Week 11: Statement Sweep
Week 11: Statement Sweep
Michigan starts 2022 with a bang, sweeping defending national champion UMass in Ann Arbor
In the final non-conference series of the season and kick-off to the ‘22 leg of the 2021-2022 season, the University of Michigan men’s hockey team routed defending champion UMass on consecutive nights. The Wolverines won 4-1 on Saturday night in convincing fashion then 4-2 the following afternoon in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score suggests. After an extended holiday break, in which national college hockey media bemoaned Michigan’s alleged dodging of Western Michigan, the sweep provided an unambiguous declaration of the Wolverines’ intentions for the back half of the season: to take the crown that rests, at least until April, atop the Minutemen.
Throughout the season’s first half, Michigan spent most of its time amazing us with its skill but also made sure to mix in a healthy portion of frustration. As fast and creative as the Wolverines could be in attack, their high-octane, transition-based offense left them vulnerable on the counter. For teams like Notre Dame and Minnesota, there was joy to be found in transition after a well-timed takeaway.
This weekend, Michigan dialed back its transition game; it kept long stretch passes and attacks off the rush to a minimum, turning instead to a greater emphasis on possession and creation off the cycle in the offensive zone.
The effect was devastating. Michigan’s skilled group of skaters imposed their will in the offensive zone, enjoying prolonged stays in the UMass end of the rink that made five-on-five play look like a power play. Because the Wolverines took fewer chances in transition, there was precious little space for the Minutemen to exploit in transition.
Up front, the loaded top line of Kent Johnson, Matty Beniers, and Brendan Brisson carried the freight for Michigan. The trio scored five of the six non-empty-net Wolverine goals on the weekend. Johnson, as ever, was audacious with the puck on his stick and relentless when he had to recover it. Beniers offered his usual blend of tireless skating, skill on the puck, and defensive responsibility. Brisson provided the scoring touch we’ve come to expect and mixed in some patience and passing with which we aren’t so familiar. In combination, the line was unstoppable.
It was not the first time head coach Mel Pearson has trotted out this line of first round NHL draft selection. The triumvirate also played together during the sweep at Notre Dame’s hands earlier this season. In that series, the line looked dangerous but only managed a single five-on-five goal. This weekend, they were devastating in their finishing. By series’ end, there was nothing for it but to do a little dance.
Though the Wolverines’ top line did the offensive heavy lifting, it was not as though they were the only Michigan trio to make an impact. The checking line of Mark Estapa, Garrett Van Whye, and Nolan Moyle were a force in their own right. Though they drew the unenviable task of matching up with UMass’ top line of Bobby Trivigno, Josh Lopina, and Garrett Wait, Van Whye seemed to spend all weekend in the offensive zone. Their forechecking, disciplined and unabating, made life miserable for the Minutemen’s defenseman and left Trivigno and company with hardly any offensive life of their own.
At one point in the dying stages of Saturday’s contest, a hard net drive from Van Whye led to UMass’ net toppling onto goaltender Matt Murray, temporarily trapping him. A mischievous Van Whye sat on the ice beside the overturned goal and goaltender, no doubt pleased with the result. He may not have scored, but he played in the offensive zone and made his presence felt.
On the backend, Michigan’s defense corps looked near flawless. They extended offensive opportunities in the UMass zone with keep-ins at the blue line and timely forays below the dots. Their neutral zone discipline and anticipation kept UMass from building momentum in transition. In their own end, crafty breakout passes ensured that the puck never stayed near Erik Portillo’s crease for too long.
Owen Power provided a presence along the Michigan blue line befitting his six-foot-five frame. Power enjoyed numerous lengthy romps around the offensive zone, puck seemingly glued to his stick, while also proving himself to be unpassable along his own blue line. At one point, UMass forward Ryan Lautenbach appeared to get a step on Power, only for the towering defenseman to spin with the grace of a figure skater before taking advantage of his long reach to swat the puck to safety.
If all that weren’t cause enough for excitement in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines earned their sweep over UMass even while missing two integral contributors in forward Thomas Bordeleau and defenseman Jacob Truscott. Once those two find their ways back into the lineup, Michigan’s exceptional skill level will climb that much more. For now, Michigan fans can celebrate that the first series of the new year was an unqualified success, as the Wolverines rendered hapless the defending national champions.
Weekend Highlights
It took just seventy-four seconds for Michigan to find the back of the defending champions’ net. Jack Summers kept the puck alive at the offensive blue line and played it to Kent Johnson. Johnson needed just a sliver of space to find Brisson. Brisson, who had worn a number of Minutemen cross-checks to the back though the game was barely a minute old, rifled the puck past Murray. 1-0, Michigan. The Wolverines would hardly look back.
It’s easy to get carried away with Kent Johnson’s offensive skill. We do it on a weekly basis here at Gulo Gulo. What sometimes gets lost though is Johnson’s ability to use that same hand-eye coordination as a defensive tool. On this play, the British Columbian forced a turnover in the neutral zone by hounding the puck for ten seconds or so before finally stealing it away. Finding himself on a rapidly formed three-on-one with Beniers and Brisson, Johnson laid the puck on for Brisson, who slid it across to Beniers for a wide-open one-timer, with which Beniers made no mistake.
We’ve saved the best of an exemplary weekend for last. During warm up for Saturday’s fan, a young fan—clad in a maize Michigan jersey and teal Seattle Kraken hat—offered Beniers, the first ever draft choice of the fledgling Kraken, an offer he couldn’t refuse, and the pair exchanged a stick for a bag of gummy worms. As the video makes clear, Beniers believed he got the better end of the deal.