There are too many narratives for this game that can only be summed up in one word (JD Scott)
OFFENSE
Corsi | House | Possession % | |
First Period | 14 | 6 | 56% |
Second Period | 11 | 3 | 39% |
Third Period | 19 | 5 | 70% |
Overtime | 8 | 3 | 66% |
TOTAL | 52 | 17 | 57% |
Analysis: This was such an odd offensive performance again. Michigan tallied 52 attempts on net, though the majority of those came from the edges. I can live with that many shot attempts against a talented Gopher team, for sure. The odd part was more reflected in their ability to put pucks away with their few opportunities from in close. Michigan got deep in the slot or around the crease and scored five times in 15ish chances. That seems a little high to me, especially given that most of those were even strength. Minnesota also seemed to let up a little after stretching their lead to 6-3. Once again, Michigan took advantage of a few breakdowns in Minnesota’s defense. I will also say that it seemed that Michigan has developed two top scoring lines. They’re now a Top-5 offense and Minnesota is included in that sample size. If they can continue this one more week, things will be looking way up.
[After THE JUMP: how the defense fared, switching goaltenders, and winning Corsi]
This happened too much (JD Scott)
DEFENSE
Corsi | House | Possession % | |
First Period | 11 | 4 | 54% |
Second Period | 17 | 8 | 61% |
Third Period | 8 | 4 | 30% |
Overtime | 4 | 3 | 34% |
TOTAL | 40 | 19 | 43% |
Analysis: Such a weird game. Michigan limits Minnesota’s overall chances, but they sure gave up some great looks. Minnesota had around 40 attempts (between what I had and CHN), which I will take every time. The specifics of their defense were not great, though. I would pin most of the goals on the defense. There were at least two goals off of OMRs, there were DZTOs, there were unchecked attackers…not great. Michigan was down 4-0 at one point and 6-3 at another point. Minnesota came out on fire and really took it to Michigan’s defense, taking the puck and converting a couple of good scoring chances. Michigan’s defense was not great, but I also think Minnesota’s skilled forwards had a lot to do with that, especially in the beginning of the game. So, numbers were great; gameplay left a few things to be desired; Minnesota took their foot off the gas…Michigan probably better than I’d thought going into the this series, but still not to the level of shutting down elite forwards.
SPECIAL TEAMS
PP For | PP Against | PP Corsi For | PP Corsi Against | PP Shots/Min For | PP Shots/Min Against | |
First Period | 0/1 | 0/2 | 4 | 5 | 1 | .25 |
Second Period | 0/1 | 0/2 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
Third Period | n/a | 0/1 | n/a | 2 | n/a | 1 |
Overtime | 0/1 | n/a | 2 | n/a | .5 | n/a |
TOTAL | 0/3 | 0/5 | 10 | 15 | .83 | .7 |
Analysis: Michigan took more penalties against Minnesota on Saturday than they did on Friday. They did kill those penalties, though. Michigan had a few chances on their power plays and could have won the game in OT. I thought they moved the puck well and generated quality chances. They did almost average a shot/minute, which is the new metric I’m tracking. I do not have a whole lot more than this to say.
GOALTENDING
Shots Faced | Shots from House Faced | |
First Period | 9 | 4 |
Second Period | 14 | 7 |
Third Period | 6 | 4 |
Overtime | 0 | 0 |
TOTAL | 29 | 15 |
Analysis: So, LaFontaine started and gave up three goals in the first period. I don’t think any of those were on him. That was the part of the game were Minnesota pressured Michigan into turnovers and looked to put the game away early. Michigan opted for a goalie-switch, heading into the second period more to shake up the team than to punish LaFontaine. That didn’t necessarily hold well in the second period, as Minnesota scored a couple more goals. The final goal was probably on Lavigne, though. He sent a juicy rebound out into the slot that an unchecked attacker puts away, again, seemingly putting the game out of reach (which did not hold up). Someone probably should have checked the forward who was left alone, but still, not a great rebound. I don’t think this changes anything regarding the goalie rotation.
ODD-MAN RUSHES
Rushes | Advantages | Escape % | |
First Period | |||
Second Period | |||
Third Period | |||
Overtime | |||
TOTAL |
Analysis: I could not track this for the entire game. My viewing situation and camera angles, etc, were not the greatest for being able to see that much detail. I think I got the first period correctly, though, and Minnesota had three OMRs. They scored one goal and drew a penalty on another. There were at least two or three more OMRs that I saw during the rest of the game. This was hopefully (probably) an outlier in what has been an improved defensive season for the Wolverines. Minnesota stretched the ice well and pressure Michigan into mistakes and got some great chances by victimizing Michigan’s defensemen. Hopefully, this is just a bad one-off.
FINAL CORSI NUMBERS
I had: Michigan 52, Minnesota 40
www.collegehockeynews.com had: Michigan 49, Minnesota 37