Michigan Hockey Preview: The Wolverines travel to face the reeling Gophers

Top-ranked Michigan Hockey heads to Minnesota to play for the first time since losing starting goalie Jack Ivankovic:

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

The No. 1 Michigan Wolverines (18-4-0) matched their win total from all of last season by sweeping Notre Dame last weekend. It should have been a weekend of deserved recognition for the growth of this team from mediocrity to a bona fide national championship contender, even more so when head coach Brandon Naurato was rewarded with a deserved contract extension through 2030 shortly thereafter.

Life should have been sweet, but the injury to goalie Jack Ivankovic on Saturday night hung over this program

like a dark, ominous cloud. On the bright side, Naurato did later announce Ivankovic would not be out the rest of the season, but his timeline to return is purely up to his ability to recover. Bet. Thanks to this team’s incredible start to the season, realistically, the Wolverines need only two wins to make the NCAA Tournament. But with this offense, why leave anything up to chance?

Michigan’s potent attack still tops the nation and is 29 goals better than the second-best scoring team. T.J. Hughes (9G, 22A) took the team’s individual points lead, breaking a three-way tie with the nation’s top goal-scorer, Will Horcoff (19G, 10A), and Michael Hage (11G, 19A), both of whom looked as if they were still recovering from World Juniors last weekend.

Also of note, junior Nick Moldenhauer (5G, 12A) is fresh off his best weekend ever as a Wolverine. Named Big Ten First Star of the Week for his four-point effort, Moldy was a team-best +4 and blocked three shots against Notre Dame. For a team in need of others to step up their two-way ability to help mitigate the loss of Ivankovic, Moldy could not have picked a better time to find his groove.

Defensively, Michigan’s fifth-ranked group is going to have to be smothering without Ivankovic backstopping them. And unlike previous years, this group has the talent and depth to raise its game to another level. Asher Barnett (1G, 9A), Luca Fantilli (3G, 6A) and Tyler Duke (0G, 9A) lead the blueliners in plus/minus, while Ben Robertson (0G, 15A) and Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen (4G, 9A) have handled the bulk of the offensive load.

Perhaps the most important coaching point for this team’s skaters against Minnesota is finding the right balance between its attacking philosophy without becoming too aggressive in the offensive end to prevent odd-man rushes or breakaways. Without Ivankovic, “backchecking” will be written in all caps and circled on the locker room board before taking the ice.

Stepping up for Ivankovic in net in the interim is fellow freshman Stephen Peck (.857). In the first collegiate action of his career last week, Peck entered cold against Notre Dame and made 18 saves to preserve victory. Now, with a week to prepare, he should be able to improve upon his save percentage numbers and showcase why he was brought to Michigan in the first place. And if Peck can play even close to a .900 save percentage level, the Wolverines will have a chance to sweep Minnesota.

Getting to know Minnesota

The Golden Gophers (8-12-1) are currently on pace to have their worst season since the Clinton administration and their first losing season under head coach Bob Motzko, who took over in 2018. This is a proud and desperate program that will not go quietly into that good night. Losers of three straight and facing a backup goaltender, this will be the most motivated Minnesota team that has taken the ice all season.

Up front, the Gophers are led by the Brodies. Sophomore Brodie Ziemer (13G, 7A) and senior captain Brody Lamb (9G, 10A) lead this team in scoring with 20 and 19 points, respectively, four clear of the next player. Although this attack has been sluggish, only scoring more than three goals once during this slump, this is still the same team that scored five or more goals in wins over Denver and North Dakota.

On the blue line, this team is in dire need of any production behind Luke Mittelstadt (1G, 11A). After the senior, no other defenseman has more than four points this season, and only two have produced even a third of what Mittelstadt has. The team showed signs of improvement last Friday against Penn State, limiting the high-flying Nittany Lions to only three goals. But it quickly regressed, allowing five goals on Saturday.

Between the pipes, Minnesota is in a similar position to the one Michigan was in last season–stuck with consistently inconsistent goalies with no end in sight. A pure hellscape. Nathan Airey (.890) and former Spartan, Luca Di Pasquo (.912), have both shown flashes of brilliance and glares of porous play this season. To be fair, it would be hard for anyone to hold up in net behind this year’s defensive unit.

Key to the game

Take the pressure off Peck. The Wolverines must ease the burden on Peck’s plate by playing calculated and measured this weekend. Michigan cannot afford to leave itself exposed on the back end like it has done several times this year. All season, Ivankovic provided a security blanket for the team. A “don’t worry, I got you” type of safety valve when a gamble didn’t pay off in the offensive zone. Now, the five on the ice have to play a safety-valve style of hockey in front of Peck that provides him with a “don’t worry, we got you” feel.

One way to help is on the power play. Minnesota is the second-worst penalty-killing team in the country, only ahead of Mercyhurst. Conversely, the Wolverines are the second-best power play unit in the country. This disparity is one of the single largest in any major conference this season, and Michigan needs to exploit the man-advantage to its full potential against the Gophers.