Nearly every game this season has featured considerable ice time for the penalty kill of the No. 5 Michigan hockey team — this weekend’s matchups against No. 15 Alaska-Fairbanks proved to be no exception.

Averaging close to a full period in penalty minutes per game, the Wolverines haven’t given their penalty killers a chance to breathe.

Heading into this past weekend’s games against the Nanooks, Michigan ranked fourth in the country in penalty minutes, having taken 63 penalties for 159 minutes. During the weekend split, the Wolverines spent another 24 minutes in the penalty box.

Michigan (4-1-1-0 CCHA, 5-2-3 overall) has given up exactly one power play goal in each of its games this season. The streak continued this weekend, as Alaska-Fairbanks scored on the man-advantage in both games.

While the penalty kill surrendered just two goals on the weekend, penalty minutes stifled the Wolverines in Friday night’s 3-0 loss. Michigan’s eight penalties in that game proved to be the nail in the coffin. The Nanooks (3-2-1-1, 6-3-1) held on to their 3-0 lead halfway through the second period to shut out the Wolverines for the first time since last December.

Michigan was more disciplined in its 5-2 win on Saturday, only taking four penalties for eight minutes.

“I would say our penalty kill was decent on the weekend,” Michigan assistant coach Billy Powers said on Saturday. “It didn’t hurt us, it didn’t help us. Their team goes 2-for-10, that’s 20 percent. You’d like to be between 10 or 15 or percent. So the numbers that we strive for, we didn’t meet this weekend. In that sense, it wasn’t a success, that’s for sure.”

BACK-TO-BACK CHANCES: When senior goalie Shawn Hunwick missed his scheduled start on Friday due to what Powers called a “stomach bug,” the Wolverines decided that it would be more beneficial to start the healthy netminder — senior Bryan Hogan — in both games.

The senior's back-to-back starts marked the first time all season that Michigan hasn’t alternated goalies in a weekend series.

“Hogan was good,” Powers said. “Friday night, he had to battle hard in the first period. It was 1-0 at the end of one for Fairbanks and it could’ve been three (goals for them). He really made some huge saves in the first period Friday and gave our team a chance. He had a good game in a loss.

“And (on Saturday), we got the first goal and they came back with two great, great chances on line rushes and he made two huge saves. Other than the power play goal that he would want to have back, he had a very solid weekend for us.”

Hogan made 31 saves on the weekend while allowing five goals, earning a split decision in Alaska.

POWER PLAY NEEDS POWER: After the Wolverines' matchup with then-No. 9 New Hampshire three weeks ago, the Michigan power play unit had netted a goal with the man-advantage in each of its previous four matchups. At the time, the Wolverines were a nation’s-best 7-for-17 on the power play.

But the power play has gone ice cold in its past three series.

Since mid-October, the Wolverine power play has gone 2-for-36, with their only two goals coming against Nebraska-Omaha and Ferris State. Entering this weekend against Alaska-Fairbanks, Michigan’s power play was ranked 16th in the country with nine goals and 21.4-percent efficiency.

And the unit couldn’t find a way to heat back up in Alaska. It went 0-for-11 on the weekend and gave up a shorthanded goal seven minutes into the second period on Saturday. With the man-advantage, Michigan managed 23 shots on Alaska-Fairbanks goaltender Scott Greenham, but Powers said the power play struggles stemmed from not maintaining puck control in the offensive zone.

“(On Saturday) I think we struggled getting in their zone,” Powers said. “And when we did dump it in, they dumped it out. And we lost faceoffs … that was a big part. Tonight, we were losing faceoff draws in their zone and the puck was thrown out.

“We didn’t have as much as we should have in their zone but clearly our power play is something we have to focus on getting better because if you’re on the shorthand of a special teams battle like we were tonight you usually don’t win the game.”