Michigan
Minnesota
U-M Picks Up Two B1G Points in Shootout Win at No. 18 Minnesota
2/28/2020 11:56:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Strauss Mann made 48 saves in 65 minutes and added five more in 3x3.
» Nick Pastujov scored a beautiful goal to put the Wolverines up by two in the third period.
» Jake Slaker assisted on Luke Morgan's first-period goal to reach the 100-point mark.
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (3M Arena at Mariucci)
Score: Michigan 2, #18 Minnesota 2 (U-M Wins Shootout, 1-0)
Records: U-M (15-14-4, 10-10-3-2 B1G), Minnesota (14-12-7, 9-7-7-4 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 29 -- at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 5 p.m. CST
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Jake Slaker scored in the shootout to earn a critical second point in the Big Ten standings for the University of Michigan ice hockey team after Strauss Mann's 48 saves forced a 2-2 game into overtime.
The game will go into the books as a 2-2 tie, but Michigan's shootout winner brings the Wolverines to 35 points and a tie for fourth place in the conference standings entering the final day of the regular season on Saturday (Feb. 29).
The Wolverines jumped out to a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest when Luke Morgan muscled a wrist shot below the glove of Minnesota's netminder from inside the dot after receiving a pass from linemate Nick Granowicz as he skated toward the net. In one motion, Morgan gathered the puck onto his blade and threw a shot at the net. Also collecting an assist on the game-opening goal was Jake Slaker. With the assist, Slaker became the first Wolverine since 2016 (J.T. Compher, Tyler Motte) to reach 100 career points.
As the first period went on, Mann came up with several fantastic saves to preserve the one-goal lead. When a Golden Gopher forward popped out in front to receive a pass from a teammate behind the net, Michigan's stalwart between the pipes was there to stop the ensuing one-timer with his upper body. Minutes later, he was in position once again to deny a grade-A opportunity despite a litany of net-front traffic.
After 20 minutes, Michigan led, 1-0, while outshooting the Gophers, 10-9. Entering the game, the Wolverines were 14-4 this season when leading after the first period.
A Minnesota power play early in the second period produced several excellent chances for the home team, but none found the back of Mann's net. Following a second unsuccessful Gopher man-advantage near the halfway point of the game, U-M maintained its 1-0 lead despite relinquishing their lead in shots on goal following the two successive penalty kills.
With one period left to play, Michigan maintained the 1-0 lead but trailed in shots, 31-20.
After Mann came up with a huge sequence of saves to start the final frame, senior forward Nick Pastujov doubled the Michigan lead at 3:56 off assists from Nolan Moyle and Dakota Raabe. Pastujov received the puck while streaking into the Minnesota end and pulled out several impressive moves to drag the puck around the lone defender before pulling it back and depositing it into the net past a sprawling Jack LaFontaine, former Wolverine and current Gopher goaltender.
With 14:13 remaining, the home crowd was electrified when a Golden Gopher wrist shot finally cracked the seal and beat Mann through traffic to bring Minnesota back within one, 2-1.
Michigan faced adversity late in the period when Jack Becker was sent off for a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct at 13:20.
More than halfway through the five-minute penalty kill, the Wolverines surrendered a game-tying goal on a deflected shot from the point. U-M killed off the rest of the major penalty and finished regulation with the game tied at two apiece.
The 5-on-5 overtime period featured frenetic play at each end, but the best chance came with less than 10 seconds left when Jacob Hayhurst swiped his stick at a loose puck in the crease but failed to connect. The game was marked as a tie after 65 minutes, but each team regrouped in advance of the extra 3-on-3 session to determine who would receive the game's third point in the conference standings.
When the extra session of 3-on-3 hockey did not produce a winner, the game went to a shootout.
After Mann denied the first two Minnesota shooters, it was the 100-point man, Slaker, who earned the extra point for the Wolverines by burying a slick shot on their second shootout attempt.
With the shootout win, U-M moved into a tie for fourth place with Notre Dame at 35 points. Penn State, which clinched at least a share of the regular-season conference title with 41 points, will receive a bye as the No. 1 seed in next weekend's quarterfinals in which the second, third, and fourth seeds will host the seventh, sixth, and fifth-seeded teams, respectively.
Michigan and Minnesota will close out the regular season Saturday night (Feb. 29) before learning their playoff fates for the Big Ten tournament as the final standings fall into place. Puck drop at Mariucci is scheduled for 5 p.m. CST and the game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit Plus, Fox Sports North and will be streamed live on BTN Plus.
