Michigan
2-1-0
UMass
1-1-0
No. 6 Michigan Passes First Road Test in Rout of Massachusetts
10/13/2023 10:46:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Dylan Duke scored twice and added an assist for a three-point performance.
» Rutger McGroarty extended his point streak to 11 games with a one-goal, two-assist night.
» Jake Barczewski made 22 saves on 24 shots that he faced to earn a second-straight win.
AMHERST, Mass. -- Away from home for the first time this season, seven skaters notched multi-point performances for the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team as it passed its first road test with flying colors by routing the University of Massachusetts, 7-2, on Friday night (Oct. 13) at the Mullins Center.
Sophomore forward Rutger McGroarty continued his strong start for U-M with a three-point night off of one goal and two assists to push his point streak to a career-best 11 games, stretching back to last season. Through three games, McGroarty has two goals and six assists for eight points to lead the squad.
Goaltender Jake Barczewski earned a second-straight start after backstopping U-M to a win last Sunday at home against Providence. The fifth-year netminder was a pillar of strength all night, turning in an outstanding performance with 22 saves on 24 shots that he faced to move to 2-0 on the season.
Michigan (2-1-0) scored first to take the lead with 4:59 left in the opening frame when T.J. Hughes struck from the left circle on the power play. Assists on Hughes' blast went to Dylan Duke and McGroarty.
Just 64 seconds later, Garrett Schifsky scored his first career goal to double Michigan's lead. Skating into the offensive zone fresh off the bench from a change, Schifsky received a pass from Jackson Hallum right inside the blue line. The freshman forward took an extra stride toward the blue paint before dialing up a shot from the top of the left circle that found the back of the net. Marshall Warren collected the secondary assist on Schifsky's marker to notch his first point as a Wolverine.
Early in the middle frame, Barczewski made a huge leg save on a backdoor chance to deprive the Minutemen of an opportunity for momentum. In response to the early push, Frank Nazar III was called for boarding 25 seconds into the period which gave UMass its second power-play chance of the evening. For the second time in as many tries, Michigan killed off the infraction to return to 5x5.
Back at even-strength, the Wolverines began to wheel around the offensive zone with ease to put the Minutemen on their heels. At 3:36, it took Duke three contested whacks at a perfectly-placed pass to eventually bury the game's third goal from just outside the blue paint. Assists went to McGroarty and Luca Fantilli for their parts in cycling the puck down low to Duke, who made it 3-0.
Playing with four skaters per side after each had lost one to a post-whistle altercation, the Minutemen (1-1-0)Â got on the board at 5:05 of the second period to make it 3-1 when they finished off an odd-man rush with a backdoor feed.
Doubling his effort with an impressive tally from the blue paint, Schifsky made it 4-1 at 10:03. After putting a shot on goal, the forward followed his shot to pry the rebound away from the goaltender's wheelhouse and chip it into the back of the net. Hallum recorded the only assist on Schifsky's second goal of the night.
Shortly after the three-goal lead had been reestablished, Michigan's power-play unit was reactivated at 10:27. Eleven seconds later, Seamus Casey walked into the slot off of a faceoff win and sniped a top-shelf goal to make it 5-1. Hughes earned the lone assist, his second point of the night, for winning the draw cleanly back to Casey.
The leftover power-play time expired early in the third period, but less than 30 seconds later, UMass was called for too many skaters on the ice at 1:45 to give Michigan a fifth chance with an extra skater.
This time around, the Wolverines took advantage of the penalty to make it 6-1 when Gavin Brindley ripped a shot from the left side of the offensive zone that found Duke's blade near the blue paint. Duke redirected the shot past the goaltender at 1:50 to make it a five-goal lead. Casey picked up the other assist for quickly setting up the play off of a faceoff win. With the goal, Michigan's power-play unit moved to 3-for-5 on the night.
The Massachusetts power-play group was sent back to the ice for its third attempt when Mark Estapa was called for slashing at 6:44 of the third period. The unit continued to threaten, as they had on their prior chances, but failed to create a goal and dropped to 0-for-3 on the night due to the strong play of Michigan's penalty killers – especially Barczewski.
At 10:31, the Minutemen's fourth opportunity on the power play turned out to be fruitful when a nice backdoor pass found a teammate's tape for a tap-in to make it 6-2 with 8:37 remaining.
With under seven minutes left, Brindley gained possession in the defensive zone after a brief UMass chance. The sophomore spun to re-orient himself toward the opposing net and looked to quickly drive play north. The cerebral forward made an exceptional breakout pass from his own zone that was sent off the boards and landed directly on the tape of his linemate, Nazar. Nazar sent a pass over to McGroarty who had been skating with him stride-for-stride on his left flank, and he buried the feed to make it 7-2, with the goal marking his third point of the night.
The Wolverines took a pair of penalties in the game's closing minutes, but the team's PK unit was up to the task and finished the night 5-for-6 after dismissing the final two attempts.
Michigan celebrated its first road victory of the season as the final buzzer sounded on a decisive 7-2 win. U-M finished the night with a 31-24 advantage in shots on goal on top of a great showing for both special teams units. In total, seven Wolverines recorded multiple points while 10 skaters had at least one point.
Saturday night (Oct. 14), the non-conference foes will reconvene at the Mullins Center to finish up the two-game series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
