Michigan Set to Host Dartmouth on Thanksgiving Weekend

UPCOMING GAMES
U-M vs. Dartmouth	U-M vs. Dartmouth
Friday, Nov. 27	Saturday, Nov. 28
7:35 p.m.	7:35 p.m.
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• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After a road series split at nationally ranked Boston University, the No. 12-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team (6-2-1) returns home to face Dartmouth (2-4-0) in a Thanksgiving weekend series at Yost Ice Arena. Michigan and Dartmouth will play for the first time in 36 years as each team has won three games in the six all-time meetings that date back to 1946. Games begin at 7:35 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 27) and Saturday (Nov. 28).

• Michigan met Dartmouth in the 1948 NCAA Championship Game, the first NCAA Hockey Championship ever, organized in part by then-Michigan head coach Vic Heyliger. The Wolverines earned an 8-4 win over Dartmouth for their first national championship, with Michigan's Wally Gacek setting an NCAA Championship Game record with six points (three goals, three assists). The Big Green exacted a measure of revenge one year later, beating Michigan in a 1949 NCAA Frozen Four Semifinal (4-2) before losing in the championship game to Boston College (4-3).

• Michigan and Dartmouth will meet for the seventh and eighth times in series history. Michigan last played Dartmouth in a two-game series at Yost Ice Arena on Dec. 7-8, 1979, with the Wolverines earning a series sweep (10-2, 6-5). Current Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet was a junior All-Ivy League goaltender for the Big Green and started the second game of that series (Dec. 8), making 35 saves in net. Gaudet led the Big Green to the 1980 NCAA Frozen Four that same season, their most recent Frozen Four (and NCAA Tournament) appearance, but Dartmouth fell to eventual national champion North Dakota (4-1).

• A three-goal first period helped Michigan to a 4-2 win over Boston University on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 21) inside Agganis Arena. Freshman forwards Cooper Marody (PPG) and Brendan Warren each scored in the opening 10 minutes, and junior forward Alex Kile added a late first-period power-play goal to help U-M build an early lead. Junior forward Max Shuart scored his first goal of the year in the third period, and senior goaltender Steve Racine made 19 saves to earn the win in net. Michigan earned its first ever win at Agganis Arena.

• Michigan is once again one of the top scoring teams in the nation with an average of 4.11 goals/game (No. 5 NCAA). The Wolverines have topped the five goal mark in five of nine games this season. Last season, the Wolverines topped five goals in 14 games, the most in a single season since 2009-10 (15).

• Michigan's five freshmen skaters -- Nicholas Boka, Joseph Cecconi, Kyle Connor, Cooper Marody, and Brendan Warren -- have each played in all nine games so for Michigan and have made immediate contributions for the Wolverines. Marody (6G, 5A) leads the team in scoring and is third nationally among freshmen in points per game (1.22) with Connor (5G, 5A) not far behind. Warren (3G, 6A) has also had an immediate impact, as have defensemen Boka (2A) and Cecconi (A). The three freshmen forwards (Connor, Marody, and Warren) have combined for 14 of Michigan's 37 goals (37.8%).

• Over the last seven games, Michigan's penalty killing unit has been in a groove, killing off 20 of the last 22 power-play opportunities (90.9%) for the opposition. The Wolverines are 25-for-29 (86.2%, 19th in NCAA) on the penalty kill so far this season. Michigan is also one of the least penalized teams in the country, averaging 7.3 penalty minutes per game (57th in NCAA).

• Michigan has topped the 40 shot mark in four games so far this season, notching a high of 48 shots in a 7-3 win over Niagara on Nov. 13. Michigan is among the nation's best (39.0 shots/game, No. 2 NCAA) in shots on goal/game.