Michigan
American International
No. 1 Overall Seed Michigan to Begin NCAA Play Against AIC on Friday
3/24/2022 9:05:00 AM | Ice Hockey
» Michigan is making its 39th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
» The Wolverines are the overall No. 1 seed for the third time since the bracket was expanded to 16 teams in 2003.
» The winner of Friday's game will play the winner of Quinnipiac/St. Cloud in the NCAA Regional Final on Sunday (March 27).
NEXT GAME
Friday, March 25 -- vs. AIC - NCAA Regional (Allentown, Pa), 3:00 p.m.
TV: ESPNU | Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video | Tickets
• NCAA Bracket
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)
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The University of Michigan of Michigan hockey team, which was selected as the overall No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, will face American International on Friday (March 25) at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa. Face off is set for 3 p.m. on ESPNU.
WOLVERINE BITES
• Michigan is 29-9-1 after defeating top-seeded Minnesota on its home ice for a Big Ten Tournament Championship, the program's second ever and the first since 2016.
• U-M checks in at No. 2 in the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls this week.
• 2022 Big Ten Scoring Champion and unanimous first-team All-B1G choice Matty Beniers sits atop the U-M stat sheet with 41 points (19 goals, 22 assists) and a conference-leading 10 power-play goals.
• Freshman blueliner and co-Freshman of the Year Luke Hughes is the nation's top-scoring defenseman with 17 goals and 37 points.
• All-Big Ten second-teamer Brendan Brisson (19g, 18a) boasts 37 points and a team-leading six game-winning tallies.
• A pair of forwards were tabbed as Big Ten honorable mentions: Kent Johnson, who enters the weekend with 35 points (8g, 27a), and last season's leading scorer Thomas Bordeleau, who has 33 points (10g, 23a) along with a 55.9 percent faceoff record.
• Sophomore stalwart Owen Power returned from Olympic play to anchor the blue line with 27 points (3g, 24a) and was rewarded with a first-team All-Big Ten honor.
• First-year winger Mackie Samoskevich (10g, 18a) has been excellent since the World Junior Championship and sits at 28 points. He also earned an All-Big Ten Freshman nod alongside Hughes.
• Matty Beniers and Luke Hughes were each tabbed as Hobey Baker top-10 finalists. Michigan and Minnesota St. (Dryden McKay/Nathan Smith) are the only schools with multiple finalists.
• Power leads the Wolverines with 46 blocked shots while captain Nick Blankenburg is second with 42. Blankenburg, another Big Ten honorable mention honoree, has also set career-highs offensively as a senior this season with 14 goals, 14 assists, and 28 points.
• Sophomore Erik Portillo has started every game in net for the Wolverines this year. He has a 29-9-1 record including three shutouts, a .928 save percentage, and a 2.06 goals-against average. The Swedish standout is currently fourth in the NCAA with 1,022 saves and second with 29 wins. He was recently tabbed as 1 of 11 semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award, was named to the All-Big Ten second-team and was a finalist for Big Ten Goaltender of the Year.
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
• The American International College Yellow Jackets out of Springfield, Mass. earned a third consecutive autobid to the NCAA men's ice hockey tournament after winning the 2022 Atlantic Hockey Association Championship over Air Force in a 7-0 statement victory.
• The fourth-seeded Yellow Jackets have won three consecutive Atlantic Hockey crowns. AIC first made waves by upsetting the No. 1 overall seed, St. Cloud State, in their first tournament appearance in 2019. Last season, the Yellow Jackets fell to North Dakota, 5-1 at the same Regional that Michigan was at.
• AIC's leading scorer, junior Blake Bennett, netted a hat trick to propel the Jackets past Mercyhurst in a thrilling 5-4 conference semifinal win before following up the performance with a three-point game against Air Force to lead the team to an Atlantic Hockey championship. Bennett has 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points and is followed up front by a pair of graduate students in Chris Dodero (13g, 16a) and Justin Young (11g, 18a) at 29 points apiece.
• On the back end, Zak Galambos plays a critical role in the AIC offensive effort, leading the blueliners with five goals, 23 assists, and 28 points. Galambos also garners the rare distinction of leading the team in shots on goal as a defenseman, with 104.
• A talented goalkeeping duo have graced the blue paint for the Yellow Jackets this season in sophomore Jake Kucharski (12-7-3) and grad student Alec Calvaruso, who has seemingly taken the reigns for the Atlantic Hockey champions with a 10-4 record to go along with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.
UP NEXT
(if win) Sunday, March 26 -- vs. winner of Quinnipiac and St. Cloud State (Allentown, Pa.), Time TBD
