Michigan
25-11-3
Colgate
19-16-5
Record-Setting Night Leads Michigan to Lopsided NCAA Tournament Win Over Colgate
3/24/2023 11:59:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Luke Hughes scored once and added four assists for a five-point night to lead U-M.
» In total, 16 of 19 Wolverine skaters recorded a point. Seven skaters had multiple points, including Rutger McGroarty's hat trick.
» With the win, Michigan's record in the NCAA Tournament moves to 56-31.
Site: Allentown, Pa. (PPL Center)
Score: #2 Michigan 11, #19 Colgate 1
Records: U-M (25-11-3), Colgate (19-16-5)
Next U-M Event: March 26 -- vs. Penn State - NCAA Midwest Region Final (Allentown, Pa.), 6:30 p.m.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Offense was the name of the game for the second-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team on Friday night (March 24) at the PPL Center as the Wolverines dominated 19th-ranked Colgate en route to an 11-1 win in an NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal. With the win, U-M sets up an intra-conference showdown vs. Penn State for a spot in the Frozen Four.
The Wolverines put up the most goals in an NCAA tournament game since 1961 and the most goals ever in a Regional game. In addition, the team's 11-goal outburst marked the most goals for the Wolverines in an NCAA Tournament game since 1953, when U-M defeated Boston University in a 14-2 contest.
Junior goalie Erik Portillo started in the blue paint for the Wolverines and made 20 saves on 21 Colgate shots to earn his third win in four career NCAA Tournament games.
It was captain Nolan Moyle who first drove hard to the net to create chaos and a dangerous chance before the puck skittered out to Luke Hughes. The blue liner gathered the puck and went for a short skate behind the Colgate cage before flipping a slick pass out to Nick Granowicz at the top of the crease. The senior wasted no time burying his fourth goal of the season to put Michigan up 1-0 at 9:40 in the first period.
After the Raiders were whistled for holding with the Wolverines bearing down on their crease, Michigan made it 2-0 on the power play at 7:33 of the second period when Eric Ciccolini finished off a strong possession with the extra skater. A pair of freshmen in T.J. Hughes and Seamus Casey assisted on Ciccolini's 15th career goal.
Forty-five seconds later, Adam Fantilli collected a loose puck before accelerating through the neutral zone and across the blue line, carving in toward the blue paint, and calmly firing a low shot through the goalie's five-hole to make it a 3-0 game with an unassisted goal.
Less than two minutes after the nation's leading scorer put Michigan up by three, the team scored a pair of goals in a 30-second span to make it a 5-0 game. Frank Nazar III netted the fourth by banging home a rebound after Jackson Hallum sped his way toward the net with a powerful rush. Defender Ethan Edwards picked up the secondary assist.
The fifth goal came on the following shift at 11:36 when Mark Estapa skated to the blue paint and redirected a shot from Luke Hughes that snuck through the netminder's wickets. Hughes' defensive partner, Keaton Pehrson, earned the second assist on Estapa's hard-earned tally.
With 7:29 left in the middle frame, Rutger McGroarty broke in toward the net from the left circle and elevated a gorgeous shot over the goaltender's shoulder and off of the net's framework to make it 6-0 in Michigan's favor. Fantilli and Casey, a pair of Big Ten All-Freshman Team standouts, assisted on their classmate's picturesque goal.
Along with his goal earlier in the period, Fantilli's second point of the night secured his 19th multi-point game of the season. Overall, the freshman phenom has points in 31 of 34 games.
Freshman forward Gavin Brindley skated into the heart of the Colgate zone and sent a rocket from the slot that beat Gylander up high to make it 7-0 with 4:11 left in the second period. T.J. Hughes and Dylan Duke earned assists on Brindley's 12th tally of his debut campaign.
After Michigan was called for a penalty, Luke Hughes worked his way through the neutral zone with the puck on his blade and beat a defender with a fake slap shot before taking an extra stride and firing a low wrister against the grain that found the far-side of the back of the net for an unassisted goal. Hughes glided to the bench without a celebration after making it 8-0 with 2:25 left in the second period.
Michigan's seven-goal second-period outburst marked the most goals in a single period for the program since Oct. 16, 2005 when the Wolverines put up seven in the first period of the early-season non-conference matchup against Merrimack.
Shortly into the third period, the ECAC champions got on the board with a beautiful wrist shot that made it 8-1 at 3:03.
Later in the third period at 9:49, Colgate's leading scorer was assessed a five-minute major penalty and ejected after butt-ending Mackie Samoskevich between the benches. Rallying to the aid of their teammate, the Wolverines rattled off three consecutive power-play goals while taking full advantage of the extended chance.
With a goal and four assists, Hughes authored the first five-point game for the Wolverines since Kent Johnson had five versus Michigan State on Jan. 8, 2021.
Sixteen of 19 Michigan skaters recorded at least one point in the record-setting win, with seven Wolverines recording multi-point games.
In addition to the commanding 10-goal margin of victory, Michigan ended the night with a 52-21 advantage in shots on goal. On the power play, U-M was 4-for-6 while the Raiders were stymied by Michigan's penalty killers as they went 0-for-3. The teams did tie in the faceoff dot at 30-30.
On Sunday (March 26), Michigan will face off against Big Ten foe Penn State in the Midwest Regional final with a spot in the Frozen Four on the line. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
