Michigan hockey grabs two wins over MSU, projected as No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament
No. 4 Michigan Wolverines hockey (23-7-1, 14-6 Big Ten) is without four key players — sophomores Matty Beniers and Brendon Brisson (Team USA) and sophomores Kent Johnson and Owen Power (Team Canada) — who are at the Olympic Games in China, but took two games against Michigan State over the weekend and are on a five-game winning streak.
The shorthanded Wolverines defeated the Spartans, 6-2, Friday night at Yost Ice Arena, before topping the rival, 7-3 at the ‘Dual in the D’ Saturday evening at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Here is a look at Michigan hockey’s big weekend, where the Wolverines stand in NCAA Tournament projections and more.
Key Michigan Hockey Stats From The Weekend
Friday’s 6-2 Victory
• The Wolverines scored four goals in the second period to soundly defeat the Spartans. Michigan outshot MSU, 35-20, for the contest.
• Luke Hughes scored two goals to move into a tie with Jacob Trouba for second all time in Michigan history for goals in a season by a freshman defenseman with 13.
• Freshman forward Mackie Samoskevich registered one goal and two assists, marking his third three-point game of the season. Sophomore defenseman Jacob Truscott, meanwhile, notched his second goal of the season and tallied a pair of assists for his first career three-point game.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Erik Portillo was in the net for 54 minutes, rendering Michigan State scoreless while making 12 saves before turning over the crease to senior Jack Leavy with 6:10 left in the third period.
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• Senior captain Nick Blankenburg recorded two assists.
Michigan 6, Michigan State 2: BOX SCORE
Saturday’s 7-3 Win
• Portillo made 22 saves on 25 shots faced to earn his 23rd win of the season, with all three of MSU’s goals coming in the second period. After going up 2-0 in the first period, the MSU deficit was never cut to less than two goals.
• Hughes tallied three points (one goal, two assists) for the second straight night. Freshman defeseman Ethan Edwards recorded two assists for the second time in four games.
• Senior forward Jimmy Lambert posted a plus-three on-ice rating and notched his first career multi-goal game with a pair of scores.
Michigan 7, Michigan State 3: BOX SCORE
Highlights From The Weekend
Quote Of The Weekend
“It’s always good beating them. You can’t beat them enough, so we were really happy with tonight’s game.”
Hughes in an interview with Big Ten Network following Michigan’s 6-2 victory over Michigan State Friday night
NCAA Tournament Projections
Michigan is ranked No. 1 with 58 points in the Pairwise rankings, and slots No. 2 behind Minnesota State in PlayoffStatus.com‘s seeding probability table. According to the latter, the Wolverines have a 38-percent chance of being one of two No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament and hold 32-percent odds to be a No. 2 seed.
Big Ten Standings
| Team | Points | W | L | T | OT W | OT L | Overall Record | |
| 1 | Michigan | 45 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23-7-1 |
| 2 | Minnesota | 43 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 19-11 | |
| 3 | Ohio State | 42 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 21-9-2 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | 32 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 20-9 |
| 5 | Wisconsin | 20 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9-19-3 |
| 6 | Penn State | 17 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14-15-1 |
| 7 | Michigan State | 14 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11-18-1 |
What’s Next
Michigan is set to host Ohio State for two-game set Feb. 18-19, before heading to Notre Dame Feb. 25-26 to conclude the regular season. The Big Ten Tournament will begin the weekend of March 4-6, and the Wolverines, as it stands today, are in line to host all three weekends should they advance to the final.
