Michigan
23-7-1, 14-6-0
Michigan State
11-18-1, 5-15-0
Michigan Secures Iron D Trophy, Season Sweep Over MSU
2/12/2022 10:37:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Senior forward Jimmy Lambert notched his first career multi-goal game.
» Luke Hughes tallied three points for the second straight night, with one goal and two assists.
» Defenseman Ethan Edwards recorded two assists for the second time in four games.
Site: Detroit, Mich. (Little Caesars Arena)
Score: #4 Michigan 7, Michigan State 3
Records: U-M (23-7-1, 14-3-0-0-3 B1G), MSU (11-18-1, 4-15-0-1-0 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 18 -- vs. Ohio State (Yost Ice Arena), 7:30 p.m.
DETROIT, Mich. -- An offensive surge by the fourth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team propelled the Wolverines to a 7-3 win over Michigan State on Saturday night (Feb. 12) at Little Caesars Arena in the rivalry's annual "Duel in the D" matchup. With the win, the Iron D trophy remains in Ann Arbor for the fifth consecutive time after MSU won the inaugural trophy game in 2016.
Erik Portillo was stout in net for Michigan, making 22 saves on 25 shots faced to earn his 23rd win of the season.
Mackie Samoskevich extended his point streak to four games with an early goal on Michigan's first shot just 1:35 into the contest. The freshman collected a turnover in the neutral zone before breaking into the MSU end with space on a breakaway. Samoskevich approached the crease from the right flank and kept the puck on his blade while waiting for the Spartans' netminder to drop to the ice. After showing patience and waiting for the top of the net to open up, he calmly skated by the crease and flipped a backhand shot into the back of the net for an unassisted tally.
MSU was assessed a minor penalty for hitting from behind at 6:04 to give the Wolverines the first power play of the evening. One minute, 12 seconds later, Dylan Duke finished off the advantage by batting his own rebound into the net to double the Michigan lead. Jacob Truscott earned the primary assist, while Luke Hughes picked up the secondary.
Johnny Beecher took a penalty for boarding at 10:54 to put MSU on the power play, but Portillo was the team's best penalty killer as the Wolverines dismissed the Michigan State advantage.
After one period, Michigan held a 2-0 lead. Shots on goal were tied at nine apiece, while MSU dominated the faceoff dot 18-7. Each side had one power-play opportunity in the opening frame; Michigan converted, while MSU was stymied by Portillo and the U-M penalty-kill unit.
Mark Estapa was sent off with 12:51 left to play in the second period with a major penalty and a game misconduct for checking from behind. MSU embarked on an extended, uninterrupted power play for five minutes.
Despite playing shorthanded, the Wolverines struck next on a play in transition 2:03 into the MSU advantage. After gliding into the offensive zone, Hughes sent a perfectly-placed saucer pass across the slot and onto the tape of Jimmy Lambert, who buried a one-timer to put Michigan up 3-0.
The Wolverines were not done, as Thomas Bordeleau picked up the puck in the neutral zone for a shorthanded breakaway. As he approached the blue paint, Bordeleau slowed down to flip the puck up and over the outstretched netminder's glove in highlight-reel fashion. Michael Pastujov notched the lone assist on Bordeleau's marker.
With 1:02 left on their five-minute power play, the Spartans notched a goal on a shot through traffic to cut the deficit to 4-1 with 8:55 left in the second stanza.
Thirty-three seconds later, Michigan State scored its second goal of the advantage when a harmless shot deflected off of a Wolverine defenseman and across the goal line to make it 4-2.
Later in the period while playing four-on-four after a pair of roughing penalties, Michigan regained a three-goal lead when Lambert notched his second goal of the game to make the score 5-2 with 4:51 left in the second period. Nick Blankenburg and Ethan Edwards earned assists on Lambert's second tally. The game marked Lambert's first two-goal effort as a Wolverine.
MSU bounced back with an even-strength tally of its own with 4:06 remaining to make it 5-3.
Michigan was sent to its third power play of the night with 3:12 left before the second intermission after Michigan State was penalized for cross-checking.
Seconds after the expiration of the power play, Nick Granowicz buried Michigan's sixth goal of the game on a backdoor tap-in. Beecher scooped the primary assist for a nifty cross-crease feed, while Edwards received the secondary assist on Granowicz's first goal of the season with 1:09 left before the second intermission.
After two periods, Michigan had built a 6-3 lead while each side had 24 shots on goal.
U-M was back on the power play 4:37 into the final frame when an MSU defender was assessed a minor penalty for interference. However, the power play came and went without another tally.
The bulk of the period was relatively uneventful as Michigan extended its lead in shots on goal but failed to add to the three-goal lead it entered the period with.
Before the final buzzer, with 15 seconds left to play, Hughes notched his third point of the game with a late tally. The three-point outing marked Hughes' second consecutive outing with three points. He finishes the regular season with five goals and four assists for nine points in four games against Michigan State. Luke Morgan picked up the lone assist on the team's seventh and final goal to secure the 7-3 win. With the goal, Hughes moves into a tie with Dean Turner (1976-77) for most goals all-time by a freshman defenseman.
With just four games remaining in the regular season, U-M sits in first place with 45 points.
Next Friday (Feb. 18), Michigan's stretch run continues with the opener of with a two-game set against eighth-ranked Ohio State at Yost Ice Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on B1G+ and broadcast live locally on CW50 in the Detroit viewing area.
