Coming off two wins over Notre Dame last weekend, Michigan was slated for another tough pair of matchups this weekend at Yost, welcoming in No. 10 Wisconsin for a pair of games.
Game 1
Friday night’s game was
a high-scoring affair, with Michigan getting on the board first about eight minutes into the game. Garrett Schifsky caught a pass from Aidan Park right in front of the Wisconsin net and shoveled the puck home to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead. Michigan would hold that lead until the first intermission.
Coming out of the break, Wisconsin was the aggressor, with Luke Osburn finding the back of the net just over two-and-a-half minutes into the second period. Gavin Morrissey scored about two minutes later to give the Badgers a 2-1 lead.
Michigan wouldn’t go quietly, though, as Malcolm Spence scored at the midway point of the period to knot the game at 2-2. Josh Eernisse would score a goal of his own before the end of the period to give the Wolverines a 3-2 lead heading into the third period.
Michigan was able to hold onto its lead for the first half of the final period, but Spence was assessed a hooking penalty, and the Badgers were able to capitalize with a power play goal to tie the game at 3-3. Not even a minute later, Wisconsin took the lead on a goal from Ryan Botterill. But Michigan wasn’t done, as Michael Hage would respond just 36 seconds later to tie the game at 4-4.
In the waning minutes of the period, Will Horcoff caught the puck as the Badgers attempted to clear it and then weaved his way through defenders before scoring to give Michigan the lead for good at 5-4. The Wolverines got a pair of empty net goals in the closing seconds for good measure and finished off Friday night with a 7-4 win.
Game 2
Returning to the ice on Saturday in search of a sweep, it was actually the Wolverines that fell into an early hole. About seven minutes into the game, Matthew Mania was sent to the box for cross-checking and Wisconsin was able to take advantage with a power play goal from Ben Dexheimer. After an Adam Valenti hooking penalty just a few minutes later, Wisconsin scored its second power play goal of the night to go up 2-0.
Michigan’s fortunes didn’t exactly turn in the second period. Wisconsin’s Blake Montgomery scored about a minute into the period to put the Badgers up 3-0. The Wolverines struck back at the five-minute mark of the period, with Luca Fantilli scoring a shorthanded goal to make it 3-1. However, Aiden Dubinsky scored just two minutes later to help Wisconsin reclaim a three-goal lead. Christian Fitzgerald tacked on a goal as well to give Wisconsin a 5-1 lead at the end of the second.
The Badgers would tack on an additional goal in the third period, while Michigan wasn’t going to have nearly enough to complete the comeback, finishing the night with a 6-1 loss.
With the series split, Michigan is now 10-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play. Next weekend, the Wolverines will head out on the road to take on Penn State for games on Friday and Saturday night.
