Michigan
4-2-1
Lindenwood
1-4-2
Michigan Scores Nine in Big Friday Night Win Over Lindenwood
10/27/2023 10:17:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Sophomore Jackson Hallum scored twice for his first-ever multi-goal game.
» Seamus Casey extended his active point streak to 12 games with one goal and one assist.
» Forwards Garrett Schifsky, Dylan Duke, and TJ Hughes led the way with three points apiece.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The sixth-ranked University of Michigan men's ice hockey team scored multiple goals in each period on Friday night (Oct. 27) to comfortably cruise past the Lions of Lindenwood University, 9-1. Forward Jackson Hallum led the way for the Wolverines by opening the scoring and posting the first multi-goal game of his collegiate career.
Goaltender Noah West made his second start of the season between the pipes for the Wolverines (4-2-1). The senior netminder turned aside 19 of 20 shots that he faced to earn his first win of the year.
Hallum, the sophomore speedster, set Yost ablaze just 40 seconds into the contest with a rip from the top of the left circle that he quickly let fly after crossing the blue line with the puck. The captain, Jacob Truscott, and his defensive partner, Marshall Warren, earned assists on Hallum's first marker of the season. Hallum also scored in the first game against Lindenwood last year for his first collegiate goal.
Dylan Duke doubled the Michigan lead at 7:28 when he skated hard toward the blue paint, stopped at the top of the crease, and banged home a great feed from Gavin Brindley. Rutger McGroarty also picked up an assist on Duke's fourth tally of the campaign to notch his NCAA-best 12th point.
Truscott broke his stick while attempting to put a shot on goal from the point, and the equipment malfunction resulted in a break for Lindenwood (1-4-2). A winger for the Lions dashed in from the right flank while protecting the puck with his body before flipping the puck over West's shoulder to make it 2-1 with 4:17 left in the first. The advantage expired with the home team's lead cut in half as play returned to even-strength.
Michigan's power-play unit was called upon for the second time at 9:32 when a Lion was sent off for slashing. With 50 seconds left on the advantage, Mark Estapa was tagged with a penalty that drew the ire of the assembled masses inside Yost. The infraction bumped play down to 4x4.Â
Frank Nazar III was hit in the neutral zone at 11:22 on a play that immediately drew the ire of Truscott as well as the officials, who entered the box to review the play for a possible major penalty for kneeing. The forward was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct to put a long advantage on the horizon for the Wolverines once Estapa exited the box.
Less than a minute after the blow to Nazar, Warren netted his first goal as a Wolverine at 4x4 to make it 3-1 at 11:50. Freshman forward Garrett Schifsky collected the only assist on the graduate defender's goal from the slot.
The Wolverines capitalized on the extended chance at 14:30 to expand the lead to 4-1 when Brindley finished off a power-play goal from close quarters off assists from Duke and T.J. Hughes.
Just over 30 seconds later, Nazar scored and punctuated the marker with a jubilant celebration, but a Lindenwood challenge for goaltender interference was successful, wiping the goal off the board. The lengthy power play came to an end with a single goal from Warren being added for the Wolverines.
Hallum buried his second goal of the game on a SportsCenter Top 10 type effort as he executed a clean toe drag around a defender to create a free chance at the goaltender. Once he was 1x1 with the man in pads, Hallum forced a stiff shot through the Lion's equipment to make it 5-1. Truscott and Schifsky assisted on the highlight-reel tally, and Hallum's two-goal night marked the first multi-goal game of his career.
Smooth-skating defenseman Luca Fantilli collected a pass at the right point from McGroarty and scanned the ice before pulling off a Savardian spin around his forechecker and walking into space near the half wall. As he approached the red line, Fantilli flipped a backhand shot that found the top shelf to extend Michigan's lead to 6-1 with 39 seconds left in the second.
Michigan's seventh goal was tacked on by Hughes at 9:37 to make it 7-1 after a flurry of pressure overwhelmed the second LU netminder to appear in the contest. Josh Eernisse and Seamus Casey each picked up an assist on Hughes' goal after participating in the rush and helping Michigan maintain possession in the offensive zone.
Michigan set a new high-water mark for the season by scoring its eighth goal of the game at 12:13 to extend the lead to seven. Hughes made a stellar pass after carving behind the net to fool the goaltender and give Casey a free chance at a bad-angle goal right next to the goal post.Â
The Wolverines made it 9-1 when Eernisse redirected a point shot from between the circles. The shot was taken by Fantilli, who earned the primary assist on Eernisse's tally. Schifsky notched his third point of the night by scooping the secondary helper.
As the final buzzer rang, the crowd inside Yost applauded the Wolverines on an impressive eight-goal victory. U-M rode a 45-20 advantage in shots on goal and a 44-22 gulf in the faceoff dot to the blowout win while setting a new season-high in goals with the nine-spot.
In total, 10 Wolverines turned in multi-point performances. A trio of forwards in Duke, Hughes and Schifsky led the way for Michigan with three points apiece, while Casey's two-point night extended his point streak to a team-high 11 games.
Tomorrow evening, Michigan and Lindenwood will reconvene at Yost Ice Arena to finish off the weekend's series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on B1G+.
