Michigan hockey beats Minnesota for Big Ten Tournament title
The Michigan hockey team lost the regular season Big Ten title to Minnesota on the last weekend of the season, getting swept by Notre Dame. The Wolverines completed their revenge tour Saturday night in Minneapolis in front of a record crowd, beating the Golden Gophers 4-3 a week after beating the Fighting Irish in the semifinals.
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Michigan jumped to a 4-1 lead after two periods and allowed two empty net goals in the last minute to make the score respectable. The second came with five seconds remaining.
Jaxson Nelson put the Gophers on the board first with a goal only 32 seconds in. A frenzied crowd got even crazier after Nelson scored on a semi-breakaway backhander behind goalie Erik Portillo.
“We didn’t start the way we wanted to,” Michigan coach Mel Pearson told USCHO.com. “We talked about getting through the first five minutes and trying to take the crowd out of it and then play. This team has been resilient all year. We found a way to come back …”
It was key that the Wolverines answer quickly, and they did. Brendan Brisson scored only 45 seconds later on a pass from Matty Beniers. Beniers carried the puck into the slot and found Brisson in front to answer the Minnesota score.
Michigan took a 2-1 lead into the second period when a Mackie Samoskevich shot ricocheted in off a Minnesota defender.
The two teams traded opportunities in the third period before Dylan Duke tallied midway through to give Michigan the two-goal lead. Samoskevich turned a turnover into an opportunity and set up Duke for a one-timer.
The Wolverines scored a critical goal early in the second, extending Michigan’s lead to 3-1. The tally came in transition off a Gopher turnover in the neutral zone. Mackie Samoskevich drew the goalie (Justen Close) and fed Duke for the one timer, which he banged in out of the air.
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The fourth goal came on the power play. Minnesota picked up a penalty at 13:34, and Kent Johnson scored on a slapshot off the crossbar to put Michigan in full command. Michigan had a 23-16 edge in shots, and Portillo was outstanding in turning away some point blank looks. He earned Most Outstanding Player and all-tournament team honors after going 4-0 in the B1G Tournament.
“When we really need to, we play so hard in front of the net and in front of me. I really appreciate the guys,” Portillo said.
It got ugly in the third period when Minnesota fans littered the ice with bottles and cans following a boarding penalty. Michigan failed to score, but the five-minute major took key time off the clock. Both of Minnesota’s last two goals came on two-man advantages with an empty net, but it was too little, too late.
U-M will likely be a No. 1 seed when the NCAA Tournament field is announced at 6:30 p.m. tonight.
“To find a way to win this game in a tough building says a lot about their character,” Pearson said. “And … we’ve got a goalie.”
Michigan captured its title six years to the day after beating the Gophers for their last tournament championship.
