Michigan
21-7-1, 12-6-0
Wisconsin
8-17-3, 5-12-1
Portillo Earns 25th Career Win in Michigan's Sweep of Wisconsin
1/29/2022 11:59:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Erik Portillo notched his 25th career win as a Wolverine with a 38-save performance in Michigan's 6-2 win over Wisconsin.
» Six different Wolverines scored, including Philippe Lapointe's first tally of the season.
» Freshman Mark Estapa recorded his first-career two-point game with a pair of assists.
Site: Madison, Wis. (Kohl Center)
Score: #4 Michigan 6, Wisconsin 2
Records: U-M (21-7-1, 12-3-0-0-3 B1G), UW (9-16-3, 4-11-0-1-2 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Wednesday, Feb. 2 -- vs. USNTDP U-18 (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 7 p.m.
• PDF Boxscore
MADISON, Wis. -- On the ice and in the standings, it has been a fantastic month of January for the fourth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team. The Wolverines put the finishing touches on a 7-1 record in the first month of 2022 with a resounding 6-2 win and series sweep over Wisconsin on Saturday night (Jan. 29) inside the Kohl Center.
The 7-1 mark is the best for the program in a single calendar month since March 2010 (7-1).
Erik Portillo continued his stellar play against the Badgers with a 38-save performance to backstop U-M in his 21st win of the season and 25th of his career as a Wolverine.
Coming off a Friday night (Jan. 28) game that featured 12 combined penalties, Jimmy Lambert was sent to the box just 14 seconds into the contest for tripping after getting his stick trapped in an opposing player's equipment. The Wolverines came together to kill off the UW power play, with Portillo continuing to be the red-hot unit's strongest asset.
Ethan Edwards, a first-year defender, intercepted Wisconsin's attempt to exit their zone before carefully dancing along the blue line to keep the puck in the UW end. He moved to the right side of the zone in search of room to operate. Edwards first turned toward the blue line and feigned a regroup before changing his path and carving back toward the right faceoff dot while leaving his UW counterpart in his tracks. Edwards made a move toward the net before dialing up a perfect wrist shot that he placed in the top-left corner of the net to open the scoring with a gorgeous unassisted marker.
With one period of play in the books, Michigan held a 1-0 lead after putting nine shots on goal to UW's 10.
The Badgers quickly tied the game at 1 with their first shot of the second period at 1:22 from the left point. The long shot was inadvertently deflected by a Maize and Blue passerby before fluttering into the back of the net to get the home side onto the scoresheet.
Shortly thereafter, a UW forward dashed into the U-M zone before cutting toward the slot and using a pair of collapsing Michigan defenders as a partial screen to beat Portillo and give the Badgers a 2-1 lead at 2:33 of the middle frame.
Michigan was undeterred. The only new entrant to Saturday's lineup, Philippe Lapointe, finished off a play just 1:22 after Wisconsin had taken its first lead of the weekend to bring the score back to even. Lapointe's first goal of the season, the second of his career, was assisted by Michael Pastujov and Keaton Pehrson.
Lambert more than made up for his early infraction by zipping a shot off the crossbar and in at 8:18 to reclaim a one-goal lead, 3-2, for the Wolverines. His classmates and linemates, Nolan Moyle and Garrett Van Wyhe, earned assists on Lambert's 14th career point vs. Wisconsin.
A few minutes later, Thomas Bordeleau showed off his handles with a slick move around a Badger defenseman inside the left circle before regathering the puck and dishing it back to Brendan Brisson in the slot. Brisson fired a shot that found twine with 8:40 left in the second period to put Michigan ahead, 4-2. Mark Estapa picked up the secondary helper on Brisson's 17th goal of the season.
Wisconsin went on its third power play at 14:30, but U-M's penalty killers dismissed yet another chance.
The Wolverines took a turn on the man-advantage with 1:36 left before the second intermission when a Badger forward was assessed a minor penalty for interference. Off the first faceoff, Michigan's power-play unit created a chance by cycling the puck into the blue paint and crashing toward the netfront area, but failed to poke it across the goal line before play was blown dead.
After two periods of play, Michigan carried a 4-2 lead and 14 seconds of power-play time into the final frame. With 20 minutes remaining, U-M trailed 28-18 in shots on goal, but Portillo's strong play and a relentless offensive attack kept the Wolverines in front.
Michigan nearly stretched the lead to three amidst a flurry of shots with 12 minutes left in regulation, but the puck failed to cross the line and the Badgers kept the deficit at two.
Estapa was called for tripping with 11:32 to put UW on the power play, but Bordeleau also was assessed a 10-minute misconduct after objecting to a Badger's check that came after the whistle. The penalty was killed off in short order, but Bordeleau spent the bulk of the remainder in the box.
Mackie Samoskevich created a grade-A opportunity while shorthanded when he attracted multiple defenders by driving into the Wisconsin end on the left flank with a full head of steam. With Hughes gliding down the middle of the ice uncontested, Samoskevich backhanded a perfect pass to his classmate's tape. Last year's fourth overall draft pick quickly leaned into a gorgeous shot that rose above the goaltender's shoulder and extended the Michigan lead to 5-2 with 8:44 remaining.
After the Badgers took a late penalty and tensions remained high, the Michigan power-play unit capitalized with a power-play goal to make it 6-2 with 21 seconds left in the weekend series. Captain Nick Blankenburg buried the goal off assists from Estapa and Matty Beniers.
With the win, Michigan clinches the season series vs. UW with a 3-1 record and has gone 8-2 in its last 10 games vs. the Badgers. The Wolverines sit alone atop the Big Ten Hockey standings with 39 points and six games left to be played.
On Wednesday (Feb. 2), the Wolverines will host the US National Team Development Program's U-18 team for a midweek exhibition game against a host of future stars, including several Michigan signees. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the contest will be streamed live on B1G+.
