Michigan
Arizona State
Wolverines to Wrap Up Regular Season Against Arizona State
2/21/2018 4:18:00 PM | Ice Hockey
THIS WEEK
Friday, Feb. 23 -- vs. Arizona State (Yost Ice Arena), 7:30 p.m.
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Saturday, Feb. 24 -- vs. Arizona State (Yost Ice Arena), 7:30 p.m.
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• Complete Game Notes -- Feb. 23 (PDF)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 13 University of Michigan ice hockey team (16-13-3) is set to face off against Arizona State (8-19-5) to conclude the Wolverines' regular-season schedule. The two teams will square off on Friday (Feb. 23) and Saturday (Feb. 24) at Red Berenson Rink at Yost Ice Arena, with Senior Night festivities taking place on Saturday night.
The Arizona State Series
Arizona State and Michigan met for the first and only time last season (Nov. 11, 2016), when the teams squared off at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, home of the Arizona Coyotes, where U-M was victorious, 4-1.
Scouting the Sun Devils
The Sun Devils are led by head coach Greg Powers, who became the their head coach in 2010 and has been the only head coach of the program since they made the jump to Division-I hockey in the 2015-2016 season. In that inaugural season, Powers led the team to a 10-23-5 record, playing a mix of NCAA and ACHA opponents. In 2016-2017, Powers posted a 10-19-3 record in ASU's first full NCAA season, and so far this season has a record of 8-19-5. He owns a 174-50-14 record throughout his tenure as the Sun Devils' head coach in the ACHA and the NCAA.
Leading Arizona State
Arizona State is led by freshman defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk with 24 points (8G, 16A) through 32 games. Freshman forward Johnny Walker leads the team in goals scored (13), while sophomore forward Brett Gruber leads the team in assists (17).
In net, freshman goaltender Joey Daccord has appeared and started in 30 games this season, holding a 3.44 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. He has a record of 8-17-5 with one shutout. Daccord is also the only draft pick on the Sun Devils' roster; the netminder was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Brought Out the Brooms
The Wolverines pulled off a huge sweep of the then No. 1-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish last weekend. The two wins catapulted Michigan to No. 13 in the NCAA rankings, and marked the first time in program history the Maize and Blue has swept the top-ranked team. The teams first squared off at Compton Family Ice Arena on Friday (Feb. 16) in South Bend, Indiana, before returning to Ann Arbor on Sunday (Feb. 18) for the series finale.
On Friday, Michigan defeated Notre Dame, 4-2, holding off a feverish Fighting Irish attack in the final minutes. Michigan got on the board first when sophomore forward Adam Winborg tipped in a shot from the point midway through the first period. The Maize and Blue added another goal shortly after thanks to senior forward Dexter Dancs to end the first period with a 2-0 lead. Notre Dame responded with a power-play goal early in the second period, but the Wolverines answered with a goal from senior captain Tony Calderone to regain a two-goal lead. The Fighting Irish mustered up one more goal with 1:13 left in the second period, but it that was their final tally. Michigan added another goal in the third period from freshman forward Michael Pastujov to seal the victory.
On Sunday, the game was a defensive battle. Sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne stopped all 35 shots he faced for his third shutout on the season, while Calderone put in his 17th goal of the season as the Wolverines edged Notre Dame, 1-0, to complete the sweep. Â Â
How Sweep it is
Michigan's sweep of Notre Dame was its fourth sweep on the season. It is the third time in the last four years that the Wolverines have had at least four sweeps in a season. The sweep over the top-ranked Fighting Irish also was the first time in program history the Maize and Blue has swept the No. 1-ranked team in the polls. Previously, the highest-ranked team Michigan swept was the No. 2-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes during the 2011-12 season.
Sky Full of Stars for Lavigne
Sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne posted his third shutout of the season in Sunday's 1-0 victory against No. 1-ranked Notre Dame. He saved 35 shots in the contest and was named the No. 1 Star of the Week in the Big Ten and No. 3 Star of the Week in the NCAA. Sunday's game marked Lavigne's third straight 30-plus-save night, as his 35-save shutout followed up a 34 save performance in South Bend.
CLASSy Piazza
Senior defenseman Sam Piazza was named one of 10 NCAA men's ice hockey student-athlete finalists for the 2017-18 Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division-I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Through 30 games this season, Piazza has recorded 12 points (1G, 11A) on the year.
PairWise Watch
The PairWise Ranking is a statistical comparison tool designed to mimic the decisions made by the NCAA selection committee for the NCAA tournament. It compares programs based on head-to-head records, records against common opponents and the ratings percentage index, which looks at the quality of teams played. Points are awarded for each school a team wins comparisons against. Michigan's 49 points put them at 11th in the PairWise Ranking, ahead of the 16th spot cutoff point for the tournament.
FIVE IN FOUR
Michigan's five goals-against over the last four games is the least number of goals allowed over that span since the 2011-12 season (Feb. 25-March 16) when it gave up four goals over four games.
Becker Burying
Freshman forward Jack Becker's seven goals since Jan. 1 ties him for the most in the Big Ten in goals scored this calendar year. Becker also ranks tied for fourth amongst freshmen nationally in goals scored in the New Year.
Tony Lights the Lamp
Senior captain Tony Calderone's 17 goals are the most by a U-M player in the first 32 games of a season since Tyler Motte's 29 goals in 32 games during the 2015-16 campaign.
Marody in Good Company
Junior forward Cooper Marody's 37 points are the most by a Wolverine through 32 games since Kyle Connor had 56 in 2015-2016.
Quinntessential Blue liner
Hughes' 19 points (3G, 16A) from the point are the most by a U-M freshman blue-liner through 32 games since Zach Werenski had 24 points over that span in 2014-15.
Climbin' the Ranks
Marody ranks tied for 10th nationally with 37 points on the season and is tied for sixth with 26 assists. Calderone is tied for 16th nationally with 17 goals.
GOALLL!!!
Michigan ranks 18th in the nation in goals per game, averaging 3.09 goals over its first 32 games. Calderone ranks tied for 19th in the nation in goals per game at 0.53.
Block It Out
Michigan ranks fourth nationally with an average of 15 blocked shots per game and third in total blocked shots with 480 on the season.
SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS
Michigan ranks 10th nationally with an average of 33.38 shots on goal per game, and is 19th in the nation with a +2.88 shots-on-goal margin per game.
Hobey Hopefuls
Tony Calderone and Cooper Marody have been nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to college hockey's top player. Michigan has had two Hobey Baker winners in its history, with Brendan Morrison winning in 1997 and Kevin Porter in 2008.
Up Ahead
Michigan will host the first round of the Big Ten Tournament (March 2-4) after concluding its regular season. Puck Drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday (March 2-3). Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Sunday (March 4), If necessary. The opponent will be decided following this weekend's Big Ten regular-season play.
