July 28, 2011 - 6:49pm
LIVE BLOG: Michigan vs. Minnesota - Game 1 of the College Hockey Showcase
BY MARK BURNS
We are LIVE here at Yost Ice Arena over this Holiday Weekend as Michigan takes on Minnesota in Game 1 of 2 of the 17th Annual College Hockey Showcase. The Wolverines are coming off a split last weekend with Bowling Green and are hoping to ride that momentum into tonight's contest. Last year, Michigan defeated the Golden Gophers 6-3 on the road.
Here are the starting lineups.
Offense
Hagelin - Rust - Brown
Wolhberg - Caporusso - Treais
Winnettt - Glendenig - Lynch
Rohrkemper - Ciraulo - Vaughan
Defense
Langlais - Summers
Moffie - Kampfer
Burlon - Pateryn
Goalietenders
Hogan
Hunwick
19:37 Michigan gets a delay of game penalty because the center got kicked out of the circle twice. I've never seen this before and the boo's reign down on the refs. The Wolverines will be forced to kill of an early penalty.
17:20 The Wolverines killed off the penality with relative ease while Minnesota registered no shots on the man-advantage.
14:50 Lynch goes down the right side on a semi-breakaway and hits the right post with a wrist shot. Shots are 5-1 Michigan.
12:32 Minnesota rifles a snap shot from 20 feet out and it hits the cross bar. The Wolverines go on the power play for the first time tonight as the Golden Gophers are whistled for obstruction hooking.
10:27 The power plays ends with Michigan tallying no scoring opportunities. Berenson and the Wolverines have continuously worked on the power play all year and it seems to still be a struggle for the maize and blue.
7:50 Another power play for the Wolverines. This would be a perfect opportunity to grab the first tally towards the end of the first and heading into the locker room. Both teams have had a few scoring opportunities so far, with nothing to show for.
6:40 We'll skate four on four for 51 seconds as Carl Hagelin is sent to the box for interference.
2:53 Hagelin steals a Gopher defenseman's pass and breaks down the left side with Chris Brown on the right side. Hagelin threaded the needle over a trailing Gopher's stick to Brown who throws a wrist show right in Kangas's glove.
2:48 Minnesota penalty for interference. Michigan goes on the power play for the third time in the period.
1:13 Wohlberg darts down the right wing and cuts hard to the right, throwing a backhand shortside on Kangas. It's Wohlberg's second goal of the season.
End of the First
1-0 Michigan
Shots are 15-5 Michigan at the end of the first period, with both teams snagging a handful of scoring opportunities apiece. For the most part, it has been a relatively uneventful affair, with Yost staying pretty quiet — probably from the lack of a student section because of Thanksgiving.
Start of the Second Period
18:37 Hagelin, Rust and Treais generated two really good scoring opportunities down low and kept the puck moving throughout the power play. While the trio didn't net a tally, Berenson has to be happy with the way those three are playing.
12:50 Michigan is playing with the man down right now and has down a pretty good job keeping shots to the outside.
12:08 Minnesota picks up a penalty midway through the second. It was for obstruction holding.
11:08 Burlon rifles a slap shot to Kangas's blocker side from just above the left circle. Brown and Kampfer registered assists on the power play goal.
Michigan 2-0
6:08 A Gopher heads down the right side of the ice and throws a soft wrist shot at Hogan. It looked like it caught the Wolverine netminder a little offguard but he was still able to smother the puck.
5:18 Penalty to Minnesota and the Wolverines head on the power play again. If Michigan can grab a late goal here, I'm pretty sure that would knock the life out of this Gopher team. We'll see what happens.
4:35 And Caporusso gets a power play tally early into the man-advantage. He was at the bottom of the right circle and threw the puck towards the net. It bounced off a Gopher defenseman's skate and into the net behind Kangas.
3-0 Michigan
1:45 Michigan defenseman Lee Moffie sends a pass behind a Gopher defeseman to Hagelin. He then broke towards the Minnesota net and threw a weak wrist shot that trickled past Kangas. I'm surprised Kangas wasn't pulled after the goal but who knows, maybe we'll see a new netminder at the start of the third.
Michigan 4-0
End of the Second Period
The shots are 27-14 Michigan, and all things point to a Wolverine victory. The Wolverines definitely carried much of the offensive play in the middle frame, with multiple power plays. Hogan wasn't really tested, with much of the credit going towards the Michigan defense and forwards who have cut down the amount of time the Gophers have had to make decisions with the puck.
14:14 We're at the first stoppage of the third stanza, with not a whole lot going on. The Wolverines are really playing sound defensively tonight, and that has to to have Berenson relatively pleased. So far, Minnesota has just 17 shots, with most of its scoring chances coming earlier in the game.
13:02 Carl Hagelin goes on a breakaway after getting a nice pass from Matt Rust and nets a backhander five hole on Kangas. It was Michigan's first shorthanded goal of the season.
8:32 Winnett notches a sick top shelfer over Kangas's right shoulder. Winnett corralled the puck at the left face off dot in the Gopher zone, turned, and let her rip. Kangas had no chance on the play.
6:53 Power play for the Wolverines. They've done a pretty decent job on the PP tonight after their first chance way back in the first period. Let's see what they can muster up here late in the third.
4:06 Kampfer goes to the box for contact to the head roughing. I'm going to go ahead and call that a questionable penalty but with only four minutes left in the game, I don't think it's going to make much of a difference.
2:02 Michigan kills off the penalty, with Hogan making a nice glove save at the end of the kill.
End of regulation
6-0 Michigan win
So, Michigan wins the first of its two games at the College Hockey Showcase. It did so playing pretty sound defensive hockey and limiting the number of good, quality scoring opportunities by the Gophers. Hogan grabs his first shutout of the season. The final shuts are 32 for Michigan and 24 for Minnesota.
Tomorrow night, the Wolverines take on Wisconsin at 7:35 p.m.
