Michigan
12-7-1, 4-6-0
Michigan State
12-7-1, 6-5-1
Wolverines Rally for 2-1 Maize Out Victory over Rival Spartans
12/10/2022 10:08:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» T.J. Hughes scored for the second consecutive night and now has 19 points through 18 games played this season.
» Erik Portillo made 37 saves on 38 shots faced to earn his 11th win of the season.Â
» Michigan's power play finished 1-for-5 to snap a six-game drought on the man-advantage.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A strong 60-minute effort propelled the sixth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team past No. 12 Michigan State by a 2-1 score on Saturday night (Dec. 10) at Yost Ice Arena. The Wolverines preserved a shutout for 59:55 of playing time before having the clean sheet tarnished by a late MSU tally.
Junior goaltender Erik Portillo looked stout between the pipes for the Wolverines (12-7-1, 4-6-0 B1G) as he recorded 37 saves on 38 shots faced. The Swede nearly locked up a shutout before ceding the lone goal, a 6x4 goal, with less than five seconds remaining in regulation following a flurry of late penalties.
Michigan's power-play unit was activated 2:53 into the contest after a solid start for the maize-clad Wolverines. U-M threatened but failed to convert on the early opportunity after a number of stellar saves for MSU's netminder.
The team's second opportunity came at 8:11 when MSU was whistled for having too many skaters on the ice. Halfway through the advantage, Luke Hughes accepted a pass from Jacob Truscott and stickhandled at the top of the circles while waiting for a shooting lane. When a window opened, Hughes sent a shot that deflected off of teammate Dylan Duke, posted up in his traditional netfront spot, and into the back of the net with 10:50 left in the first period. For the second straight night, Michigan took a 1-0 lead.
Duke's power-play tally snapped a six-game drought for the Wolverines with the extra skater. Duke has now scored the last three power-play goals for the squad.
The home team earned a critical second goal with 2:11 left to play in the second period off of a gorgeous feed from birthday boy Keaton Pehrson through the heart of the MSU zone to a perfectly-positioned T.J. Hughes, who had crashed the net from the right flank to earn the netfront real estate. Rutger McGroarty picked up the secondary assist on Hughes' second tally of the weekend.
The Spartans (12-7-1, 6-5-1 B1G) kicked off a critical power-play chance just over five minutes into the final frame when Truscott was called for hooking. Once again, Michigan's PK unit came up big to kill off the third MSU power play of the evening and preserve the two-goal lead.
Michigan's power-play unit returned to the ice with 4:36 left to play after Mackie Samoskevich had his knees taken out from under him while cutting across the Big Ten logo. The Spartan defender was subsequently whistled for tripping. The goal horn sounded 1:27 into the advantage when Luke Hughes walked into the slot and ripped a wrist shot past the MSU netminder to send the arena into a frenzy. Despite the Wolverines going through the goal line and celebrations carrying on, the on-ice referee waved off the tally while charging that Duke was in the blue paint. After Michigan challenged the play, the call on the ice stood and play carried on with 3:03 remaining in a 2-0 game.
After the officials sent off one skater per side with 10-minute misconducts when there was 8.5 seconds left on the clock, MSU embarked on a late power play and added to its advantage by pulling its goaltender for the extra skater. The Spartans immediately scored and cut the deficit to 2-1 with roughly five seconds left in regulation. Following one final formality of a faceoff, the buzzer sounded to end the weekend, with each team defending home-ice in back-to-back 2-1 contests and claiming three points apiece in the conference standings.Â
Following the holiday break, Michigan will return to action on Friday, Jan. 6 when the Wolverines welcome the U.S. National Team Development Program's U-18 team to Yost Ice Arena for an exhibition contest. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on B1G +.
