Michigan
Michigan State
Michigan Jumps Out Early, Unable to Hold Off MSU in Opener
11/14/2019 11:12:00 PM | Ice Hockey
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Yost Ice Arena)
Score: Michigan State 4, Michigan 3
Records: U-M (3-6-2, 0-4-1 B1G), MSU (4-5-0, 2-1-0 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 16 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.) 7 p.m.
» Nick Blankenburg, Garrett Van Wyhe and Johnny Beecher each scored their second goals of the season.
» The Wolverines outshot the Spartans, 41-34, which included a 15-7 advantage in the first period.
» Michigan and Michigan State will square off in the series finale on Saturday (Nov. 16) at 7 p.m. at Munn Ice Arena.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The University of Michigan ice hockey team jumped out to a two-goal lead in the second period, but three unanswered Michigan State goals proved costly as the Wolverines fell, 4-3, to the Spartans on Thursday night (Nov. 14) at Yost Ice Arena.
Halfway through the opening period, Michigan was presented its first golden opportunity of the night. Forward Jake Slaker put pressure on the opposing defense, created a turnover and slid the puck to Luke Martin. The senior defenseman, walking the offensive-zone blue line, wristed a hard snapshot on net. The puck began to creep behind Spartan goaltender John Lethemon, but a Michigan State defenseman swatted it away before it could cross the goal line.
In the final minute of the period, the Wolverines did find the back of the net. Nick Blankenburg was credited with his second goal of the season after targeting the top-left corner with a snapshot. Dakota Raabe and Nolan Moyle picked up assists on the goal, and Michigan headed into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead and outshot MSU, 15-7.
The intensity of the rivalry started to emerge just two minutes into the second period. With his back turned toward the middle of the ice, Slaker was leveled from behind leading to a series of scrums. Michigan State was handed a boarding penalty while both teams received offsetting roughing calls resulting in a Michigan power play. Although the Wolverines had a couple of opportunities to extend their lead to two, the power-play units struggled to find a rhythm.
The Michigan offense, on the other hand, began to hit its stride. Halfway through the second period, a behind-the-net pass from Nick Pastujov rattled its way through a series of skates standing in front of the net. Slowly but surely, the puck trickled behind the Spartan netminder and Garrett Van Wyhe slammed it home to extend Michigan's lead to two with 13:12 remaining.
The Spartans wasted no time in cutting their deficit to one. Strauss Mann's vision was cut off by a Spartan standing directly in front of him and an ensuing shot got past Mann on the blocker side less than a minute after the Michigan goal to make it 2-1.
Later in the period, a neutral-zone turnover led the Wolverines into the opposing zone. The puck, after being moved around cleanly, found its way to the stick of freshman Johnny Beecher. Situated on the lower portion of the circle, Beecher moved down to the goal line before realizing that Lethemon was slightly off his post. Beecher then placed a perfect shot to beat Lethemon on the short side giving Michigan a 3-1 lead over Michigan State.
As the game clock neared the end of the second period, Michigan State caught a fortunate bounce of the end boards and capitalized on the following shot. Michigan's lead was cut down to just one, 3-2, heading into the second intermission.
The high energy and fast game pace seen throughout the entirety of the contest did not cease in the final period. Just moments into the third, a ill-advised Wolverine pass along with a falling Michigan defenseman led to a breakaway for Patrick Khodorenko and the Spartans. Mann stopped the initial shot, but the rebound was thrown into net by Khodorenko and knotted the game at 3 with 16 minutes left to play.
A couple minutes later, the Wolverines were whistled for a high-sticking penalty giving Michigan State its second power-play opportunity of the night. In the remaining seconds of the man-advantage, Logan Lambdin released a one-timed shot that beat Mann. Michigan challenged the goal for the play being offsides, but the on-ice call upheld and MSU took a 4-3 lead on its third unanswered goal with over 10 minutes to go.
With less than five minutes to go in the game, Michigan was handed another man-advantage. Halfway through the power play, the Wolverines pulled Mann from his net resulting in a 6-on-4 advantage. Playing desperately to tie the game, Michigan threw everything it had at the Green and White but could not find the back of the net before the buzzer rang.
Michigan recorded a season high in shots with 41, while Michigan State took just 34.
Michigan will head to East Lansing to conclude its series against in-state rival Michigan State on Saturday night (Nov. 16) at Munn Ice Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on BTN Plus.
