Michigan
12-4-0
Niagara
2-8-2
Michigan Scores Four Unanswered Goals in Win Over, Sweep of Niagara
11/27/2021 10:04:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Nick Blankenburg scored twice and added an assist for his second straight multi-point game.
» With two assists, Owen Power's point streak was extended to eight games.
» Kent Johnson reached 50 career points with two assists in his 42nd game. He is the fastest to 50 points since Kyle Connor did it in 28 games in 2015-16.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Yost Ice Arena)
Score: #4 Michigan 4, Niagara 1
Records: U-M (12-4-0), NU (2-8-2)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Dec. 3 -- vs. Minnesota (Yost Ice Arena), 6:30 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After a slow start, the University of Michigan ice hockey team scored four straight goals to knock off Niagara 4-1 on Saturday evening (Nov. 27) at Yost Ice Arena.
Erik Portillo was stout in net for the Wolverines, making 23 saves on 24 shots to earn his 12th win of the season -- tied for the NCAA lead with Minnesota State's Dryden McKay.
The first period featured a series of missed opportunities for the U-M offense, starting with Kent Johnson ringing a hard wrist shot clean off the crossbar to start the night.
Michigan took a trio of minor penalties as the period wore on to give the Purple Eagles three consecutive chances with the man advantage. With three seconds left in their third chance of the period, the visitors banged home a rebound with 5:35 remaining to take a 1-0 lead.
The Wolverines finally got on the board 6:06 into the middle frame when Owen Power received a pass in the right corner from Mackie Samoskevich near the top of the zone. Power turned and ripped a shot toward the netfront area that deflected off of Nick Blankenburg's skate and across the goal line to tie the game at 1. The goal was Blankenburg's sixth of the season and 17th as a Wolverine. With assists on the captain's goal, Power's point streak was extended to eight games and Samoskevich bumped his streak up to three.
U-M was awarded its first power play of the game with 6:28 left to play in the second period, but failed to convert after a series of passing plays fizzled out in the offensive zone.
The Maize and Blue continued to search for a go-ahead goal as it opened up play for the final period and quickly seized the lead in shots on goal. At the 8:48 mark, Blankenburg received a feed from Johnson while skating toward the crease and made a quick move to his forehand to trap the goaltender on his stomach and open up the net for an easy goal. Johnson and Power picked up assists on the captain's second goal of the game to put Michigan up 2-1.
On Michigan's second power play of the evening, it capitalized with 7:47 left in the contest to pull ahead, 3-1. Johnson dished the puck between his legs inside the left circle back up top to Power, who blasted a slap shot off of the goaltender's pads. Dylan Duke was positioned for a rebound and quickly pounced on the loose puck to bury his second goal of the season and his first on the power play.
With his second assist of the night, Johnson reached 50 career points as a Wolverine. By doing so in just 42 games, he became the fastest Wolverine to 50 points since Kyle Connor in 2015-16.
Matty Beniers capped off the Wolverines' scoring by flipping a puck into the top shelf of an empty net from the blue line while under pressure with 3:07 left to play. Brendan Brisson and Blankenburg collected assists on Beniers' team-leading 11th goal that came while Niagara searched for a goal with an extra attacker.
At the final buzzer, U-M had outshot the Purple Eagles 39-24 while going 1-for-2 on the power play to earn the win. Michigan's 50 percent conversion rate on the man advantage bumped up its season success rate to 31.7 percent (19-for-60).
With another multi-point effort under his belt, Power has now recorded one goal and 14 assists for 15 points over the team's past eight games. Johnson had two points of his own to keep him tied with Power for the team's lead in points; each has 23 on the season to share the second position in the nationwide scoring race, trailing only WMU's Drew Worrad (25).
Next weekend, the Wolverines will welcome 11th-ranked Minnesota to Ann Arbor for a two-game conference series at Yost Ice Arena on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 3-4). Puck drop for Friday night's (Dec. 3) game is set for 6:30 p.m., while Saturday's (Dec. 4) contest will begin at 7 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
