Michigan
Minnesota
Casey Opens, Closes Scoring in Overtime Win at No. 8 Minnesota
3/2/2024 11:59:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Seamus Casey scored twice, notching the game's first and last goals along with an assist.
» Gavin Brindley finished the night with four points off two goals and two assists.
» Dylan Duke and Rutger McGroarty each ended the night with three points.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The University of Michigan ice hockey team closed out the regular season in chaotic fashion on Saturday night (March 2), holding on to earn a 6-5 overtime win over eighth-ranked Minnesota at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
Michigan took a 3-0 lead in the first period and held that going into the final frame. A frenetic third period saw Minnesota score 32 seconds in before Michigan made it 4-1. The Gophers responded with three straight to tie the game.
Continuing the see-saw affair, Michigan continued to work as Rutger McGroarty scored from the top of the crease at 16:56. Dylan Duke and Jacob Truscott earned assists on McGroarty's go-ahead marker.
With Minnesota pulling the netminder in favor of an extra attacker, Michigan called timeout with 1:53 remaining to strategize. On the ensuing faceoff, Michigan iced the puck while targeting the empty Gophers net. Minnesota won the second faceoff with an extra attacker and buried to make it 5-5 with 1:30 left in regulation.
With 16 seconds left in regulation, McGroarty was propelled from behind into the boards in front of the Minnesota bench. The officials reviewed the play, but determined it was only a minor penalty, putting Michigan's top-ranked power-play unit out on the ice.
Seamus Casey scored the overtime game winner from Gavin Brindley and Duke at 1:31 to give Michigan the win to push forward in the Pairwise rankings.
Goaltender Noah West started in place of an injured Jake Barczewski, and the senior had an active night as he turned aside 23 of the 28 shots he faced from a talented lineup to earn the win.
Frank Nazar III drew the game's first penalty. With a Gopher confined for slashing, Seamus Casey threaded a low shot through traffic and into the back of the net to make it 1-0 at 8:01 with McGroarty and Brindley assisting.
West made a save with his blocker that saw the puck skitter out to Brindley, who started on an impromptu rush. Brindley quickly passed to Duke along the left side of the ice, dashed into the zone and sent the puck to McGroarty in the middle of the ice. McGroarty slipped a pass to a crashing Brindley, who finished with a goal at 16:20 to bump the lead to 2-0.
Michigan's transition offense roared back into action when T.J. Hughes chipped a puck into the Golden Gopher end and Minnesota's netminder skated out to try and clear it away. The attempt ended up directly in Hughes' path, and he leaped to glove the puck, set it down and ripped a shot on goal that squeaked through a collapsing defender. With the puck loose in the crease, Mark Estapa gave U-M a 3-0 lead at 16:51.
U-M headed back to the dressing room with a three-goal lead following a dominant 20-minute start, outshooting the Gophers 15-5.
After a scoreless second period, Michigan still owned a 3-0 lead. The Wolverines continued to outshoot Minnesota (21-16) while the home team maintained its edge in the faceoff dot (19-12).
Just 32 seconds into the third period, Minnesota scored to make it a 3-1 game.
West made a massive save near the five-minute mark to deny an odd-man rush and preserve the multi-goal lead. Shortly thereafter, Nazar and a Gophers defenseman got tied up to earn coincidental penalties at 6:35 and open up the ice for two minutes of 4-on-4 play.
As Michigan's four skaters dashed across the blue line in transition, Casey left the puck in the high slot for Brindley. He collected the puck and took another stride before rifling a shot to the top shelf that made it 4-1 at 7:01. Marshall Warren earned the secondary assist for getting the puck to Casey.
With the teams still playing 4-on-4, Minnesota netted a second goal at 7:58 to trim the deficit to 4-2. The Gophers proceeded to add two more goals in short order to tie it up, scoring at 9:29 and 14:04 of the final frame to make it a 4-4 game.
U-M closed out the OT victory with a 32-28 lead in shots on goal while the power play ended at 2-for-5.
Next Friday through Sunday (March 8-10), Michigan will begin postseason play as the fourth seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines will host fifth-seeded Notre Dame for a best-of-three quarterfinal series at Yost Ice Arena. Puck drop for Friday (March 8) and Saturday's (March 9) contests is set for 7 p.m., while a third game will be played if necessary on Sunday (March 10) at 7 p.m. All games will be streamed live on B1G+.
