Michigan
0-1-0
Minnesota State
1-0-0
Michigan Stumbles Out of Gate in Loss to Minnesota State
10/4/2024 10:57:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» William Whitelaw opened the scoring to give Michigan a lead early in the second period.
» Freshman Michael Hage recorded the primary assist on both Michigan markers.
» Michigan won 40 of 61 faceoffs, but failed to translate that possession time into goals.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan ice hockey team dropped its season opener 5-2 to Minnesota State on Friday night (Oct. 4) at Yost Ice Arena.
Michigan got on the scoreboard first with transfer William Whitelaw netting his first as a Wolverine. The Mavericks then tallied four straight to take a 4-1 lead before the two teams traded goals in the final five minutes.
Veteran netminder Logan Stein started between the pipes for the Wolverines in his first game with the program following a four-year career at Ferris State. He turned aside 18 of the 23 shots he faced while shouldering the loss.
One minute into the contest, Jacob Truscott had a great opportunity from the slot after T.J. Hughes and Nick Moldenhauer had worked the puck into the Mavericks' zone, but the captain powered a shot into the goalie's equipment. Minnesota State had a rush chance of their own several minutes later, but Stein made his first save to keep the game scoreless.
Arguably the most dangerous look of the period came when Kienan Draper drove to the net near the halfway point of the opening period. The junior forward gained a step on his defender before being tripped and sent crashing into the goaltender to earn a two-minute power play for U-M.
Michigan earned a second power play with 1:08 remaining when Evan Werner drew a call for boarding, but a late chance was turned aside and the teams finished the period without a goal.
At the first intermission, the Wolverines had failed to open the scoring, but shots on goal were 13-4 in Michigan's favor and U-M won 14 of 20 faceoffs in the first 20 minutes.
The second period started with a continuation of the late power play, and Whitelaw wasted very little time before settling into space in the left circle and clapping home a one-timer to put the Wolverines up 1-0 just 33 seconds into the middle frame. Freshman Michael Hage earned the primary assist for threading a pass through the heart of the zone while Hughes collected the secondary assist for his 85th career point.
Minnesota State tied the game at 4:24 when a broken play in the neutral zone resulted in an odd-man rush. The visitors scored on a wrist shot that was forced through the wickets to tie it.
Michigan continued to carry the play for long sequences, but struggled to dent the twine for a second time. Before long, the Mavericks showcased their dangerous counterattack once again to add the next goal off a rush at 8:21 and take their first lead at 2-1.
The Mavericks doubled their lead early in the third, making the score 3-1 at 1:03, after collecting a turnover at the Michigan blue line and skating in on Stein for an abbreviated breakaway.
A bit over two minutes later, Minnesota State went up 4-1 off a shot from the point that rang off the crossbar before settling in the back of the net.
Searching for momentum, Schifsky skated hard to the right post in transition as Hage shielded the puck while carrying into the zone on the left flank. With his stick planted on the ice, Schifsky ramped a perfect pass from Hage into the upper part of the net with 5:03 left in regulation to make it 4-2. Werner earned the secondary assist while Hage added his second helper in his first career game.
Despite desperate attempts by the Wolverines to trim the deficit, the visitors potted a fifth goal with 2:34 left.
U-M finished the evening 1-for-2 on the power play while Minnesota State ended 0-for-3. The Wolverines ended the night with a 34-23 edge in shots on goal as well as a dominant 40-21 performance in the faceoff dot.
Saturday night (Oct. 5), the non-conference foes will face off again at Yost to finish off the two-game set. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on B1G+.
