Michigan
29-9-1
Minnesota
24-12-0
Michigan Scores Four Straight to Win Second B1G Tournament Championship
3/19/2022 11:24:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Michigan scored four straight goals to take a 4-1 lead and held on for its second Big Ten Tournament title.
» Erik Portillo earned Most Outstanding Player and all-tournament team honors after going 4-0 in the B1G Tournament.
» Freshman Mackie Samoskevich scored, added an assist, and put a team-high five shots on goal to earn a spot on the all-tournament team.
» Forwards Brendan Brisson and Matty Beniers along with defenseman Luke Hughes rounded out the rest of the all-tournament team with Minnesota's Jackson LaCombe.
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (3M Arena at Mariucci)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Final)
Score: #4 Michigan 4, #2 Minnesota 3
Records: Michigan (29-9-1), Minnesota (24-12)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 20 -- NCAA Tournament Selection Show (ESPNU), 6:30 p.m.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Six years to the day after winning its last conference tournament championship in nearby St. Paul, the second-seeded University of Michigan ice hockey team took its talents to Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis and defeated the top-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers by a 4-3 score on Saturday night (March 19) to claim the program's second Big Ten Tournament championship.
With the win, Michigan snapped Minnesota's nine-game win streak and denied the Gophers their second straight tournament title. The tournament win marks Michigan's 10th all-time conference tournament championship and its first since 2016 (a 5-3 win over Minnesota).
Goaltender Erik Portillo continued his stellar play in his 39th consecutive start, making 25 saves to finish off a 4-0 run through the conference tournament and earn Most Outstanding Player honors. He made 90 saves on 95 shots faced during the tournament.
Skating in white uniforms on home ice, the Golden Gophers struck an early blow 32 seconds into the contest when a crisp stretch pass resulted in an abbreviated breakaway for a Minnesota forward. The skater made a nice play on his backhand to flip the puck into the net and open the scoring with the first shot of the game.
Less than a minute later, the blue-and-maize-clad Wolverines joined in on the fun by answering with a goal of their own on the team's first shot to match Minnesota's hot start and dull a boisterous, sellout crowd 1:17 into the matchup.
Luke Hughes, the nation's highest-scoring defenseman, helped to keep the puck in the Minnesota zone along the boards at the right point before slipping a pass through a pair of Gophers to Matty Beniers in the right circle. Beniers caught the pass on his backhand before collecting the puck, walking around his defender, and sending a short pass through the slot to Brendan Brisson, who banged home the equalizer through the five-hole for his 19th of the season.
The middle chunk of the first period featured fast-paced play at each end of the ice, as two highly skilled teams went shot for shot in a brilliant showcase of Big Ten and college hockey.
Late in the period, Mackie Samoskevich made a great play on a centering pass that turned into a shot and then a goal when it ricocheted off a Gopher defenseman's blade and into the back of the net to give Michigan a 2-1 lead. Samoskevich entered the zone on the right flank and approached the cage in unison with linemate Dylan Duke on his left. While trying to connect with Duke on a cross-crease pass, the puck found its way into the back of the net instead to give U-M the lead. Johnny Beecher collected the lone assist.
Minnesota was assessed a minor penalty for contact to the head with 1:39 left, but U-M failed to capitalize on the first man-advantage of the evening, carrying 21 seconds of power-play time over to the second period before officially going 0-for-1.
After 20 minutes of championship play, Michigan held a 2-1 lead. Each team had 10 shots on goal in the opening frame.
Duke tallied a marker of his own 2:06 into the second period after the teams had returned to even strength. Samoskevich set him up with a saucer pass that Duke was able to swat out of the air. Thomas Bordeleau collected the secondary assist on the goal that made it 3-1.
The Gophers were penalized with 13:34 left in the middle period, this time for boarding. After failing to convert on its earlier opportunity, the Michigan power-play unit left no doubt when Kent Johnson blasted a missile from the right dot off the crossbar and in to make it 4-1 halfway through the two-minute advantage. Brisson and Bordeleau assisted on KJ's eighth tally.
Freshman forward Mark Estapa was tagged for Michigan's first penalty 8:46 into the second period when he was called for high-sticking. The Gophers threatened with the extra skater, but U-M's penalty killers dismissed the chance to bring the teams back to five-on-five play.
With two periods in the books, Michigan held a commanding 4-1 lead and had carved out a 23-16 lead in shots on goal after putting 13 on net in the second period to Minnesota's six.
Minnesota was penalized for interference 6:33 into the third period to put U-M on its third power play of the game. With 1:33 left on the initial five-on-four advantage, Pastujov was taken out in front of the Minnesota bench with a hit from behind. After an official review, a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct were assessed to the Golden Gophers to give U-M a lengthy two-skater advantage with time ticking down.
Following the expiration of the minor penalty, the Wolverines continued to pressure the Golden Gopher end, testing the Minnesota netminder before the teams returned to even strength with eight minutes left to play.
As the final minutes ticked down, the Gophers drew a penalty for hooking with 2:34 remaining to embark on their second power play of the title game. Just under a minute later, a holding penalty was assessed to the Wolverines with 1:41 on the clock to knock the Wolverines down to three skaters. Coach Bob Motzko took Minnesota's timeout to draw up a play.
Portillo made a plethora of outstanding stops with the Minnesota net empty and three Wolverines skating against six Golden Gophers. With 53 seconds left in regulation, Minnesota netted its second goal with the three-man advantage to cut the deficit to 4-2.
The Gophers kept their net empty to maintain a two-man advantage on the ensuing draw, and their immense offensive pressure paid off in the game's waning seconds when they scored a third goal with 5.8 seconds left to play to make the score 4-3.
After Bordeleau barricaded the center of the ice off the faceoff to prevent a last-second rush from the Gophers, the final buzzer sounded and the entire Michigan team poured over the boards to celebrate its fourth -- and biggest -- trophy of the season (Ice Breaker, Iron D, Mariucci-Renfrew).
Following the game, former Michigan coach Red Berenson helped Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren award the trophy to the victorious Wolverines. The conference also announced its all-tournament team, with five of six honorees coming from Michigan:
• Forward: Matty Beniers, Michigan
• Forward: Brendan Brisson, Michigan
• Forward: Mackie Samoskevich, Michigan
• Defense: Luke Hughes, Michigan
• Defense: Jackson LaCombe, Minnesota
• Goaltender: Erik Portillo, Michigan (Most Outstanding Player)
Tomorrow (Sunday, March 20), the Wolverines will learn where they are headed for next weekend's NCAA Regional action when the NCAA Ice Hockey Selection Show airs on ESPNU at 6:30 p.m.
The Albany, N.Y., and Loveland, Colo., regionals will play Thursday and Saturday (March 24 and 26), while the Allentown, Pa., and Worcester, Mass., regionals will face off on Friday and Sunday (March 25 and 27). This year, all NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast live on ESPNU. The 2022 Men's Frozen Four will be held in Boston at TD Garden on Thursday and Saturday, April 7 and 9.
