Michigan
1-0-0
St. Lawrence
0-1-0
Michigan Kicks off Pearson Era with Win at St. Lawrence
10/6/2017 11:22:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Mel Pearson earned a win in his debut as Michigan head coach.
» Quinn Hughes and Alex Roos tallied their first goals in the maize and blue, while Jack Becker and Josh Norris contributed with assists in their U-M debuts.
» Jack Lafontaine made 24 saves in net while earning the victory.
Site: Canton, N.Y. (Appleton Ice Arena)
Score: Michigan 3, St. Lawrence 1
Records: U-M (1-0-0), SLU (0-1-0)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 7 -- at Clarkson (Potsdam, N.Y.), 7 p.m.
CANTON, N.Y. -- The University of Michigan's special team efforts led to a 3-1 season-opening ice hockey victory over St. Lawrence on Friday night (Oct. 6) at Appleton Ice Arena. Mel Pearson earned his first victory at the helm of the program in his first game behind the bench of the Wolverines.
"I'm really proud and happy for our players," said Pearson. "This is a tough building to come into and a challenging place to win. They (St. Lawrence) had a good record in here last year and they've got a real good hockey team -- they're going to win a lot of games this year."
Michigan was able to get on the board first, capitalizing on its second power-play opportunity of the first period. Junior forward Cooper Marody made a pass through traffic to classmate Joseph Cecconi, who immediately found senior Tony Calderone on the back door to give the Wolverines an early 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
Less than five minutes into the second period, the Maize and Blue capitalized on another power-play opportunity when freshman defenseman Quinn Hughes notched his first collegiate goal on a wrist shot from the point off a feed from classmate Josh Norris. Sophomore forward Will Lockwood was also credited with a helper on the play.
St. Lawrence responded just over a minute later off a turnover in the neutral zone to cut the U-M lead to 2-1 at the 14:18 mark of the second period.
Michigan killed off two consecutive St. Lawrence power plays late in the second period to preserve a 2-1 lead at the second intermission. The Saints went on their first power play at 12:43 of the second period when the Wolverines were called for hooking, then four minutes later had another man-up opportunity after a slashing call.
Graduate newcomer Alex Roos gave the Wolverines a two-goal cushion at the 9:50 mark of the third stanza after he received a pass from fellow newcomer Jack Becker in the neutral zone for the eventual final score of 3-1. Sophomore forward James Sanchez received the secondary assist after starting the play in Michigan's defensive zone.
Sophomore netminder Jack Lafontaine made 24 saves while picking up his first win of the season and tying his win total from last season.
"Lafontaine was excellent in net tonight," said Pearson. "You need goaltending, and I thought Jack was a huge difference for us in this game, and good for him."
Michigan's special teams units made a huge contribution in the season-opening victory, converting on two of the five power-play chances and keeping the Saints scoreless on their four man-up opportunities.
Pearson becomes the fifth Michigan ice hockey head coach to earn a win in his debut, joining Red Berenson, John Giordano, Dan Farrell and Joseph Barrs.
Michigan improves to 13-2-1 all-time against the Saints, having won the last nine matchups dating back to 1962.
The Wolverines will conclude their opening weekend road trip tomorrow night when they face off against Clarkson in Potsdam, New York. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
