Michigan
6-5-1, 2-2-1-1B1G
Wisconsin
5-7-1, 1-3-1-0B1G
Wolverines Take B1G Extra Point from Badgers in Overtime Thriller
11/23/2018 11:06:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Josh Norris scored a 3-on-3 goal just 33 seconds into the second overtime for an extra B1G point.
» Quinn Hughes picked up an assist on Michigan's lone goal.
» This was Michigan's first game that used the 3x3 frame to help decide the extra point in the league standings before going to a shootout.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Red Berenson Rink at Yost Ice Arena)
Score: #14 Michigan 1, Wisconsin 1 (2OT, W)
Records: U-M (6-5-1, 2-2-1-1 B1G), Wisconsin (5-7-1, 1-3-1-0 BIG)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 24 -- vs. Wisconsin (Red Berenson Rink at Yost Ice Arena), 7:30 p.m.
ANNÂ ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 14-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team tied the Wisconsin Badgers, 1-1, on Friday night (Nov. 23) on Red Berenson Rink at Yost Ice Arena in the opening game of a Big Ten Conference weekend series. The Wolverines were able to pick up the extra point in the B1G standings when sophomore forward Josh Norris scored 33 seconds into the extra overtime to end the game.
Michigan controlled the action for most of the first period, outshooting Wisconsin 11-6 in the first 20 minutes, but the action remained scoreless. It did not take long to find a goal in the second, as the Badgers found the back of the net three minutes into the frame. Jarod Zirbel carried the puck into the Maize and Blue zone and took a shot on net then collected his own rebound and slipped the puck past a sliding Hayden Lavigne for the tally.
The Wolverines unleashed an offensive onslaught in the middle frame and fired shot after shot on net but could not get one past the UW goaltender. With six minutes left in the period, junior forward Will Lockwood had U-M's best scoring chance at that point in the game, getting robbed on the doorstep on a quick tip-shot from the slot.
With time running out in the second stanza, yet another grade-A opportunity was thwarted when freshman defenseman Nick Blankenburg stickhandled past a defender before putting the puck on net for a redirection from freshman forward Jack Olmstead that trickled just wide of the cage. The shots were heavily skewed in favor of Michigan after two periods, as the Maize and Blue took a 30-14 advantage into the third despite trailing, 1-0.
The Wolverines were thwarted on another prime scoring chance early in the third when junior forward Nick Pastujov rang a wrist shot off the Wisconsin crossbar early in the period. Michigan was finally rewarded for its offensive persistence halfway through the third when junior forward Adam Winborg tied the game with 9:34 remaining in regulation. Sophomore defenseman Quinn Hughes chipped a loose puck up to senior forward Brendan Warren to break out of the zone. Warren carried the puck up the ice and took a shot on net from the sideboards, creating a rebound that Winborg chipped past the goalkeeper to knot the game at 1.
The Badgers had a chance late in the game when they were awarded a power play with 2:23 remaining in the third. Michigan's defense held strong and was able to kill the penalty and send the game into overtime. The Wolverines were then granted a power play of their own just 36 seconds into the extra frame. Michigan got two shots on net during the man advantage but could not score.
The extra five minutes of five-on-five hockey could not produce a winner so the game officially finished as a 1-1 tie. The two teams then played three-on-three to decide which team would pick up the extra point in the Big Ten. Just 33 seconds into the second overtime period, Norris received a pass on the back door from Hughes and fired a one-timer past the Wisconsin goaltender to secure the extra point for the Wolverines. Michigan controlled the puck for the entirety of the extra OT, with junior forward Will Lockwood picking up a secondary assist on the goal.
Although Lavigne settled for the tie, he had a solid game in net while making 20 saves on the night and earning third star honors.
The Wolverines will wrap up the weekend series against the Badgers tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 24) with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
