Kornacki: Wolverines Look to Big Ten Tourney after Defeat
3/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
March 15, 2015
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan ice hockey team had so many chances to win the game and a share of the Big Ten championship on Saturday (March 14).
But a combination of Michigan State goalie Jake Hildebrand, fate and, on one occasion, a goal post, denied the Wolverines in a 2-1 defeat.
The end result was a regular-season conference championship for Minnesota, which beat Penn State on Saturday night to finish with 39 points. The Spartans were second with 37 points, while Michigan was third with 36 points.
"It's disappointing," said Wolverine head coach Red Berenson. "We had an opportunity to do something that was special, and it didn't happen. I like the way our team played. We gave up a timely goal in the third period that was costly, and we couldn't get it back. I don't know how many grade-A scoring chances we had in the game, give their goalie credit, give their team credit, but the puck wasn't going in."
What did he tell his team after coming so close to its dreams?
"I told them they did everything they could to make it happen," said Berenson. "We have a list of goals in our locker room: Protect Yost, win the weekend, win the GLI, win the Big Ten. We were a goal away from doing all four of those, and we didn't get it. We had the chance, the opportunity, we can't blame anyone but ourselves, but the puck just didn't go in."
It's at moments like that when you most appreciate Red. He is compassionate, but mostly he is fair. And he communicated something perhaps more important than a Big Ten regular-season championship to his guys. He assured them that, even in defeat, he was proud of them and knew that they'd given him all he wanted. And, really, what more can a coach ask? Some coaches make that mistake in defeat, but Red isn't just some coach.
And in the next instant, he turned to the task at hand, knowing that crying over spilled milk won't get his team to the NCAA Tournament. That primary goal remains but now will require three wins in the Big Ten Tournament instead of two.
Instead of sharing a conference regular-season championship and a first-round bye in the six-team tournament at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena, Michigan now needs to play last-place Wisconsin on Thursday. Beating the Badgers -- whom U-M swept in four games by a combined score of 21-6 -- would get them into Friday's (March 20) semifinals.
"I wouldn't want to play us next week," said Berenson. "I think it's a good opportunity for us to salvage our so called 'status' whether it's in the NCAA Tournament or Big Ten status. We had a good run of it, so did Michigan State, and they ended up a point ahead of us."
And they did so by finishing one goal ahead of Michigan on Saturday evening.
Tyler Motte tried to play sniper on Hildebrand with 6:19 remaining in the game, but the goalie snared the shot with his glove while going low to the ice. It was a spectacular play.
And one minute earlier, Dylan Larkin and Zach Hyman, Michigan's leading scorers, poked in vain at the puck in front of a prostrate Hildebrand. A pileup ensued, but they couldn't get the puck into the net.
"Most games, those go in," said Hyman. "We hit a couple bodies, and it just didn't go in."
Earlier in the game, Justin Selman hit the post, coming inches from beating Hildebrand.
If there was a kitchen sink somewhere in Yost to throw at Hildebrand, the Wolverines would've tossed it. But he stopped 37 of 38 shots. Spartans defenders blocked an amazing 30 shots, and Michigan had 24 off-target shots.
"I can't think of any better scoring chances than some we had," said Berenson, "and Zach Hyman had a breakaway. Tyler Motte had a one-time play from 'Boo' Nieves late in the game. He had the whole net. Their goalie stood on his head and played as well as I've seen a goalie play this year.
"The puck that might've gone in last month; didn't go in tonight."
All told, the Wolverines took 92 shots to MSU's 45.
"Sometimes the puck isn't going to go in," said Hyman, "and they play well defensively. Unfortunately, they were able to capitalize on the little chances they had. We had a bunch of chances but couldn't capitalize on them."
The Wolverines pulled their goalie in the final 1:25 but couldn't find the goal to force overtime. Many in the sell-out crowd of 5,800 at Yost Ice Arena shouted as loudly as they could, "Let's Go Blue! Let's Go Blue!" It created a deafening effect. But the cheers most wanted to make -- for one more goal and ultimately a win -- never came.
"It's always tough," said freshman defenseman Zach Werenski, whose goal in the middle of the second period tied the score, 1-1. "But we have a lot to look forward to next weekend. It's a playoff weekend, and we're going to compare this week to playoff hockey. To go out there and play like that, it's definitely tough to lose, but we have a lot to look forward to."?
Senior Hyman, the conference's leading scorer with 49 points, said, "I don't think this game is a step backwards as much as it was a step forward. These guys worked hard out there today, and that is only going to help us moving forward in the tournament. We're going to work and have a good week of practice to be ready for it."
Berenson will see to that.
"We put ourselves in a tough spot," he said. "We have to work our way out of it. I think our team has put everything they had into this weekend, we went down there and had a good game in (East) Lansing (for a 5-3 win), and we played another good game tonight. It didn't happen. It's your body of work during the year, and it's too bad it comes down to one game or one weekend to dictate your destiny, but that's what happened.
"We have to change that around next week. I like our team; I really like our team. I think we're in a good place right now. So, if we have to play Thursday, so be it. We have to win our next game."
