Michigan
14-8-1, 11-7-0
Minnesota
19-6-0, 15-6-0
Michigan Topples No. 3 Minnesota, Clinches No. 3 Seed in B1G Tournament
3/5/2021 11:00:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Matty Beniers recorded his first career four-point game with one goal and three assists.
» Strauss Mann stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced from the potent Golden Gopher offense.
» Kent Johnson, Jack Summers and Cam York notched two-point games.
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (3M Arena at Mariucci)
Score: #7 Michigan 5, #3 Minnesota 2
Records: U-M (14-8-1, 11-7-0 B1G), Minnesota (19-6-0, 15-6-0 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 6 -- at #3 Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 4 p.m. CST
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Netminder Strauss Mann strung together a number of highlight-reel saves for the Wolverines, and their youth-driven offensive attack flexed its collective muscle to lead the No. 7-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team past the Big Ten-leading Minnesota Golden Gophers, 5-2, at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
Minnesota (19-6-0, 15-6-0 Big Ten) carried the play early on as it recorded the first five shots of the evening. Mann continuously came up clutch as the Gophers piled up shots but failed to find the back of the net.
While on the power play, Thomas Bordeleau continued his outstanding freshman campaign, scoring on his first shot in his first game against the Gophers with 4:32 left in the first period. As the puck skittered through the heavily-trafficked slot, the freshman worked himself down toward the netfront area before batting the bouncing biscuit past Jack LaFontaine while his momentum was taking him in the opposite direction. Sophomore forward Eric Ciccolini and blueliner Cam York collected the assists on Bordeleau's icebreaker.
After one period, the Wolverines carried a 1-0 lead into the locker room despite trailing in shots on goal, 16-5
As the second stanza unfolded, Mann made a series of stellar stops between the pipes to keep the Gophers off the score sheet. Several minutes after one of his finest pad saves, Golden Gophers were too much to contain and finally snuck the puck past the Mann to tie the contest at 1 with 10:09 remaining in the middle frame.
As Michigan (14-8-1, 11-7-0 Big Ten) pressured deep in the opposing end, freshman phenom Kent Johnson extracted the puck from the Minnesota crease before swiveling his hips and shoveling a picture-perfect backhand under the bar from in-close with 7:39 left in the period to pull the Wolverines back in front, 2-1. Jack Summers got Johnson the puck to earn his fourth assist of the season while Matty Beniers picked up his 11th helper of the year with the secondary assist.
After captain Mann made yet another fantastic save, the Wolverine offense turned the tables and looked to notch a third tally before the end of the period. Summers glided into the top of the right circle as his teammates cycled the puck. Summers received a pass from Beniers and immediately ripped the puck toward the net. The shot turned out to be a seeing-eye puck that found twine with 58 seconds left to expand Michigan's lead to 3-1. Beniers and York picked up their second assists of the night on the Wolverines' late marker.
With 40 minutes down, the Wolverines led, 3-1, and had cut their deficit in shots on goal to 20-14.
The score remained 3-1 in the third period until Minnesota scored with 8:00 left in regulation. Bearing down on the Michigan net, a Golden Gopher forward sniped a goal short-side under the bar to pare the U-M lead back to 3-2.
Undeterred, the Wolverines bounced back minutes later when Beniers carried the puck into the zone with speed on the left wing before ripping a pinpoint shot that popped square off the far-side pipe. Fortunately, the puck bounced right into the slot where Nick Granowicz was waiting to step into the rebound and bury it in the top corner of the net. Granowicz's goal, which was assisted by Beniers (his third of the evening) and Johnson, doubled the U-M lead once again to 4-2 with 5:00 remaining.
Beniers' effort and persistence were rewarded when he was able to deposit an empty-net goal into the Minnesota cage from long-range with 1:22 left on the clock. The empty-netter capped off Beniers' first career four-point game.
As the final buzzer sounded and the Wolverines mobbed their netminder, the decision had been rendered despite Minnesota outshooting U-M, 30-19, as well as maintaining an advantage in the faceoff dot, winning 30 of the game's 54 draws.
With the win, the Wolverines clinched the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament, scheduled to take place at Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., from March 14-16.
On Saturday (March 6), U-M and Minnesota will face off at 4 p.m. CST inside 3M Arena to close out the regular season. The contest will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
