Michigan
17-9-1, 9-8-0
Wisconsin
10-17-0, 3-14-0
Michigan Rolls Past Wisconsin for Fourth Straight Win
2/3/2023 11:16:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Gavin Brindley recorded his first four-point game with a two-goal, two-assist performance.
» Adam Fantilli scored once and added three assists to notch another four-point game.
» Mackie Samoskevich notched two points including one goal along with six shots on goal.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A pair of phenomenal freshmen turned in four-point games on Friday night (Feb. 3) to propel the sixth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team past Wisconsin 6-2 inside a sold-out Yost Ice Arena. With the win, Michigan continues its steady ascent up the Big Ten standings to sit in a tie for third place in the conference with 27 points.
Junior netminder Erik Portillo started in net for the Maize and Blue, making 23 saves on 25 Badgers shots to earn the win and improve his record to 16-8 for the season.
Michigan (17-9-1, 9-8-0 Big Ten) opened the scoring early by banging a rebound into the back of the net after senior defender Jay Keranen initiated the chance with a beautiful centering pass through his legs from the right corner to the netfront area. Eric Ciccolini put the initial attempt off of the goalie's pad, but linemate Nick Granowicz was perfectly positioned on the opposite side of the crease to chip home the game's first goal at 5:01 and give Michigan an early 1-0 lead.
Sophomore left wing Mark Estapa was whistled for hooking at 9:04 to give UW the first power play of the night. On the ensuing man-advantage, the Badgers quickly converted with the extra skater to tie the game at one goal apiece with 9:17 left in the opening frame.
At 12:27, the Wolverines regained their one-goal lead when Gavin Brindley was sprung for a breakaway by linemate Rutger McGroarty. Brindley tried to put it five-hole, but the goaltender spun onto his side in hopes of keeping the puck out of the net. Rushing in behind Brindley was Adam Fantilli, the nation's co-leading scorer, who buried the loose puck for his 17th goal of the season to give Michigan a 2-1 lead.
Kienan Draper was called for interference with 1:09 remaining to give the Badgers a second power play, but they failed to cash in before the buzzer sounded for the first intermission.
After 20 minutes, Michigan held a 2-1 lead and a 17-6 advantage in shots on goal despite taking the game's only two penalties.
Once the penalty had been killed off, U-M doubled its lead when Brindley buried his fourth goal of the year just 1:42 into the frame. Moments after a spinning play in the slot had created the dangerous chance, Brindley finished off the rebound to continue his outstanding play. Ethan Edwards and Fantilli collected assists on the goal that put Michigan up 3-1.
Following a post-whistle scrum, tempers flared and several representatives from each team were directed to the penalty box. Michigan challenged the play preceding the skirmish for a major penalty, and the review was successful. Video confirmed that a UW skater had kneed Luke Hughes in the head, so a major penalty and game misconduct were assessed to Wisconsin at 4:55.
On the resulting extended power play, the Wolverines cashed in early to make it a 4-1 game when Fantilli found Brindley with a cross-ice feed onto his tape for a backdoor goal from the bottom of the left circle. Mackie Samoskevich, back in the lineup after an injury kept him out of last weekend's series, earned the secondary assist.
A minor penalty was called on Edwards to even play at 4-on-4 for two minutes in the middle of the major penalty, but the Badgers continued to let U-M off the hook with additional infractions.
The penalty parade continued with 10:41 remaining to give Michigan a 5-on-3 advantage. After pressuring the Wisconsin zone for an extended period of time, Samoskevich scored to give U-M a four-goal lead at 5-1. Brindley earned the primary assist to clinch his first-career four-point game while Fantilli earned the secondary helper for his third point of the night.
With one period left, Michigan held a 5-1 lead along with a 32-11 advantage in shots on goal.
Fresh off of an unsuccessful power-play effort, Michigan broke through for a sixth goal when T.J. Hughes collected a short pass from Cicccolini and skated down the right flank and around the back of the net. As he popped out on the other side of the net, he threaded a pass out to Dylan Duke, who was ready and waiting to launch a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle that found twine to bump Michigan's lead to 6-1 with 15:25 left in regulation.
Wisconsin (10-17-0, 3-14-0 Big Ten) banged in a rebound goal at 12:43 to alter the score to 6-2 in Michigan's favor.
As the final details were being sorted out throughout the remainder of the third period, U-M continued to build on its impressive lead in shots on goal while maintaining its four-goal lead. When the final buzzer rang, Michigan had iced a 6-2 win on top of a 48-25 lead in shots on goal.
Fantilli (seven games) and Brindley (six games) each extended their point streaks with stellar four-point performances while McGroarty pushed his streak to three games with a first period helper.
On Saturday night (Feb. 4), the Wolverines and Badgers will face off again to finish off the regular-season series. Puck drop at Yost Ice Arena is set for 7 p.m., and the contest will be streamed live on B1G+ and aired locally on CW50.
