The last time the Michigan hockey team was shut out in back to back games, it was two more years until the end of World War II.
The date was March 7, 1943, when Illinois swept a Wolverines team that ultimately finished the 1942-1943 season with a dismal record of 1-10-2. On Saturday, though, as No. 4 Minnesota shut out No. 6 Michigan for a second straight game, the history books needed an update.
Despite the novelty of the loss, the Wolverines didn’t start out on the worst of foots. After a bleak performance Friday, they came out of the gates hot on Saturday. But as the game wore on, Michigan’s offense slowed down with it, and despite still finding chances, it ultimately wasn’t able to come up with any goals.
In the first period, the Wolverines used an early power play to fire off shot after shot, with numerous coming close to finding the back of the net. Michigan led the Golden Gophers in shots 8-1 after six minutes, a discrepancy in stark contrast to the way Friday began. Those increased attacking numbers continued throughout the rest of the game, too. Even if they didn’t get off as many shots as they did in Friday’s blowout, the Wolverines’ offense played their opponent’s much more even on Saturday.
“(After Friday) we just talked about getting in there more, getting more shots on net,” graduate defenseman Jacob Truscott said. “Still think we didn’t do good enough at that, but better than yesterday.”
After the strong start, though, Michigan’s offense began to slow. In 20 minutes spanning from the end of the first period into the second, the Wolverines got off just three shots. In that same span, Minnesota got 20 and the game’s first goal. The Gophers allowed second chances off of bounces and ricochets early on, but once they prevented those extra opportunities, Michigan faded.
“I think they did a good job of blocking shots,” Wolverines coach Brandon Naurato said. “I think we could have done a better job of making more inside plays and getting there, but I gotta watch the tape.”
Still down a goal in the third period, Michigan found a rhythm again. In the last 10 minutes of the game, the Wolverines had several threatening scoring opportunities, but they often barely failed to connect on passes that would’ve led to open looks. Similar to their scoring struggles earlier in the season, they had chances but just couldn’t convert.
In a penalty-full game similar to Friday, Michigan had a man advantage several times throughout the game, too. Down freshman forward Michael Hage, who typically plays on their first power-play unit, the Wolverines put into action freshman forward Christian Humphreys, who hasn’t seen much ice time in the last month. Dealing with that and facing a strong penalty kill unit in Minnesota’s, Michigan struggled to sustain offensive pressure and make the most of their power play chances.
“… Our D-core is the strength right now, really just they’re elite,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. “It’s really an elite group, and we’re pretty fortunate.”
This weekend, after a blissful November, the Wolverines’ offense was brought back to reality. Michigan made improvements from Friday to Saturday, starting stronger and putting up more of a fight throughout the game, but there was no difference made where it matters — the scoreboard.
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