Week 9: Gopher Split
Michigan trades blowout victories with Minnesota, dropping a humiliating 5-1 contest to the Gophers before rebounding with a 6-2 demolition job on Saturday night
Over the weekend, the University of Michigan men’s ice hockey team traded blowout victories with the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Ann Arbor. On Friday night, it was the Gophers’ turn to run roughshod over the Wolverines, leveraging a dominant neutral zone performance and impressive coordination on the counter to a 5-1 victory. On Saturday, Michigan flipped that script and rendered their northwestern rivals feckless through their most impressive display of passing and possession hockey of the season in a 6-2 triumph.
These two teams entered the weekend at the top of the Big Ten heap, and there they remain. While their two-game set provided little clarity with respect to the B1G title race, it offered insight into the mentality of Mel Pearson’s team.
On Friday night, Minnesota humbled Michigan in unprecedented fashion. At least both games of the Notre Dame sweep went to overtime. In Friday’s 5-1 defeat, Michigan left the first period tail between its legs and trailing 3-0. Perhaps worse than the scoreline was the Wolverines’ seeming inability to earn so much as a clean zone entry, such was the Gophers’ supremacy in the neutral zone.
For a brief moment, it appeared the Wolverines may well claw back into the contest when Dylan Duke found the back of the net just past the midpoint of the second. However, a successful offside challenge by the Gophers washed out the goal. Instead of sparking a comeback, the non-goal led into a pair of Gopher goals to put the game out of reach entering the third.
Though Erik Portillo could hardly be blamed for the 5–0 deficit, the Swedish netminder watched the third from the bench, while Noah West manned the crease. West, a sophomore transfer from Robert Morris, stopped the bleeding and all eight Gopher shots he faced in the game’s final period. It was his first regular season action in Maize and Blue.
The one moment of (muted) joy for the Wolverines came when Thomas Bordeleau successfully redirected an Ethan Edwards point drive past Gopher goalie Jack LaFontaine for the third period’s only goal. On a night when very little went the Wolverines’ way, Bordeleau stood out for his persistence if not his production. Of all Michigan’s big offensive guns, Bordeleau was the one who asked questions of the Gophers throughout the blowout loss. That his goal came from prime, slot real estate portended the Wolverines’ Saturday night success in and around LaFontaine’s crease.
Michigan entered Saturday with an obvious question to answer: how would the nation’s most talented team respond to a humiliating home defeat?
At risk of dropping four straight home Big Ten games, a notion that would have sounded unthinkable when conference play began with a 3-0 shutout of Wisconsin in late October, Michigan responded with an exemplary start. In stark contrast to Friday’s match-up, the Wolverines crisp puck management saw them leaving the Gophers on their heels and racking up offensive zone time. It was a faster, more physical, and more precise opening for Michigan.
Their reward for such a strong start? Another Gopher goal on the counterattack. However, rather than succumbing to the force of Minnesota’s possession game, the Wolverines continued their possession dominance and concluded the period with three straight goals and a 3-1 with a 15-8 edge in shots affirming their dominance in possession.
In the second, the Wolverines upheld that offensive output while further sharpening their defensive effort, winning the frame 3-0 on the scoreboard and 18-8 in terms of shots. As the game progressed, the Wolverines’ precision in their passing and puck management only grew more obvious. With rejuggled lines and no Kent Johnson (see Odds & Ends for more on both these subjects), Michigan put the game out of reach through incisive passing that pinned the Gophers in their own end and quelled their potent passing attack.
Just like their opposition the night prior, Minnesota managed an academic third period goal to cut the deficit from five to four, but there was no serious hint of a dramatic comeback.
So, how then did the Wolverines respond to Friday’s stinker? With one of their most effective sixty-minute performances of the season. In progressively more poignant degrees, Western Michigan, Notre Dame, and Minnesota have all exposed imperfections in the Wolverines’ game, but on Saturday night, Michigan responded with a reminder: flaws be damned, this Michigan team is an attacking force, capable of dominating a game with their passing and skating in ways few college hockey teams could dream of matching. This Michigan team need not be an assemblage of isolated stars; instead, at its best, it is a team blessed with skill throughout its lineup that can combine that talent into a cohesive attack peerless across the college hockey landscape.
Highlights of the Weekend
Mike Pastujov led the way for the Wolverines offensively Saturday night, but take a closer look at this Matty Beniers pass to set up Pastujov’s second goal. The puck appears to be in an innocuous spot on the rink, drifting toward the blue line with two Gophers in solid position to clear the zone without incident. Instead, Beniers outskates both and, with his first touch, zips a rink-wide pass to hit Pastujov in stride for a “Grade A” chance, which Pastujov deposits. That Beniers must skate away from his own net AND avoid an oncoming Gopher checker only makes the precision of his pass more impressive.
The Michigan power play suffered all weekend against the Gopher PK (more on this in Odds & Ends), but there were a few sequences Saturday night in which the Wolverines achieved the kind of offensive zone time more reminiscent of the man advantage at even strength. One of those moments came in the run up to Pastujov’s first goal of the game (which put the Wolverines up 2-1). The sequence began with patience and poise on the puck from Beniers and then Luke Hughes. After collecting a pass from Hughes, Steve Holtz sent the kind of low point drive intended to stir up chaos in the crease. The shot did just that, and Pastujov was on the scene to bury the rebound.
Finally, in the third goal of Pastujov’s hat trick, we can take a look at the Bradenton, Florida native’s signature skill, his hands. The super senior winger bears more than a passing resemblance to Kent Johnson on the puck. While he may not have the diversity of moves of Johnson (who does, frankly?), Pastujov’s toe drag can give KJ’s a run for its money. The play began in the Wolverines’ end with Luke Morgan seconds away from being released from the sin bin following a boarding minor. With a quick stick, Pastujov stripped the puck off Gopher defenseman (and second round draft choice of the LA Kings) Brock Faber. Off and running, Pastujov executed a gorgeous, between-the-legs toe drag to elude Ben Brinkman, before sliding the puck past Jack LaFontaine. Admittedly, Pastujov benefited from good fortune on the puck’s tumultuous journey from his tape to the back of the net, but that fortune was well deserved thanks to the stick work that first earned him the puck, then the shot attempt.
Odds & Ends
Ineffectual power play (0-7)
One storyline we’ve kept our eye on throughout the season here at Gulo Gulo is the state of the Wolverine power play. From a personnel perspective, we’ve highlighted the way Michigan has moved away from a “fully loaded” top power play of Beniers, Johnson, Bordeleau, Brendan Brisson, and Owen Power in favor of more equally balanced units.
This weekend, the Wolverines were a combined 0-7, and even considering that figure, they underwhelmed, generating precious few chances. For a team this talented, there is no excuse for such an ineffectual power play. With both units slumping, now feels as though it could be the time to return to the stacked top unit. We’ll see if Brandon Naurato, the assistant tasked with organizing the PP, feels the same next weekend in Columbus.
Estapa with a statement amidst reshuffled lineup
On the heels of Friday’s defeat and with Kent Johnson on the shelf, Mel Pearson introduced wholesale changes to his lineup. At the top of that new look lineup, Mike Pastujov took advantage of his opportunity to play the part of Johnson alongside Beniers on the top line. On the second line, Freshman Mark Estapa assumed a coveted position alongside Bordeleau and Brisson. An outstanding skater with no shortage of puck skills, Estapa made a cogent case for remaining in a prominent spot in the lineup. On a night when the Wolverines clearly made intensity a priority, Estapa led the charge in that regard, flying around the rink and making life difficult on the Gophers’ defensemen throughout the game. While his zealousness cost Michigan a pair of minor penalties, he also earned his first career goal. It wasn’t a perfect night for Estapa, but I would have no objection to his remaining on Bordeleau’s wing for the foreseeable future.
Saturday night’s depleted, dedicated, and vociferous crowd
Set against the football team’s bid for the Big Ten title in Indianapolis, empty Yost bleachers made their season debut on Saturday night, a circumstance exacerbated by Friday’s dud. Though it lacked the raw numbers of the usual Yost crowd, Saturday night’s audience made its presence felt throughout the game, while also benefiting from live updates on the Jumbotron during stoppages.
I should also note that not even the in-state Spartans or Broncos managed to make their presence felt as a visiting fan base at Yost this year in the way Minnesota fans did this weekend. Hat tip to them for their travels.
KJ misses Saturday’s game
As we’ve mentioned a few times by now, Kent Johnson missed Saturday’s game due to illness. We’ve yet to hear more about how long KJ may be sidelined, but, for now, the question begs: are the Wolverines better without their wizard? The answer, despite this weekend’s results, is a resounding no.
Noah West Debut
Last but not least, as we mentioned in the body of the recap, Noah West made his Michigan debut in mop up duty during Friday’s loss. He rose to the occasion, stopping all eight shots he faced, which featured more than one quality Gopher opportunity. While there is certainly not a goaltending controversy in Ann Arbor, it was nice to see West perform admirably, if only in a small sample size, should he need to play more in the latter stages of the season.