Michigan
3-0-0
Minnesota Duluth
2-1-0
Michigan Scores Five Unanswered Goals to Defeat No. 5 Minnesota Duluth
10/15/2021 11:59:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Michigan trailed 1-0 halfway through the first period but scored five straight goals to top No. 5 Minnesota Duluth in the Ice Breaker Tournament.
» Matty Beniers notched his first two tallies of the season to pace the Michigan offense.
» Luke Hughes put the Wolverines on the board and tied the game with his first career goal.
» Erik Portillo stopped 28 of the 29 Bulldog shots he faced to earn the win.
Site: Duluth, Minn. (AMSOIL Arena)
Event: Ice Breaker Tournament (Day 1 of 2)
Score: #3 Michigan 5, #5 Minnesota Duluth 1
Records: U-M (3-0-0), UMD (2-1-0)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 16 -- vs. #1 Minnesota State - Ice Breaker Tournament Championship Game (Duluth, Minn.), 4:07 p.m. CDT
DULUTH, Minn. -- The stakes could not have been much higher for an October non-conference matchup in Duluth on Friday night (Oct. 15), as the No. 3-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team defeated No. 5 Minnesota Duluth 5-1 in the second game of the 2021 Ice Breaker Tournament at AMSOIL Arena.
The game was the first between the former WCHA foes since the 2011 national championship. The Wolverines and Bulldogs were slated to meet last season in the NCAA Tournament, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
U-M goaltender Erik Portillo pushed aside 28 shots while surrendering just one goal to the potent UMD attack.
After a frenetic start, U-M took a tripping penalty just 1:44 into the game to put the penalty killers up to an early test, which they passed with flying colors.
The ice was slanted in Duluth's favor early on; UMD led 9-0 in shots on goal nearly nine minutes into the game before Jimmy Lambert used his speed to break into the zone and flip a backhand shot on net. Not long after, the Bulldogs struck first.
Under pressure from all angles, Portillo sold out to make an impressive, sprawling save on the right post. UMD saw its opportunity on the far post and maneuvered the puck to an open man in front who scored in the unprotected left side of the Michigan net, giving Duluth a 1-0 lead with 9:54 to play.
Bulldog captain Noah Cates was sent off with 4:46 left in the opening period after he was assessed a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for contact to the head on U-M captain Nick Blankenburg.
On the ensuing extended advantage, blueliner Luke Hughes picked a corner and netted a power-play goal from the right circle to pull U-M even with :38 left in the period. Assists on Hughes' first collegiate goal went to Michael Pastujov and Mackie Samoskevich.
The score was tied at 1 after 20 minutes, but Michigan's strong finish to the period had trimmed the deficit in shots on goal to 13-9.
U-M began the second stanza with the same vigor it had exhibited to close out the first period, picking up where it left off to put up the first four shots and tie the count at 13 apiece.
After settling into the period, U-M maintained possession in the UMD end with a series of strong shifts before Brendan Brisson stepped up to reserve his place on SportsCenter's Top 10. The sophomore forward received a pass in space as he glided across the top of the blue paint with just one defender to address. Brisson wasted no time before stickhandling the puck between his legs in stride and flipping it past both the defender and goaltender to score in highlight-reel fashion and give Michigan a 2-1 advantage at the 6:20 mark. Linemate Thomas Bordeleau picked up the lone assist after finding Brisson in front of the net.
Later on, it was Nolan Moyle who put in a blue collar shift in front of UMD's net to create an easy scoring opportunity for Michigan's skilled forward corps. With Moyle hard at work screening the goaltender, Kent Johnson weighed his options while waiting for a linemate to get in position on the other side of the zone. Moments later, Matty Beniers stepped into open space, received a perfect seam pass from Johnson, and scored his first goal of the season on a wide-open backdoor one-timer. Beniers' tally extended the Michigan lead to 3-1 at 14:44 of the second period; Johnson picked up the primary assist while Jacob Truscott received the secondary.
After two periods, the Wolverines had earned a 3-1 lead with a 23-18 advantage in shots on goal.
Moyle was sent off for boarding at 3:36 of the final period. On the next shift, Garrett Van Wyhe intercepted a lazy pass across the top of the UMD zone and broke out alone on a shorthanded dash. The senior skated across the blue line with a Bulldog chasing his shadow before ripping a wrist shot from the slot and following up his attempt by banging in an unassisted rebound to put U-M up 4-1.
Van Wyhe's shorthanded tally was Michigan's first since Dec. 6, 2019, when Luke Morgan had a shorty versus Penn State.
With time winding down and the Wolverines on a late man-advantage, Beniers pushed the puck across the goal line to earn his second tally of the night with a power-play goal at 19:14. Johnson and Owen Power collected assists to make the last-minute goal an all-sophomore affair and put the finishing touches on a critical win.
It was another impressive night for Michigan's explosive power-play unit, which finished 2-for-3 to push the team's success rate with the man advantage up to 50% (6-for-12) through three games.
As the buzzer sounded, a horde of jubilant Wolverines poured onto the ice to congratulate Portillo and celebrate the team's 5-1 win. On Saturday (Oct. 16), Michigan will return to AMSOIL Arena for the championship game of the 2021 Ice Breaker Tournament against No. 1-ranked Minnesota State in search of early-season hardware. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:07 p.m. CDT, and the game will be streamed live on NCHC.tv.
