It would not be a repeat of April for the Michigan Hockey team.
The No. 2 Wolverines (6-0-0) went to Denver over the weekend and swept the No. 1 Pioneers (2-2-0), winning 4-1 Friday and 4-3 Saturday.
Sophomore goaltender Jack Ivankovic and the defense in front of him were terrific in Game 1 as he made 27 saves on 28 shots. Meanwhile, goals by senior forward Jayden Perron, sophomore forward Malcolm Spence and sophomore forward Cole McKinney provided Michigan a 3-0 lead about halfway through the third
period.
Denver did cut the deficit to two on a power-play goal, but Spence’s second tally — an empty-netter — ended the defending champs’ comeback hopes.
It was a more open game in the second act; Denver scored in the first, but three straight Wolverines goals, courtesy of senior forward Garrett Schifsky, sophomore forward Adam Valentini and Perron — who extended his nation-best nine goals and 15 points — put them up two.
The Pioneers crawled back and evened the contest early in the final period. However, sophomore defenseman Asher Barnett’s shot took a fortuitous bounce off the backboard and into the net for the game-winner.
It’s been an encouraging start for a program seemingly perpetually stuck in the national semifinal — a proud place to stand, though frustrations arise when you knock on the door so many times and never kick it down. Perhaps victories like Friday and Saturday are a sign of things to come in the postseason, and Michigan will take Denver’s top spot in the polls.
This was still a mid-October, non-conference meeting, and we are months and months away from crunch time. Do you think this could be the year for the Wolverines? Or will this sweep be overvalued? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
