Friday, December 5, 2008
Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, Michigan

The Michigan hockey team got off to a slow start in tonights game, spending most of the first period seemingly skating in a fog. They managed to give up just one goal during this period, followed up with great effort in the second and third periods to win this game going away, six to one.

With the clock just under sixteen minutes the Spartans were whistled for a five minute major penalty that also resulted in the Spartan player being ejected for the remainder of the game. Michigan barely managed to register a shot on goal during this extended power play and to top it off the Wolverines gave up a short handed goal with just five seconds left on the power play. The Spartans forced a turn over just outside the Michigan blue line, walked the puck right into the Wolverine zone and blasted the puck past Hogan for the score.

The first period would come to an end with the Spartans clinging to their one to nothing lead. Both teams registered eight shots on goal through the first twenty minutes of play.

The second period started as a mirror image of the first period, only on a somewhat smaller scale. With just over eighteen minutes to play Michigan was whistled for a penalty to put the Spartans on the power play. Just twelve seconds into the Spartan power play the Wolverines scored a short handed goal of their own to tie the game. This time it was Michigan forcing a turn over just outside the Spartan blue line and Michigan walking it in down the right side of the slot. At the last minute Rust sent a pass over to Summers who finished the rush off with the score. Summers gets the short handed goal with assists going to Rust and Hagelin.

With just over eleven minutes to play the Wolverines would strike for the second time in the period, with this goal being setup through simple hard work around the goal. The puck was in close and a number of players were scrambling for control in front of the Spartan goal. Michigan finally got control behind the net, quickly passing the puck out to the right circle. From there another quick pass through the crease and to the left of the goal, for an easy shot into a wide open back door. Wohlberg was given credit for the goal, while Caporusso and Palushaj each picked up assists on the goal.

With the clock showing just under eight minutes to play in the middle period, the Wolverines would strike for the third time to take a two goal lead and gain some breathing room. Again it was simple hard work around the goal that led to this score. Both Caporusso and Palushaj were battling for the puck in close to the net, moving it back and forth between the two of them. Eventually Palushaj saw enough of an opening to lift a back hand shot over the Spartan goalie for the score. Assists went to Caporusso and Burlon.

The second period would come to an end with Michigan holding a three to one lead. Michigan out shot the Spartans ten to eight in the period to hold an eighteen to sixteen advantage in shots on goal through forty minutes of play.

With just nine and half minutes left to play in the game Michigan would strike for the fourth time, this time starting things off with a blast from near the blue line. Whether it was just a bad shot or whether the player had it in mind is unknown, but the end result would be a goal. The shot came from the left, going wide of the goal, however, it bounced off the back wall, coming right to a Wohlberg who was stationed just to the right of the goal. As the puck hit his stick he banged it home before the Spartan goalie could react. Both Summers and Winnett picked up assists on the goal.

About one minute later, with roughly eight and half minutes left to play in regulation time, the Wolverines would strike for goal number five, causing the Spartans to call time out and sending their starting goalie to the bench. Michigan had the puck in the Spartan zone, getting a pass to Naurato in the slot, roughly near the top of and between the circles. From there he fired off a wrist shot that beat the Spartan net minder for the score. Pateryn and Turnbull each picked up assists on the goal.

With just over four minutes to play Michigan would strike for goal number six, this time on a great end to end rush by the freshman Brandon Burlon, his first career goal. Michigan got the puck to Burlon at center ice. From there he carried it into the Spartan zone, pushing hard for the net. He carried the puck right to the door step of the goal, getting off a shot just as he arrived at the goal that beat the new net net minder glove side for the score. Caporusso and Palushaj each picked up assists on the goal.

The game would come to an end with the Wolverines gaining a six to one victory. Michigan out shot the Spartans thirteen to three in the period to end the game with a thirty-one to nineteen advantage in shots on goal.

Michigan got off to a slow start in this one, skating a fairly pedestrian first period. However, after that the Wolverines really picked up the pace, over powering the Spartans as the game went on. Now comes the big test, can Michigan maintain that energy into Saturday nights game and perhaps get a weekend sweep for the first time since the end of October when they swept the Buckeyes. Overall in this first half the Wolverines have swept just two weekends of play (against the Buckeyes and St. Lawrence) and have been swept once. The remainder of the weekends have been splits. If Michigan can hold onto this energy and take it into tomorrows game, and come out with that sweep, this could be the weekend that we all point to at the end of the season and say "that's where the whole season turned around". First, though, the Wolverines have to get a second win over their arch-rival Michigan State. Getting back to back wins in this series isn't something that comes easy so they will need sixty minutes of solid hockey to pull it off.