Michigan
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Simon Fraser (EX)
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Michigan Routs Simon Fraser in Exhibition Play at Yost
9/30/2023 11:10:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Seamus Casey recorded one goal and four assists for a five-point performance.
» Rutger McGroarty scored two goals off a game-high seven shots on goal.
» In total, 13 Wolverines recorded points with five notching multi-point games.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The fifth-ranked Michigan ice hockey team Wolverines jumped out to a three-goal edge in the first period before building onto that lead for an 8-1 exhibition victory over the Simon Fraser on Saturday (Sept. 30) at Yost Ice Arena, beginning the Wolverines' 102nd season of play.
Graduate transfer Jacob Barczewski made his debut between the pipes with a shutout over the first period and a half before ceding the crease to Noah West, who allowed just one goal in the latter half of the contest.
Jumping out to a hot start, the Wolverines had a 10-3 lead in shots on goal when they incurred the first penalty of the game for holding at 6:18.
On the penalty kill, freshman forward Garrett Schifsky broke out down the ice with the puck alongside Jackson Hallum. Schifsky sent a pass over to Hallum, who buried Michigan's first goal at 7:15. Seamus Casey earned the secondary helper on the game-opening tally.
Back at even strength, Casey carved his way through the offensive zone before rifling a low shot from the point that was redirected past the netminder and into the back of the net by Kienan Draper at 8:22 to make it 2-0 Michigan.
Just over two minutes later, the Wolverines were whistled for the game's second penalty -- this time a high-sticking call -- at 10:38, but U-M was able to kill it off without any damage done by the Red Leafs. At the first media timeout, Simon Fraser changed goaltenders.
From the Michigan zone, Jacob Truscott fired a breakout pass across the center line onto the tape of Dylan Duke. The junior forward put a shot on goal that was stymied by the Simon Fraser goalie before Nick Moldenhauer was able to bang the rebound across the goal line to make it a three-goal lead more than halfway through the opening period.
The Maize and Blue went on the power play for the first time with 2:37 left in the first period, but were unable to register a goal before play returned to even strength.
With the first period in the books, Michigan held a 3-0 advantage.
After a fracas early in the second period bumped play down to 4-on-4, the Red Leafs took a minor penalty to put the Wolverines on the power play. While it was 4-on-3, Michigan potted a power-play goal from Casey, who drew defenders toward him in the center of the zone before backhanding a pass over into the wheelhouse of Rutger McGroarty. McGroarty dented the twine from the right circle to make it 4-0 just 1:54 into the middle frame.
While cycling the puck through the offensive zone, the Wolverines' fifth goal was again created by Casey when working with the puck on his stick. Reviewing his options from space in the corner, the sophomore allowed his classmate, Nazar, to work his way into the slot with just enough room to fire off a one-timer. Casey sent Nazar a short pass that he rocketed off the tight netting of the top shelf to make it 5-0. Draper picked up the second assist on the goal.
The officials reviewed a play at 6:22 of the second period following a post-whistle confrontation in front of the Simon Fraser bench. Moldenhauer picked up a minor penalty for his part while the Red Leaf skater he was tangled with received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for facemasking.
Playing 4-on-4 for the first two minutes, the Wolverines added a sixth goal from Schifsky after he drove behind the net and popped out into space in the slot to launch a rocket above the blocker. Steven Holtz and Luca Fantilli earned assists on Schifsky's snipe.
Just after the midway point of the game, Barczewski exited the blue paint and West took over in net. Before tagging out, the transfer from Canisius had stopped every shot that he faced from the Red Leafs to hand West a clean sheet.
Michigan returned to the penalty kill with 4:28 remaining in the second period when Mark Estapa was whistled for tripping. When the Red Leafs were threatening, the puck spun up into the air above West. Alternate captain Marshall Warren was there to smack the puck out of mid-air and away from trouble before play returned to even strength.
The Wolverines made the score 7-0 with 25 seconds left in the second period. A stellar individual effort by McGroarty to score the goal capped off a tremendous sequence of events that had transpired from end-to-end. Moments before the rush that resulted in McGroarty walking in on the SFU net and burying the puck over the goalie's shoulder, Casey was skating backwards in the neutral zone to defend an odd-man rush without his stick. While backchecking, McGroarty noticed Casey's stick on the ice and propelled it forward into Casey's hands so he could properly defend the rush.
Through two periods, Michigan had built a 7-0 lead with a 36-17 advantage in shots on goal and strong special-teams play.
Casey continued his impressive performance by tacking on the game's eighth goal from the top of the left circle at 2:57 of the final period. Hallum assisted on his classmate's marker.
The Red Leafs got onto the scoreboard at 4:50 of the third period when a long attempt from the neutral zone crept across the goal line to make it 8-1, which would go down as the final score.
When the final buzzer sounded, Michigan had outshot Simon Fraser 48-19 en route to the 8-1 victory. Casey led all skaters with five points, while McGroarty paced play with two goals and seven shots on goal.
Next week, the regular season kicks off for the Wolverines when the Providence College Friars visit Ann Arbor for a two-game series on Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 7-8). The Friars, out of Hockey East, won the 2015 national championship under current Head Coach Nate Leaman. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m., EDT on Saturday and 4 p.m., EDT on Sunday.
