The series sweep has been an elusive achievement for the No. 15 Michigan hockey team in Big Ten play this season. After dominating No. 7 Michigan State on Friday, the Wolverines had one of their best opportunities yet to break the trend on Saturday.
But once again, they blew their chance.
In a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair, Michigan (11-8-3 overall, 4-6-2 Big Ten) failed to close out against the Spartans (16-5-3, 10-2-2), losing 7-5 to split the weekend series. The Wolverines dominated early, but met their downfall halfway through the game. They allowed six unanswered goals and subsequently failed to reignite their own offense.
“I think we played great the whole weekend,” sophomore forward T.J. Hughes said. “(Out of) 120 minutes I think we played a great 110 minutes. So I think we won the weekend, but those last 10 minutes of the second (period) we just gotta do better.”
It certainly looked like Michigan was on track to win the weekend in the first period. The Wolverines came out swinging from the opening draw, tallying seven shots in the first three minutes — matching Michigan State’s eventual first-period total. Even on an early penalty kill, Michigan didn’t let up its offensive attack, initiating timely clears and strong forechecks that even led to a shorthanded shot opportunity.
A few minutes later, the Wolverines’ forecheck showed up once again as sophomore forward Rutger McGroarty stripped a Spartan player in the offensive zone. Slipping a pass behind his back, McGroarty put the puck on Hughes’ stick at the netfront, and Hughes delivered the goal.
Michigan’s 19 shots on goal defined the first period, but not necessarily the score. Michigan State managed to capitalize on its second power play of the night to tie the game at 1-1 heading into the first intermission.
The second period was a different story — two different stories, actually.
In the first 10 minutes, the Wolverines piled on three more goals, finally making the score reflect their dominant play. Hughes notched his second of the night on a two-on-one breakaway with freshman forward Nick Moldenhauer. Then, McGroarty took over, scoring twice, with his second coming on the power play, to give Michigan a 4-1 lead.
“I felt like we controlled the majority of the game,” Wolverines coach Brandon Naurato said. “We dominated the first period. When it was 4-1, we were dominating that team.”
But then Michigan fell apart. The Wolverines committed multiple defensive miscues, allowing four unanswered Spartan goals to turn their commanding lead into a 5-4 deficit. Their failed checks, sloppy turnovers and diminished offensive presence easily let Michigan State back into the game.
“I thought that they scored a power-play goal, and they scored on four turnovers,” Naurato said. “It’s not like ‘oh my god, there’s this major turnover issue.’ They turned it over, and they scored every single time.”
And that was the difference in the game. As the third period got under way, Michigan’s defense sharpened, but its offense continued to sputter. The Wolverines won faceoffs and puck battles, but couldn’t score.
The Spartans, on the other hand, sustained offensive pressure and managed to expand their lead to 6-4. And with an empty net score in the waning minutes, Michigan State effectively put the final bow on its comeback victory, even though Michigan managed to notch an inconsequential, late goal in the 7-5 loss.
“I don’t think we crumbled, it just (was that) when we made a mistake, (the puck) was in the back of our net,” Naurato said. “We managed the game very well for 110 out of 120 minutes on the weekend, and you just see what happens when you don’t.”
Winning 110 minutes of the weekend wasn’t enough, because those remaining 10 minutes sealed Michigan’s fate.
After quieting the hostile Munn Ice Arena crowd with a slew of goals on Friday, the Wolverines had every opportunity to claim the weekend sweep in front of their home crowd. Instead, they let the Spartans return the favor with a slew of their own goals in the second half of Saturday’s game.
And for now, the Big Ten weekend sweep will remain an elusive feat for the Wolverines.