Midseason Report: Marody, Hughes Highlight Season's First Half
12/22/2017 4:09:00 PM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan ice hockey team heads into the holiday break with a 7-7-2 overall record and a 3-5-2 Big Ten conference record. The Wolverines are set to face off against Bowling Green in the Great Lakes Invitational on Jan. 1, 2018 at the new Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The next day, the Wolverines will take on Michigan State or Michigan Tech to conclude the annual tournament. Michigan leads the all-time series over Bowling Green, 82-36-3.
Red, White and Go Blue
U-M's Quinn Hughes, Will Lockwood and Josh Norris have been selected to the preliminary Team USA roster to compete at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship from Dec. 26, 2017 - Jan. 5, 2018 in Buffalo, New York. The Stars and Stripes will look to defend its crown from last season when they swept the tournament and defeated Canada in the gold medal game, 5-4, in a shootout.
Midseason MVP
With a great start to the season, junior Cooper Marody earns the midseason MVP title as he ranks first in the nation for assists per game at 1.25 and fourth in points per game with 1.5. Marody's individual performances have stood for themselves as he has already had nine multiple-point games and leads the team in points with 24.
Midseason Rookie
Rookie defensemen Quinn Hughes has been a solid contributor on both sides of the ice after recording 10 points with the Wolverines. He is tied for eighth in defenseman points per game in the Big Ten with a 0.62 average and ninth for Big Ten freshmen in points per game. His 10 points also rank him tied for eighth among all freshman defensemen and second among draft-eligible blue liners.
GOALLL!!!
Michigan ranks 15th in the nation in goals per game, averaging 3.31 goals over its first 16 games. Captain Tony Calderone ranks third in the nation in goals per game at 0.81.
Block It Out
Michigan ranks second nationally with an average of 16.56 blocked shots per game and sixth in total blocked shots with 265 on the season. Sam Piazza ranks 13th nationally with 2.229 blocks per game.
Run DMC
Michigan's "DMC" line of Dexter Dancs, Cooper Marody and Tony Calderone totaled 15 points in the series at Penn State five weekends ago, nine points four weekends ago against Ferris State, 11 points three weekends ago against Minnesota, eight points two weekends ago against Wisconsin, and eight points last weekend against Michigan State.
The trio has 55 points out of a total of 142 team points thus far through 16 games heading into the New Year. In comparison, the iconic "CCM" line of JT Compher, Kyle Connor and Tyler Motte also had a combined 55 points through 16 games in 2015-16.
Hats Off to the Captain
Calderone's Dec. 7 hat trick was the first by a U-M player against Michigan State since Andrew Sinelli scored three goals in a 7-1 rout on March 7, 2014, at Yost Ice Arena.
Tony Lights the Lamp
Calderone's 13 goals are the most by a U-M player in the first 15 games of a season since Louie Caporusso pulled off the feat during the 2008-09 campaign. This is the second season in a row that he leads the team in goals heading into the holiday break.
Climbin' the Ranks
Marody ranks tied for sixth nationally with 24 points on the season and second with 20 assists. Calderone is tied for fourth nationally with 13 goals.
Marody in Good Company
Marody's 24 points are most through 16 games since Kevin Porter had 25 in 2007-08 when he won the Hobey Baker Award.
Lavigne Shuttin' 'Em Out
Hayden Lavigne's 21-save, 4-0 shutout on Dec. 7 was U-M's first against Michigan State since Jan. 8, 2011, a game that was also a 4-0 Wolverines win in Ann Arbor with Shawn Hunwick in net.
Double Vision for Coop
Marody ended his multi-point streak of eight games two weekends ago against Ohio State. Over the span he tallied 19 points (4G, 15A) and became the first Wolverine to record multiple points in eight consecutive games since Brian Wiseman did so during the 1993-94 season, when he tallied 21 points (6G, 15A) between Dec. 4, 1993-Jan. 7, 1994.
SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS
Michigan currently ranks third nationally with an average of 34.81 shots on goal per game, while ranking eighth in the nation with a +4.81 shots on goal margin per game.
Free Hockey
Michigan has had five games head to overtime so far this season. This is the most overtime contests for the Wolverines since they played in nine during the 2015-16 season.
