Michigan
15-12-3, 10-8-2-1
Michigan State
14-15-1, 10-9-1
Michigan Claims Duel in the D, Takes Over Third in B1G Standings
2/17/2020 10:48:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Michigan won its fourth straight "Iron D" trophy with a 4-1 win over Michigan State.
» Captain Will Lockwood scored two goals and added an assist for a three-point game.
» Strauss Mann continued his strong play, stopping 31 of 32 shots he faced.
» Jake Slaker collected two assists to extend his point streak to six games.
Site: Detroit, Mich. (Little Caesars Arena)
Event: Duel in the D
Score: Michigan 4, Michigan State 1
Records: U-M (15-12-3, 10-8-2-1 Big Ten), MSU (14-15-1, 10-9-1-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 21 -- vs. Notre Dame (Yost Ice Arena), 6 p.m.
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DETROIT, Mich. -- Will Lockwood recorded a three-point game with two goals and one assist, and Strauss Mann made 31 saves as the University of Michigan ice hockey team defeated Michigan State, 4-1, for the "Duel in the D" inside Detroit's Little Caesars Arena. The win marks Michigan's fourth consecutive "Iron D" trophy victory as well as its fourth straight win entering a crucial four-game stretch to close out the regular season.
Michigan's first grade-A chance came just four minutes into the fifth annual Duel when a hardy Wolverine forecheck caused a turnover in the MSU end. A cross-crease pass went unaddressed and the Spartans were able to clear the puck out of their end, but the Maize and Blue capitalized on its next chance less than a minute later.
Senior captain Lockwood scooped up an errant pass at the right point in the U-M zone and carried it through the heart of the neutral zone. He glided in with the puck on his forehand to beat netminder John Lethemon with a short-side wrist shot to open up the scoring at 5:07. The unassisted goal was Lockwood's seventh of the season.
A shift or two later, it was the Spartans who found the back of the net to tie things up when defenseman Dennis Cesana converted on a 2-on-1 opportunity at 6:15.
After the U-M power play was activated for the first time following an MSU slashing penalty at 13:34, the team's top unit cycled the puck throughout the Spartan zone with ease. Jake Slaker sent a cross-ice pass to Lockwood, and he threw the puck on net with Jacob Hayhurst posted to the left of Lethemon to redirect the Lockwood shot-pass and put Michigan back on top 2-1, with 5:14 left in the period.
Less than two minutes into the second period, Michigan's power play was brought back to the ice for round two. For the second time in as many periods, an impressive screen on the man-advantage was responsible for creating a Wolverine goal.
After U-M settled into the MSU zone about halfway through the minor penalty, Hayhurst planted himself at the top of the crease and completely obstructed the goalie's eyesight. Noticing Lethemon's vision was compromised, Nick Blankenburg gathered the puck at the point and let loose with a wrist shot that was destined for twine. York and Slaker picked up assists on the goal that was engineered by Hayhurst and extended U-M's lead to 3-1, 2:50 into the period.
Continuing his play as one of the nation's top goaltenders, Mann was at his best throughout the second period. From pushing post-to-post and denying an excellent backdoor chance to maintaining the calm and standing strong throughout long periods of chaos on a late MSU power play, the sophomore was there for the Wolverines when needed. After 40 minutes, Michigan trailed in shots (24-16) but led on the scoreboard, 3-1, thanks to Mann's 23 saves.
Less than a minute into the third period, Johnny Beecher rimmed the puck around the boards to a waiting Griffin Luce. Luce fired an ankle-high wrist shot toward the net as Lockwood skated across the slot at the perfect time to deftly redirect Luce's shot through Lethemon's five-hole.
That would do it for scoring, however, as a strong defensive effort put the finishing touches on a critical win.
Over the past 11 contests, Michigan has gone 8-2-1. With the six-point sweep over Michigan State in hand, U-M (33 points) now sits just three points out of first place in the Big Ten, trailing Penn State (11-8-3-0) and Minnesota (9-6-5-4).
This weekend, Notre Dame will come to Yost Ice Arena for a two-game set. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday night (Feb. 21) before an early 4 p.m. start to close out U-M's regular-season home schedule Saturday afternoon. Following Saturday's contest, nine Wolverines will be honored in the program's annual Senior Night ceremony. Both games will be shown on Big Ten Network.
