Michigan
21-13-3
Minnesota
22-10-5
Michigan Clinches Spot in B1G Championship With Win Over No. 6 Minnesota
3/16/2024 11:59:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Gavin Brindley netted the game-winning goal along with a game-high five shots on goal.
» Kienan Draper opened the scoring in the first period with his fourth goal of the season.
» Michigan won their fourth straight game by one goal for the first time since 1926.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- For the third consecutive year, the 11th-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team saw its Big Ten Tournament path run through the Minnesota. Although it occurred one round earlier than the previous two meetings, the result remained the same as U-M knocked off the sixth-ranked Golden Gophers 2-1 inside 3M Arena at Mariucci on Saturday night (March 16) to clinch a spot in next weekend's Big Ten Championship in East Lansing.
Michigan's one-goal victory, the fourth consecutive of its kind, marked the first time in 98 years (March 1926) that the Wolverines won four consecutive games by one goal.
Goaltender Jake Barczewski was outstanding between the pipes for Michigan (21-13-3) making 23 saves in the program's league-record 20th all-time Big Ten Tournament win.
Minnesota (22-10-5) carried the play early on until the Wolverines put their first two shots on goal just after the three-minute mark. Chase Pletzke dashed across the blue line on the left side of the ice and threw the team's first shot off the pads of the Golden Gopher goaltender. After pushing the rebound back into the slot, Kienan Draper came flying through the slot to bang the puck through the five-hole to give Michigan a 1-0 lead at 3:12. Blueliner Seamus Casey collected the secondary assist on Draper's fourth tally of the season.
The game-opening goal marked the 28th time in 37 games that Michigan opened the scoring.
Minutes later, senior forward Philippe Lapointe drove behind the net and curled, flipped a pass out to a collapsing Luca Fantilli in the slot, and the sophomore defenseman deposited the puck into the back of the net for what appeared to be a 2-0 lead. However, Minnesota challenged the goal for a missed offside call. After an official review, the goal was wiped off the board as the referees determined the puck had just left the zone.
After one period of play, Michigan led 1-0. The Wolverines dominated in the faceoff dot, 14-6, while the Gophers led 10-7 in shots on goal through 20 minutes.
Late in the second period, Marshall Warren received a D-to-D pass from Ethan Edwards before launching a two-line diagonal pass to Gavin Brindley crossing the opposing blue line. He took a few more strides toward the goaltender, uncorked a perfect shot to the top-left corner of the net and made it 2-0 Michigan with 1:24 left in the period.
After 40 minutes, Michigan owned a two-goal lead. In the second period, the Wolverines outshot Minnesota 17-5 to bump up their overall advantage to 24-15. U-M also saw its advantage in the faceoff dot balloon to 25-15.
U-M put together a flurry of strong chances in the third period, searching for its third goal, including a rip by Nick Moldenhauer and a breakaway chance from Frank Nazar III, but both were turned aside.
Skating with the net empty, Minnesota tallied from the top of the right circle through traffic to make it 2-1 with 1:19 left in regulation.
With the deficit halved, the Wolverines buckled down to finish out a tense final 79 seconds of regulation, ice the one-goal win and clinch a spot in next week's Big Ten Championship game.
The Wolverines finished with a 31-24 advantage in shots on goal and a 36-20 performance in the faceoff dot. With the win, U-M clinches a spot in the conference title game for the fifth time. The Wolverines hold the record with three Big Ten Tournament titles, but all have come against Minnesota.
Next Saturday (March 23), Michigan will travel to Munn Ice Arena to face off against Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship game at 8 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
