Previews Edition 3.8.24
Michigan's men's and women's hockey teams have both entered the postseason. Here's more on the men embracing a playoff mentality and the women's road to their second straight ACHA Nationals bid
Well, here we are. The opening weekend of the Big Ten Tournament is upon us, and, for the University of Michigan men’s hockey team, the season hangs in the balance. In the opposite corner waits Notre Dame, who before being swept in Ann Arbor two weeks ago was 8-0-1 in its previous nine visits to Yost.
Last weekend, the Wolverines wrapped up their regular season the way they’ve spent most of the ‘23-24 season—in chaotic fashion. On Friday, Michigan delivered an uncharacteristically lifeless performance and was undone by three power play goals in the second period in what became a 6-2 loss at Minnesota. “For whatever reason, we were not hard enough,” reflected head coach Brandon Naurato Tuesday. “We weren’t winning races and battles, and just field position. We didn’t get pucks behind them. They play really fast…we don’t get it deep, then they just quick up, and then they’re on a three-on-two.” On Saturday, chaos reigned as the Wolverines built a 3-0 lead through two periods, a 4-1 lead early in the third, and 5-4 lead late in the third, all of which were erased, before Seamus Casey won the day in overtime.
The split with the Gophers feels a decent encapsulation of the season. Commendable though decidedly imperfect results against quality competition earned via a tumultuous but at times dazzling process. There was also good news to emerge from the weekend on the injury front. Tuesday, Naurato said that Jake Barczewski—who was injured in last Friday night’s game, missing last Saturday’s—and Ethan Edwards—who was unavailable all weekend in Minneapolis—will both be in the lineup Friday night.
Recent results are also on the Wolverines’ side, given that their sweep of the Irish two weeks ago is the season’s most positive data point. That weekend, Michigan enjoyed a dominant 4-0 Friday night, kick-started by Dylan Duke. It was the rare drama-free game the Wolverines have played this season. The following evening, Michigan won the sort of game that its skeptics don’t believe it can—coming from behind in a tight-checking, low-scoring affair to take a 2-1 one victory thanks to a late goal from super senior Marshall Warren. To finish a weekend having held an opponent to one goal and slain the Big Ten foe that’s caused it the most frequent problems is without doubt Michigan’s best weekend of the year.
The bad news there is that, unfortunately for the Wolverines, even a two-week-old series may as well be ancient history in its bearing on the weekend to come. Such is the nature of playoff hockey, and, to be fair, so too has been Michigan’s season. What that series can provide is a blueprint for what success will have to look like, though against Jeff Jackson’s Irish that’s hardly a mystery.
“They should know us really well, and we should know them,” said Naurato Tuesday. “It’s more worrying about what our identity is and how we wanna play, but then understanding what we can expect to see and trying to get those reps in practice, and then it’s just whoever executes better.”
This weekend will provide a classic clash in styles. Michigan is built to possess and attack, to play progressive hockey, to rely on internal predictability to create positive chaos; Notre Dame’s identity lies in defending, physicality all over the ice (with or without the puck), and the methodical protection of leads. The Irish excel at managing games once they find themselves out front, and they don’t need the puck to feel comfortable. Their success depends on pouncing on the mistakes their patience always seems to induce in their opponents.
For Michigan, the weekend is do-or-die when it comes to the team’s hopes at qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, but to Naurato, that has little to do with the challenge posed by Notre Dame: “What I’ve said to the guys is if we’re a one overall seed, undefeated right now, the only thing that changes is you have one more lifeline…We just have to take care of business.”
As sophomore forward Rutger McGroarty named Tuesday, postseason success hinges more on mentality than tactics. “Playoffs is the best of year, and we played them two weeks ago, so that rivalry is right there, and the emotions will be high,” he said. “Now that it’s playoffs, it’s just about 50-50 battles and who wants it more. You can study film all you want and look at what they do, what we do, but it’s playoff hockey, so now it’s just who wants it more.”
Fellow sophomore and linemate Gavin Brindley offered a more succinct version of the same message when asked what it will take to get past the Irish. “Be hard,” he said. “It’s a mentality. They’re big and strong, and they’re heavy, so we just gotta be hard and win our battles, and it’ll be fun.”
Under Naurato, game days have always placed a greater premium on attitude than X’s and O’s. “Throughout the week, we teach, and we’re very detailed, and the weekend’s are all about mentality. It’s their room, and just go out and let them play,” he said after the Friday victory over Notre Dame, in reference to Barczewski stopping a third-period Landon Slaggert penalty shot.
This weekend, Naurato believes it won’t take much to drive his team into the right mindset for a series with everything at stake, a belief McGroarty and Brindley’s testimonials seem to corroborate. “We shouldn’t have to say as much if they’re ready to go. It’s just keep the intensity but be controlled throughout that,” Naurato said. “Like the third period against Minnesota [Saturday], every game’s gonna be nuts—penalties, good calls, bad calls, momentum shifts. We just have to ride that wave and make sure that we can stack them together when it’s going well for us and keep it going. And when it’s not, you have to change it as quickly as possible.”
And indeed, given the combination of playoff hockey’s volatility and the chaos that’s defined Michigan’s season, it’s difficult to imagine that this weekend, even if it ultimately a success, runs as smoothly as that sweep of the Irish proved two weeks ago.
So, what does the right mentality look like?
Per Brindley, it’s about a fine attunement to “the little things inside the game—winning your battles, closing on your checks early.” For sophomore defenseman Tyler Duke, it’s about proceeding forward with small and steady steps. “It’s do or die, and we all know that, so we’re gonna come out with a mentality that this could be our last game of the year if we don’t win,” he asserted Tuesday. “We just gotta keep moving forward and bringing all the energy every day and worried about winning the first five minutes Friday night and the next five and then go from there.”
Jenna Trubiano on Team 28’s Identity Taking Shape, the Unseen Efforts of her Players, and What to Expect from 2024 ACHA Nationals
For the second consecutive season, the University of Michigan women’s hockey team will compete in ACHA Nationals. This year, the tournament will be hosted by Lindenwood in suburban St. Louis. The Wolverines will begin their run through the ten-team, double elimination event next Wednesday against Minot State. If they win, they will earn a bye to Friday; if they lose, they will play again Thursday. The action will be streaming via FloHockey. To get you ready for the tournament, we caught up with Michigan’s coach, Jenna Trubiano. Note: this interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Gulo Gulo Hockey: What do you feel like you’ve learned about your team over the course of this season?
Jenna Trubiano: “I feel like we’ve settled into our identity as a team. Obviously, each team is different in terms of the make-up, and I felt like our leadership group this year was really competitive, and that showed. We’re not an offensively producing team most games, so it really requires us to focus on our goaltending, our defensive zone, and capitalizing on opportunities when we have them. It’s similar to other teams that we’ve had in the past, especially the past two seasons. I think ultimately we know we can compete with anybody. Our games against Adrian were very close and looking forward to the national tournament, being able to start out with Minot, a team that we haven’t seen yet, I’m super excited about that, just because I think our players are really energized to play a team we haven’t played before.”
GGH: What is it like as a coach to identify and embrace the fact that the path to success for your team is going to emphasize defense over the attacking side of things?
JT: “I think in terms of identity, you have to play X amount of games, however many it is. You can’t base the season of the first three to four games. Our schedule looks different first semester versus second semester, and that’s in part due to the football schedule. Second semester’s really a grind for us, because we have at least one game every weekend through the league tournament, end of February. In terms of where we’re at now, we know we need to focus on goaltending and on defensive zone, but something that we’ll be focusing on at the national tournament is when we have opportunities to capitalize offensively, we need to take advantage of that. We need to take advantage of special teams, our penalty kill has to be phenomenal. We need to be able to recognize when we’re on the power play what the other team is trying to do on the penalty kill, and what is that gonna open up for us? Our athletes need to be able to recognize that in real time…We have multiple players that can produce, which is a lot better than having just one person that can produce. The roster on Team 28 is the most talented roster we’ve ever had with our program. We’re very, very deep. We’re gonna go with twelve forwards, seven defensemen most likely, and the hope is that our top three lines are gonna be producing, so that’s what we’re looking forward to.”
GGH: You made it all the way until January 20th unbeaten. What did it take to maintain such a consistent level of intensity through that run, and how did you find a way to bounce back after losing that sense of invincibility that you’d had for so long?
JT: “The first loss was obviously a difficult one, because it was against Michigan State, and it was a game we definitely should’ve won. I don’t like losing. I don’t really know of anybody who does. I’m a competitive person, but I told our leadership group and also the coaching staff that I would’ve rather lost to Michigan State than lose in the national tournament. If we experience our first loss at the national tournament, it would’ve been really hard to figure out how does this group rebound, what we need to do to make sure that we put ourselves in the best possible position to not lose the next game. I think it was a great moment for us, especially because we had a game the next day against Aquinas to respond. Something I don’t want us to focus on is focusing on a loss for too long. If we lose a game, and we have an opportunity to come back, we focus on that, whether it’s the next day, the next week, or two weeks. There were some games this year that we definitely feel like we should’ve won, and ultimately, the national tournament is all that matters. We received a bid, which is great, and we can play with anybody, and we’re gonna be playing to win.”
GGH: As a coach, do you worry about your players going away on spring break between the CCWHA and ACHA tournaments, or do you think having that chance to decompress and take a break is valuable in that spot?
JT: “I think as Michigan students, it’s really good for them to decompress. They love hockey, and I think most of them miss being on the ice during spring break. I do think that the academic vigor does sometimes impact our performance on the ice, so I think a break was really good for us.”
GGH: This year, Julia Lindahl has roughly the same number of points as last (25 in 24 games this year, compared to 27 in 28 last), but it’s a much more even split between goals and assists (12-13 vs. 19-8). Do you see that as just happenstance, or is that an evolution in her game?
JT: “I like the word evolution that you used. She’s a playmaker for sure; she’s a very smart hockey player. She knows when to take the shot or make the pass. I think with her, it was second semester where she really settled in. This year, she’s expected to produce; she’s supposed to score goals. But also, we’re using her on the penalty kill now, which we didn’t do last year. I think from a coaching staff perspective, we expected her to be contributing in terms of points, but she’s also filling roles she wasn’t filling last year, like the penalty kill. And she’s also the recruiting chair, so if I talk with a perspective student, she’s the first person within our program that I contact to say ‘hey, can you talk to this person? Can you set up a call? Can you send them a text?’ It’s been really cool to see her step into more of a leadership role within our program as well.”
GGH: Somewhat related to recruitment, Lucy Hanson comes in this year as a junior transfer, with DI experience at Franklin Pierce. I know you’ve had DI transfers before, but what did it mean to have her come in and produce at such a high level?
JT: “She’s definitely an impact player. Offensively, she’s very talented, very skilled. Off the ice, she’s a great person, great communicator, loves to network. I think she brings that intensity and drive for our program. She wants to win. She’s always coming to us with new ideas. To have somebody with that offensive skill, when we need a goal or whatever it may be, it’s nice to have someone we can put on the ice and trust.”
GGH: You’ve mentioned the job your leadership group has to keep this group together and focused throughout the year. Can you speak to exactly how you’ve seen Katie German and the rest of that group allow you to build on the success of last year?
JT: “Leadership group this year, including our board and captains, our goal was to receive a bid to the national tournament again, for the second year in a row, which we did, but our work is not, and the leadership group knows that. It’s not enough just to make it; we have to go and prove ourselves. With Katie German, she’s a junior wearing the ‘C,’ which has been uncommon for our program. Usually, it’s a senior. Her leadership and her skillset on the ice was also recognized by the league. She was nominated first-team all-conference for CCWHA this season, which I think is really special. She’s been great in helping to drive our program forward. She does a lot of work off the ice for us as well, including hotel bookings, organizing meals, organizing rides to and from practice. A lot of that work is done by her as well as other executive board members, which I think a lot of people don’t know. The students do the majority of the behind-the-scenes work, so it’s definitely a testament to their hard work and leadership that we’re even in a position to be eligible for a national championship.”
GGH: In that answer, you touched on the idea that you don’t just want to repeat the accomplishment from last year of making nationals, you want to exceed it. Now that you’re here, what are your goals or expectations around that tournament?
JT: “Our players that were with us last year, they have the experience of being at the national tournament. There are a lot of teams there; there’s a lot going on; you have to wear credentials and all this other stuff that normally we’re not used to. And all the teams we’re gonna play are really, really competitive. With the exception of Arizona State, all the other programs have a full-time coach, so we’re definitely an outlier in terms of the top ten. Last year’s leadership group had an understanding of what it would take for us to make it and receive a bid to the national tournament. We did the same thing this year, probably even a little bit more than we did last year. Having that experience and having that expectation, it’s something that with the computer ranking system, you always have to be thinking about. It takes into account goal differential, so does it make sense to pull the goaltender and risk an empty net goal that’s only going to further the goal differential. So just things like that throughout the season where we’re trying to put the team in the best possible situation to receive a bid, and with us not winning the CCWHA championship, the computer rankings really determined our fate.”
GGH: You’ve alluded a couple times to some of the behind-the-scenes work that your players do that other people don’t see. What other sorts of things come to mind that fit that description?
JT: “Something that really comes at the forefront of my mind is game day operations. So I’m usually running around, but with our apparel sales and our ticket sales and the scorekeeper and the music, those are all organized by our leadership group. We’re not provided scorekeepers or staff to work the front table, so sometimes it’s some of our players that aren’t dressing that game that are helping out. With our program, 10% of it is on the ice, 90% of it is off the ice. It’s that 90% of making sure we have a bus for St. Louis and a hotel and a conference room for exams and scheduling exams and getting Google forms out to people and all those organizational things I think are pieces that ensure our program will be successful but aren’t recognized on the day-to-day. The majority of that is done by our students while they’re taking a full course load, lifting off the ice, and whatever else they may be doing. I think that’s really special.”
GGH: Okay, last one. As far as that first game with Minot State goes, what are you expecting?
JT: “I’m expecting them to have strong special teams. For us, we have the advantage in goaltending, which is always a great advantage to have, and what’s exciting is that they haven’t seen us yet. With how deep we are, it does surprise a lot of people, because we can really roll three lines and keep rolling even if we’re in tight situations. It’s gonna be exciting to see a team that we haven’t seen before, and we know a little bit about what to expect. A lot of their players are from North Dakota or Canada, so we expect it to be a physical game as well. We’re just gonna have to play our game and capitalize when we can capitalize.”
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