Lockwood is guaranteed just 11 more games in a Michigan sweater — the remaining nine regular-seasons games and two in the Big Ten Tournament, if the Wolverines get swept. Eleven more games to live out what’s been a dream of his since he was in the sixth grade. Eleven more games to win at Michigan.
It’s clear that he plans to make them count.
The Daily hockey beat used to run a video series during the 2011-12 season called “Quick Hits.” They were one-on-one interviews with players that covered everyday life and all of its funny moments. Now, it’s back in written format.
For the first edition of the semester, The Daily’s Molly Shea and Bailey Johnson sat down with freshmen Cam York and Johnny Beecher to discuss conspiracy theories, Deflategate and if a hot dog is a sandwich.
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This transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Molly: Is a hot dog a sandwich?
For Michigan, Saturday’s exhibition has the makings of a classic trap game, albeit a slightly non-traditional one. It’s a meaningless matchup, sandwiched in the heart of the Wolverines’ conference schedule. Michigan has started to build momentum in recent weeks, and now, they’re faced with a game that could be a serious stumbling block to that momentum.
The Wolverines’ recent run came after a disappointing first half, in which the Michigan went 7-11-2 overall and just 2-7-1 in the Big Ten. And despite the success the last two weeks, Pearson knows his team still has a lot to improve upon.
In Saturday’s exhibition, he’s looking for the Wolverines to continue to build and grow into a team that can be competitive across the Big Ten.
But with 12 seconds left in three-on-three double overtime, sophomore forward Garrett Van Wyhe found the puck on his stick with no one in front of him.
His wrister flipped up over Autio’s shoulder, and while the rest of the building went silent, there was an explosion on Michigan’s bench. The goal exorcised the demons of close but not quite, of being right there and just missing.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Waiting all alone in the slot, Johnny Beecher tapped the blade of his stick against the ice to get Will Lockwood’s attention.
The senior forward turned around to see the freshman with plenty of open room, and Lockwood sent a pass from the bottom of the right circle up to Beecher. Beecher readied himself for the one-timer, and then he unleashed it. The puck didn’t fly into the air to beat goaltender Peyton Jones — and it didn’t have to.
Mel Pearson has spent the last couple of weeks emphasizing Michigan’s need to get more offensive output from its defensemen. In Saturday night’s win over then-No. 14 Notre Dame, Pearson saw what he’d been pushing come to fruition.
Eleven weeks ago, that kind of fluky goal to start a game was the Wolverines’ undoing on the road at Western Michigan. But Saturday night, Michigan (9-11-2, 4-7-1-0) came back to complete just its second sweep of the season, beating the Fighting Irish, 3-1.
For the second half of the season, Michigan coach Mel Pearson’s main focus for his team is increased attention to detail. So far, that’s entailed getting bodies in front of the net to take the goaltender’s eyes away and readying for rebound chances.
Jay Keranen has been a Michigan fan since Day 1.
Now, the defenseman and native of Brighton, Mich., is joining the Wolverines’ hockey team for the second half of the year.
Keranen spent the last two seasons playing for the Prince George Spruce Kings in the BCHL, with whom he won the Fred Page Cup in 2019. In 58 games in the 2018-19 season, Keranen tallied one goal and 11 assists for a total of 12 points.
DETROIT — There’s a saying written at the bottom of the stairs leading from the Michigan locker room to the ice at Yost Ice Arena.
Each day, when the Wolverines take the ice for practice or a game, they take in the message.
Every play matters.
It’s a somewhat simplified, cliché version of what it takes to win a hockey game, but at the core, it sums things up pretty well. Any one play in a game can be the one that changes the game for one team or the other.