Michigan
1-0-0
Lake Superior State
1-2-0
Power's Four-Point Night Charges Michigan Win in Program's 3,000th Game
10/8/2021 11:15:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Owen Power scored once and tallied a trio of assists for his first career four-point game.
» Brendan Brisson scored a power-play goal and added two assists to pace the forward group.
» Goaltender Erik Portillo stopped 24 of 25 shots faced to earn his first win of the season.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Red Berenson Rink at Yost Ice Arena)
Score: #3 Michigan 6, Lake Superior State 1
Records: U-M (1-0-0), LSSU (1-2-0)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Oct. 9 -- vs. Lake Superior State (Yost Ice Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Owen Power checked off another first on Friday night (Oct. 8) as the No. 3-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team defeated Lake Superior State 6-1 inside Yost Ice Arena . The performance of the 2021 NHL Draft's first overall selection -- one goal and three assists -- was good for his first career four-point game in the hockey program's 3,000th all-time contest.
Erik Portillo made 24 saves in between the pipes to earn his first win of the season.
The Lakers took a tripping penalty 6:34 into the contest to give Michigan's highly-skilled power-play unit its first opportunity of the season. After setting up in the LSSU end and passing the puck around the zone, Brendan Brisson scored off a one-timer from the slot at 7:38 of the first period for a 1-0Â U-M lead. Thomas Bordeleau skated the puck down to the goal line to draw a defender away from Brisson and provided room for the sniper to strike. Power's handiwork at the blue line earned him the secondary assist.
Less than two minutes after Brisson opened the scoring with a power-play goal, freshman forward Mackie Samoskevich scored his first career goal after Kent Johnson hit him with a crisp breakout pass and the Wolverines led 2-0. Once again, Power collected the secondary assist.
With just over eight minutes left to play in the first period, LSSU took a minor penalty for boarding, but U-M head coach Mel Pearson challenged the call. After video review, the referees determined that the play was worthy of a five-minute major penalty and the Michigan power play was unleashed for a full five minutes with the man-advantage.
Shortly thereafter, Johnson scored a beautiful deflection goal from the top of the blue paint off of a perfect pass from Brisson to push the Michigan advantage to 3-0 at the 12-52 mark in the first period. On the back end, Power picked up his third assist on as many goals.
After one period, Michigan had jumped out to a three-goal lead, powered by two power-play goals.
Fans were almost treated to fireworks early in the middle frame as the wizard Johnson scooped a puck in stride as he hovered near the goal and nearly threw it into the net. On a more physical note, senior forward Garrett Van Wyhe drove to the net and banged in a loose puck in the blue paint to kick off the scoring in the second period at 3:24. Luke Hughes and Nolan Moyle collected assists on the play after cycling the puck down low.
Thirty-three seconds later, the Maize and Blue ran the score to 5-0 when Dylan Duke stole the puck from the LSSU goalie and buried a wraparound shot into the back of the net before the goaltender could recover to his far post. Brisson and Bordeleau assisted on the freshman's first collegiate goal, while captain Nick Blankenburg scooped up the puck during the celebration for safekeeping.
Moyle took a penalty for slashing at 11:27 of the middle period, his second infraction of the game, but U-M's penalty killers were successful once again and kept the score at 5-0.
After Power hit the goalpost with a wrist shot from the top of the circle with 5:15 left in the period, freshman forward Mark Estapa put in a strong shift and made an impact with his physical play.
With two periods in the books, the Wolverines found themselves up 5-0 while leading 34-20 in shots on goal. LSSU had 1:41 of power-play time remaining going into the room.
LSSU capitalized and converted with the extra skater on their fourth power play to get on the board. The bulk of the period was spent pressing the visitors in search of a sixth U-M goal.
With 7:48 to play, Power scored off a shot from the point that fluttered off the goaltender's padding before rolling across the goal line. Upperclassmen Moyle and Van Wyhe picked up the assists on Michigan's sixth goal, which marked Power's first collegiate four-point game.
As the game wound down, Jack Summers had a massive shot block with 10 seconds left, up five goals, to put the finishing touches on an excellent debut for the 2021-22 edition of the Maize and Blue. The team's performance was dominant all around: 6-1 on the scoreboard, 47-25 in shots on goal and a 38-26 advantage in faceoffs.
On Saturday night (Oct. 9), the Wolverines and Lakers will return to Yost Ice Arena to finish off the series, with Michigan looking for a series-opening sweep for the second year in a row. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on B1G+.
