Before opening, we would be remiss if we didn’t note that it has been 731 days since Ohio State last beat the University of Michigan football team.
With that out of the way, we can turn our attention to this weekend’s men’s hockey series between the Wolverines and the University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers. Featuring the Big Ten’s two best teams (at least in terms of record), the two teams will get together on Friday and Saturday at Yost Ice Arena.
Lingering Player Notes from Niagara
Once again, you can’t help but watch Mackie Samoskevich when you watched this Wolverine team take on the Purple Eagles. Scoring a goal and an assist over the weekend, Samoskevich was productive, though he didn’t exactly light up the stat sheet. Nonetheless, Samoskevich continues to show that his game meshes to perfection with Mel Pearson’s vision. Samoskevich is an outstanding transition player with a laser beam of a wrist shot, and he is more of a Brisson than a Bordeleau in terms of his willingness to pull the trigger as opposed to seeking an extra pass. On a team that can sometimes get lost inside its own creativity, Samoskevich makes offense happen in some form or another every night.
Speaking of Brisson, the Vegas Golden Knights’ first round pick had another outstanding series over the weekend, debatably the best of any Wolverine skater. Contrary to my previous assertion, Brisson excelled in ways beyond just his usual goal scoring, notching a goal and three assists over the weekend. There is a peculiar criticism of a particular brand of hockey player that goes something along the lines of “all he does is score.” Fair or not (and I’m inclined to say not), Alex Ovechkin has heard it throughout his career. Patrik Laine has heard it. Today at Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo is hearing it. Without wishing to suggest that Brisson has earned the company of those names, there was a period early in the year when I felt that he may fit in this category. His scoring appeared undeniable, but he didn’t seem to show up a ton elsewhere on the rink.
After moving up to a line with Kent Johnson and Matty Beniers, Brisson may have received a pass for focusing with a single mind on his goal scoring. Instead, the move only continued a season-long trend toward an increased impact for Brisson all over the ice. As the year progresses, he has impressed more and more as a puck carrier and passer. His sharp movement away from the puck puts him in great possessions to succeed, but, of course, at this core, Brisson remains a goalscorer.
Here at Gulo Gulo, we pride ourselves on covering not just the stars in this mighty Wolverine lineup but also the depth players. As such, we feel we are responsible for insufficient coverage of one Dylan Duke. We’ve mentioned Duke here and there, highlighting his efforts in Penn State in particular, but too often, he has been one of the last topics cut from some edition of this production. On a team with this level of depth, it has been difficult for forwards to secure their places in the lineup every night, a fact truest for the team’s younger, bottom six forwards. Amidst those shakeups, Duke appears to have solidified his spot on the Wolverines’ fourth line. Given that Duke continues to stand out, it would be tempting to argue in favor of moving him up to a more prominent role. While I wouldn’t oppose such an experiment, I myself would be inclined to leave the freshman forward where he is. My suspicion is that his energetic forechecking is maximized by, at least for the time being, limiting his minutes.
Last but not (certainly) not least, we must note the recent accomplishment of our beloved wizard-in-residence Kent Johnson. Over the weekend, the BC native became the fastest Wolverine to fifty points since Kyle Connor. KJ accomplished the feat in 42 games played. This is, without a doubt, an impressive figure, though it is dwarfed by Connor doing so in an astonishing 28 games. We here at Gulo Gulo are as big of Johnson fans as you will find, but it’s also fun to be reminded of the CCM line’s ridiculous productivity.
Scouting the Golden Gophers
Minnesota will carry a 9-7-0 record into Yost Ice Arena, but that pedestrian record conceals the Gophers’ taxing non-conference schedule. Minnesota has split series with St. Cloud State (currently ranked fifth) and North Dakota (currently ranked seventh), while also suffering a sweep at the hands of Minnesota-Duluth, who sit atop the USCHO poll at present. The record is by no means eye-catching, but there is no denying that Minnesota is as battle tested as any team in the country.
That UND series is the most recent one for Minnesota, played last weekend in Grand Forks. The Gophers won 5-1 in a Friday night rout, only to drop the sequel Saturday 3-2.
Entering the season, the Gophers appeared to have the most dependable goaltending option in the country in reigning Richter Award winner Jack LaFontaine. However, instead of living up to that Richter-winning standard, LaFontaine sits at an underwhelming .899 save percentage. His goals-against-average (a stat I offer here though I tend to doubt its utility) paints a brighter picture at 2.65. Gopher fans can also take comfort in the fact that his sixteen games played constitute a small enough sample size to offer funky results. LaFontaine was .934 a year ago and a .919 the year prior, suggesting that it would be no surprise to see him bounce back.
The best news for the Gophers is that so many of their losses have come in non-conference play, and, as a consequence, they sit in prime position in the B1G race. As it stands, Michigan leads the way with five wins (all regulation, a regulation loss, and two overtime losses, figures good for 17 points or a points percentage of .708. Minnesota is hot on their heels with five regulation wins, two regulation losses, and an OT loss, which adds up to 16 points or a .667 points percentage.
Suffice to say that there will be a lot on the line when these two teams get together Friday and Saturday.
Wolverines to USA WJC Camp
Five Wolverines received invitations to Team USA’s World Junior camp beginning December 12th. Those players are Thomas Bordeleau, Jacob Truscott, Mackie Samoskevich, Matty Beniers, and Luke Hughes.
Beniers played in last year’s World Juniors, winning gold along with Brisson and current Philadelphia Flyer Cam York. Brisson would surely be joining his teammates were he not too old to do so at this point. Meanwhile, Bordeleau would have played for last year’s team had the COVID protocol not prevented him from traveling to Alberta.
31 players received invitations to the camp, but only 25 will fit on the roster when the tournament returns to Alberta this fall, so there is no guarantee that all five Wolverines will survive the final cut.
The players will miss the Great Lakes Invitational as a consequence of their invites.
Recommended Reading: Scott Wheeler on Rutger McGroaty and Erik Portillo
The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler offered a pair of NHL prospect profiles likely to be of interest to Wolverine fans. The first features Rutger McGroaty, captain of the USNTDP and Michigan commit, and the second highlights Wolverine goaltender Erik Portillo.
With McGroaty, Wheeler details the forward’s unusual path to the NHL from his hometown of Lincoln, NE, while also discussing his efforts to improve his skating this offseason by working with the legendary Barb Underhill.
For Portillo, Wheeler again discusses the roundabout path that brought the player to Ann Arbor, including some interesting notes about the frustration the Swede felt last year, when playing time was scarce and the results were hardly extraordinary.