Kornacki: Marody Hat Trick Marks His Road Back
2/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Feb. 4, 2017
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Hats were being tossed onto the ice at Yost Ice Arena, and Cooper Marody and his Wolverines teammates and coaches were experiencing something that hadn't been felt this season.
Sophomore center Marody had just scored his third goal in the second period -- getting a hat trick in less than 10 minutes of elapsed time -- and the University of Michigan ice hockey team was on its way to a 5-4 victory over Ohio State Friday night (Feb. 3).
No Wolverine had scored more than one goal during the first three periods of regulation in the previous 22 games this season. Tony Calderone, out with an injury in this game against the Buckeyes, scored two goals against Michigan State in the Great Lakes Invitational, including the game-winner in overtime.
However, it was a night for head-scratching goals. Ohio State scored three times in the first nine minutes of the third period, getting two power-play goals and scoring twice in the first 17 seconds of the period.
Though, the Wolverines assured that the four-goal lead they held after two periods was one goal enough, getting some big saves from Hayden Lavigne and sharp defensive play in the final 11 minutes of the game.
They held on, and that kept the shooter who got that big lead on the scoreboard happy in the postgame interview room.
"It was nice," Marody said of his first goals of the season, "but it was good to beat Ohio State. The guys played pretty solid for most of the game but had a little lapse in the third period that we would like to have back, but we got the win."
Marody, a sixth-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2015, scored the first Michigan hat trick since Hobey Baker Award runner-up Kyle Connor netted four goals against Penn State in last year's Big Ten Tournament. It was the first Yost hat trick by a Wolverine since Tyler Motte got one against the Buckeyes last season.
I'm not sure what the elapsed time record for three goals is, but Marody's barrage in 9:17 had to be one of the quickest hat tricks ever recorded by a Wolverine.
"They were all good plays," said Marody. "We've got Dexter Dancs going hard on the forecheck (and getting the assist on the first goal) and (right wing James) Sanchez supporting, and that's how we got the first goal.
"We had good plays on the power plays to get the other goals."
It was Marody's first goal since scoring March 6, 2016, at Ohio State. He'd gone nearly 11 months since turning on the red light behind the goal with a shot.
"I think (with) any person that would get on your mind," said Marody. "But, yeah, it was nice."
Berenson was counting on Marody, a rugged player who scored 10 goals as a freshman, to pick up some of the slack left by the departures of the entire first line scoring machine of JT Compher, Connor and Motte to NHL organizations.
However, Marody, described as a "good student" by Berenson, was declared ineligible by the NCAA for failing to have the required number of credit hours in the last winter semester when he was slowed by mononucleosis. He had to sit out until the fall semester concluded and didn't play until Dec. 29.
"I think adversity just makes you stronger," said Marody. "It's important to learn from any adversity you have and try to move forward. So, it's good that the team got a good win tonight, and we're hoping we can continue it, and I think we can."
Marody's explosion provided hope that he could be a missing link to an offense that has struggled pretty much the entire season.
"Good for Cooper," said Berenson. "You know Cooper's a sniper, and we needed him to step up and provide some offense and help the power play, and he did both of those. Cooper was good and his line was good and the power play was good."
Two of Marody's goals came on power plays, and after not scoring on the 13 shots he took in his first six games back, he found the net on all but two of five shots.
He had three assists in earlier games, and the United States Hockey League product from nearby Brighton, Michigan, has the potential to become a special player.
If Marody can score with some consistency, and the No. 3 line that provided the first two goals can become reliable, the offense has potential.
The Wolverines came into this game averaging 2.5 goals and 24.8 shots and doubled the goal average with 38 shots by coming out aggressively from the first faceoff to outshoot the Buckeyes, 19-7, in the opening 20 minutes.
Senior winger Evan Allen opened the scoring in the first period with second goal of the season, and linemate Adam Winborg, the freshman center from Sweden, scored with 37 seconds left in the period for perhaps the biggest goal of the game. Both goals came at even strength.
"They played solid, hard and the right way," Berenson said of the Max Shuart-Winborg-Allen line, "and they got rewarded for it."
Berenson said his team (9-12-2, 2-6-1-1 Big Ten) "played with some desperation" and got some big saves from Lavigne to come out on top.
Marody gave his team a cushion that was just wide enough.
The four-goal lead became a one-goal lead that the Wolverines held over 11 frantic minutes in the final period before the horn finally sounded.
"It's a typical game between these two schools," said Berenson, "and we've been in that game down there. Games between these two schools are unpredictable; they're all over the map.
"What did we learn from it? We learned that if we play the right way for the whole game, we can be a decent team. But if we don't play the right way for the whole game, then we're vulnerable, and we were lucky to get away with a victory giving up four goals at home. You can't do that."
The Wolverines didn't cave in, though, in a game that was played without four injured players. Forwards Alex Kile and Calderone and defensemen Kevin Lohan and Christian Meike are hurt, and Berenson said they won't play in Saturday night's (Feb. 4) rematch with OSU. Physical forward Culter Martin is out with an illness.
Marody helped his team overcome all of those absences. Michigan can't count on a hat trick every game but didn't waste this one in an important victory.
