March 25, 2011 - 9:40pm
Wolverines defeat Mavericks, 3-2, in OT in NCAA first round
BY DAILY HOCKEY BEAT
- Jake Fromm/Daily
OVERTIME UPDATE: ST. LOUIS — With 17:25 left on the clock in the first overtime period, Kevin Lynch deflected a Greg Pateryn shot, which hit off a Maverick defenseman and into the net.
The potential winning goal was reviewed for 10 minutes by the officials, with the ruling being that the puck crossed the goal line.
Michigan will play the winner of Boston College/Colorado College tomorrow night at 8:00 PM CT.
THIRD PERIOD UPDATE: With the score tied at two heading into the final 20 minutes of play, the Wolverines were hoping to capture their second straight berth in the NCAA regional finals.
But with no goals scored from Michigan or Nebraska, the first-round matchup in St. Louis is now headed to overtime. In the opening five minutes of the third period, Michigan had two penalties to kill, which it successfully accomplished.
And then Michigan had its own power-play opportunity with just over eight minutes to go in the period, but it couldn’t find the back of the night. For much of the period, it was tight defensively unlike the second frame where there were frequent end-to-end rushes. Both teams played conservatively, refusing to make a mistake that would cost them the game.
The period ended with Michigan holding a 35-27 shot advantage.
SECOND PERIOD UPDATE: The Wolverines hoped to rebound from their lackluster performance in the opening 20 minutes of play at the Scottrade Center.
They got their opportunity early on, as they received their third power play of the night. Less than a minute into the man-advantage, senior forward Louie Caporusso made the Mavericks pay, as he sent a wrister from the right point through some traffic past Maverick netminder John Faulkner.
Minutes later at the 11:24 mark, Michigan scored the equalizer off the stick of sophomore Kevin Lynch. Lynch one-timed a nice pass from senior defenseman Chad Langlais.
The score remained tied for the remainder of the period, with Michigan leading in shots 22-16. The two markers swayed the momentum in the Wolverines’ favor and put the Mavericks back on their heels at times in the middle frame. Michigan seemed to have a sense of urgency it didn’t posses in the opening 20 minutes of play, a contributing factor to the two early goals in the period.
FIRST PERIOD UPDATE: ST LOUIS — Earlier this week in practice, Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson told his team that in order to beat Nebraska-Omaha in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon, it would have to win a majority of the little battles and footraces all over the ice.
But in the first period against the Mavericks, the Wolverines didn’t put their coach’s words into practice, as they head into the first intermission down, 2-0.
In the first two minutes of the contest, Michigan received its first power play opportunity of the night, but it was Nebraska that took advantage of the Wolverines’ miscue.
Off a face-off in the Maverick zone, Nebraska forward Rich Purslow took a pass from a Maverick at his own blue line. He then beat the Wolverine defensemen down the ice and slipped a backhand five-hole on Michigan goaltender Shawn Hunwick at the 1:35 mark of the first period.
Five minutes later, the Mavericks added to their lead.
With Michigan caught circling in its own end, Nebraska set up a perfect passing play to go up, 2-0.
Maverick forward Alex Hudson beat his defender out of the corner and cut straight toward the net. Hudson received a cross-ice pass and one-timed it past an out-stretched Hunwick to give Nebraska-Omaha a two-goal lead.
The Wolverines were certainly plagued by defensive lapses and an inability to convert on the power play — 0-for-2 with the man-advantage.
The shots at the end of the period 11-8 in favor of Michigan.
PREGAME: ST LOUIS — We're LIVE from Scottrade Center in St. Louis for a pivotal matchup between No. 6 Michigan and No. 14 Nebraska-Omaha. The winner advances to the NCAA Tournament second round, the loser goes home empty-handed.
The Wolverines and Mavericks tussled earlier in the year, splitting a pair of games. Nebraska-Omaha took the opener 4-2, and Michigan rebounded with a 6-1 victory at Yost in the series finale.
