Michigan
7-6-2
St. Cloud
8-5-0
Barczewski Earns 50th Career Win in Shutout Victory at St. Cloud State
11/24/2023 11:46:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» T.J. Hughes was named First Star after scoring the game-winner and winning 12 of 15 faceoffs.
» Netminder Jake Barczewski recorded his 50th collegiate win in his seventh career shutout.
» Minnesotan Garrett Schifsky scored his eighth goal of the year.
ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- Defense was the name of the game in U-M's opening game on Thanksgiving weekend as the 14th-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team shut out the 17th-ranked St. Cloud State Huskies in a 2-0 win on Friday night (Nov. 24) at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
With the win, Michigan (7-6-2)put an end to St. Cloud's six-game win streak and set a new standard for team defense in its lowest-scoring game of the 2023-24 campaign.
Goaltender Jake Barczewski settled into the blue paint for the Wolverines (7-6-2) and made it a memorable night as he earned his 50th career win in a standout performance. Stopping all 30 shots that he faced, Barczewski earned the seventh clean sheet of his career and the first for U-M since March 5, 2022 when the Wolverines ended Michigan State's season in an 8-0 rout.
The first two periods were scoreless on both sides, though St. Cloud (8-5) held a 20-17 edge in shots while U-M was strong at the faceoff dot, going 22-13. Both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play through the first 40 minutes of action.
Extended pressure in the offensive zone for Michigan finally paid off when T.J. Hughes finished off a picture-perfect passing play by tapping home a final feed from Dylan Duke from the top of the crease at 6:40 in the third period. The nation's highest-scoring defenseman, Seamus Casey earned the secondary helper on Hughes' tally that gave Michigan a 1-0 lead with 13:20 left to play.
Late in the final stanza, sophomore center Frank Nazar III collected a turnover while pressuring the Huskies deep in their zone. With a pair of St. Cloud attackers draped all over him, Nazar dropped a short pass to the hometown hero, Garrett Schifsky, and the freshman from Andover, Minn. quickly shoveled a backhand shot from the edge of the blue paint into the top shelf of the net to give Michigan a 2-0 lead with 3:30 left in regulation. The goal marked the eighth of his career.
A late penalty with 41 seconds left ended SCSU's hopes of getting on the scoreboard, and the final buzzer rang shortly after to signal a 2-0 win for the Wolverines over the Huskies.
Michigan was outshot by St. Cloud, 30-27, but had a strong showing in the faceoff dot (31-22) and earned a pair of five-on-five goals to clinch a key non-conference victory.
Tomorrow night, the non-conference opponents will face off once again for their fourth all-time meeting. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed live on NCHC.tv.
