Posted Dec. 1
Responding to a loss for the first time in seven weeks, it was a freshmen quartet that led Michigan back to its winning ways.
Going into the game, Michigan coach Red Berenson overhauled three of his four lines, and for the first time skated a line of all freshmen.
The decision paid off as Michigan bounced back from its 3-2 loss Friday night, defeating Ohio State, 4-2, in a game filled with end-to-end action and 36 total penalty minutes.
The trio of freshmen on Michigan’s second line, Carl Hagelin, Matt Rust and Aaron Palushaj got the Wolverines on the board with two goals in the first eight minutes.
Rust got Michigan’s first goal, bouncing a puck off Ohio State goalie Joseph Palmer and into the net from behind the goalline.
Hagelin followed up with a goal less than four minutes later, tapping a puck past Palmer as it sat in the crease.
While Paushaj didn’t register a goal of his own, he had the first assist on both and nearly beat Palmer on a spin-o-rama backhander in the third period.
A fourth freshman, goalie Bryan Hogan, did his part in earning Michigan (9-1-0 CCHA, 14-2-0 overall) a win.
Hogan, playing in his first collegiate game, got the ultimate test in preserving Michigan’s two-goal lead roughly halfway through the first period.
Already shorthanded, junior Tim Miller covered the puck in the crease, which resulted in an Ohio State penalty shot.
Senior Tommy Goebel took the shot for the Buckeyes, but couldn’t beat Hogan’s aggressive technique. The freshman knocked the seniors shot over the goal with a quick blocker save.
Hogan was solid throughout the evening. His first goal allowed came on a breakaway. The freshman failed to challenge John Dingle as he flew toward the net from the right wing. Dingle went forehand to backhand and easily slipped the puck through Hogan’s five-hole to get Ohio State (2-8-0, 4-11-1) on the board.
Freshman Max Pacioretty added to the first-year fun, netting a power-play goal in the first period for the Wolverines. Though Michigan went just 1-for-5 with the man advantage, it was a marked improvement from its 0-for-8 output Friday night.
Pacioretty added another goal in the second period, finishing a perfectly executed two-on-one with senior Kevin Porter.
Typical of Michigan and Ohio State in any sport, animosity ran high all night. Even the normally reserved Porter grabbed four penalty minutes, twice his season total coming into the game.