No. 2 Michigan Hockey splits with No. 13 Wisconsin in Madison
The No. 2 Michigan Wolverines (25-6-1) faced some adversity in Madison against No. 13 Wisconsin this weekend, dropping their first Friday contest of the season. However, Michigan showed grit and resolve to split the series against the largest Kohl Center hockey crowd ever on hand on Saturday night.
Game 1
Michigan never found its footing Friday night. More than 10 minutes into the opening period, the Wolverines only managed one shot and were being substantially outplayed on both ends of the ice. But in the final minutes of the period, despite being outshot 2:1, Will Horcoff connected on a power-play snipe from the right circle to give Michigan an unlikely one-goal lead.
Advertisement
But in the second, the Badgers continued to wear on the Wolverines until the dam finally broke. Using the long-change period to their advantage, Wisconsin kept the play in Michigan’s offensive zone and the pressure on the D. Wisconsin banged home a rebound off the post 7:25 into the period, and less than two minutes later, the Badgers pulled ahead on a poorly defended top-shelf transition goal.
Michigan responded with some pressure of its own late in the period, but it was ultimately the Badgers adding one more and taking a 3-1 lead into the second intermission. The frustration would continue in the third period for Michigan, as the Wolverines struggled to maintain any offensive zone pressure. Michael Hage found some room during a stretch of 4-on-4 play, but was denied at the doorstep.
The Badgers added an empty-netter to win comfortably, 4-1. Wisconsin dominated faceoffs, 34-19, shots, 39-23, and frankly dominated the Wolverines. The one bright spot was goalie Jack Ivankovic, who stopped 35-of-38 shots (.921 SV%) and carried this momentum into Saturday.
Game 2
On Saturday night, Ivankovic was sensational. The freshman goaltender stopped 34-of-35 shots (.971 SV%) and the only goal he allowed came in the first five minutes of play on one of Wisconsin’s five power plays of the evening. Ivankovic kept Michigan alive as they grinded the Badgers down.
Advertisement
Trailing early, 1-0, Michigan responded less than three minutes later with a Ben Robertson shot from the point that was beautifully redirected by the shortest-tenured skater, Kason Muscutt, for his first career goal and point. In the second period, Wisconsin kept the pressure in Michigan’s zone, but the defense was up to the task. The period appeared to be a stalemate until Nick Moldenhauer continued his WHITE hot second half of the season with a wicked wrister and put Michigan up 2-1 with about five minutes remaining. Moldenhauer now has 13 goals on the season, 10 of which have come since Jan. 9.
In the third period, Michigan stuck to its grinding style of play and wore down the Badgers. Wisconsin won the shot battle by three in the final frame, but neither team hit double digits. As Wisconsin tried desperately to score with an extra skater, it was none other than T.J. Hughes firing home an empty-netter and securing the win for the Wolverines, 3-1.
Michigan was still outshot (35-25) and outdrawn (23-22) in the faceoff dot, but this win is representative of why this team is different from previous groups. The Wolverines committed to a different brand of hockey than they would prefer and found a way in one of the toughest college hockey environments in a game where nothing was going their way. Moreover, with one series remaining, the team has yet to be swept on the season, a feat no Michigan team has accomplished since the 2007-08 season, when head coach Brandon Naurato was a junior.