4B — Monday, February 19, 2018
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Quick starts power Wolverines to sweep of Fighting Irish
Michigan sweeps No. 1 Notre Dame with 1-0 win
If Friday night’s pregame
theatrics at Compton Family
Ice
Arena
counted
for
anything, Notre Dame would
have been up a goal before the
puck even dropped.
The Fighting Irish’s home
venue is the smallest in the
Big Ten, but what it lacks in
size, it more than makes up
for in noise and intimidation.
Its 5,022 seats are densely
and
intimately
clustered
around the rink, while its low-
hanging, barrel-vaulted roof
allows for deafening acoustics.
On a “Whiteout” night in
South Bend, these attributes
were fully on display. Jim
Cornelison,
renowned
for
his performances at Chicago
Blackhawks
home
games,
delivered
a
thunderous
rendition
of
“The
Star
Spangled
Banner,”
setting
the
sellout crowd
ablaze.
As
the
seconds
counted
down
until
the
initial
faceoff,
a
giant
blue
Notre
Dame
flag emerged from the raucous
student
section
situated
directly behind the Michigan
net, as the Dropkick Murphys’
“I’m Shipping Up To Boston”
boomed from the loudspeakers,
threatening to blow over 5,000
sets of eardrums out.
Long
story
short:
Notre
Dame isn’t an easy place to
play if you’re a visiting team. It
doesn’t help that the Fighting
Irish are quite good at hockey.
So
of
course,
Michigan
won the opening faceoff and
proceeded
to
pummel
the
nation’s No. 1 team for the next
20 minutes.
“That
was
maybe
our
best
period
of
the
year,”
said Wolverines coach Mel
Pearson.
“We
were
dialed
in, the guys did a great job
showing up to play.”
And did they ever show
up. Michigan took 17 shots in
the first period. Notre Dame
had just six. The Wolverines
got to seemingly every loose
puck
and
constantly
put
themselves in dangerous
positions,
while
the
Fighting Irish’s
attacking
efforts
were
sparse
and
mostly
disjointed.
With
an
NCAA
Tournament
bid
very
possibly
on
the line this
weekend,
Michigan
could
have
imploded
under
the
intensity
of
the
environment
or the quality of its opponent.
Instead, according to Pearson,
the Wolverines took advantage
of their situation, feeding off
the arena’s energy.
“Without a doubt that’s
the best building other than
Yost that I’ve been in this
year,” Pearson said Friday. “I
mean, if that doesn’t give you
goosebumps, if that doesn’t
excite you and get you ready
for the game, I don’t know
what will. … That’s a great
atmosphere,
that’s
college
hockey and good for Notre
Dame. You love to play in
those environments, I know
our guys did.”
That
was
apparent
as
freshman
forward
Dakota
Raabe
streaked
down
the
right
flank
and
threw
a
perfect
centering
pass
into
the
crease,
leading
to
a
desperate
save
from
Notre
Dame
goaltender
Cale Morris. It was
apparent
as
junior
forward
Cooper
Marody
calmly
set
the puck on a dime
for
senior
forward
Tony Calderone, who
let loose a dangerous
shot from the slot.
These opportunities soon
began to turn into goals.
Thirteen minutes into the
game, freshman defenseman
Quinn Hughes skated into
the offensive zone and fired
from the blue line. His shot
appeared to be going wide,
but
sophomore
forward
Adam Winborg met it with
his stick, tipping it past
Morris and into the net.
Shortly after
that,
senior
forward Dexter
Dancs
snuck
one
inside
Morris’
near
post
for
an
unlikely
2-0
lead.
The
noise
wouldn’t
come
near
its pregame
levels again.
“The crowd
was
super
loud,”
said
sophomore
goaltender
Hayden
Lavigne.
“They
didn’t stop
making
noise
for
the
first
10
minutes
until
we
put that second goal
in and we kinda put
them to sleep, which
was
great
because
in
an
atmosphere
like
that,
especially in college hockey,
crowd plays a big role in
energy and momentum. So it
was great to get that on our
side the whole night.”
Sunday saw another quick
start for the Wolverines.
Again, Marody beat Fighting
Irish forward Jake Evans
for the first face-off. Again,
an
energetic,
high-speed
Michigan offense earned a
commanding advantage in
puck possession and shots.
Near the end of the period,
the disparity was 15-2 in
the Wolverines’ favor.
“Our
guys
were
ready to play … That’s
on them, that’s on our
players,” Pearson said.
“As
coaches
you
can
tell them some things and
show them some things, but
you’ve got to reach down to
each individual and figure
out a way to compete. And
compete they
did. We had
a good first
period,
we
were
ready
to play the
game.”
And while
Michigan
didn’t
find
the
net
in
the
first
20
minutes
Sunday,
the chances it created kept
the pressure on and kept
confidence high.
“We showed that we could
play with them,” Calderone
said. “We were getting pucks
deep, playing simple and it
was working out. We were
talking in the locker room, as
long as we play like that it’s
going to come.”
Calderone proved himself
correct late in the second
period. After Dancs forced
a turnover in the Fighting
Irish zone, Marody jumped
on
the
puck
and
found
Calderone all alone in the
slot. 1-0, Michigan.
“We played with a lead all
weekend,” Pearson said. “We
were never behind against
a pretty darn good hockey
team.”
For
the
Wolverines
to
spring not only one, but two
upsets against Notre Dame,
that was a necessity. The
Fighting Irish have scored
first 21 times this season.
Their record in those games?
18-1-2.
Notre Dame came into the
weekend No. 1 in the country
for a reason, and it showed
why quite often. Morris, a
Hobey Baker candidate, made
36 saves on Sunday, many of
them highlight-reel worthy.
The Fighting Irish outshot
the Wolverines in the third
period
14-4
on
Friday
and 12-10 on
Sunday.
But
in the end,
that wouldn’t
matter, as in
both games,
Michigan
threw
the
first punch.
The
Wolverines
didn’t
allow
rankings,
all-world
goaltenders
or
a
rowdy
Whiteout
atmosphere
to
set the tone this weekend.
Instead, behind two torrid
first periods, they earned a
season-defining sweep.
“We knew what was at
stake. It was no secret this
was our season,” Calderone
said. “… We knew it going
into it, so everyone got up
for the challenge and we
accomplished our goal.”
With 1:34 remaining in
the third period, the No. 18
Michigan hockey team led,
1-0, and No. 1 Notre Dame
pulled its goaltender.
The Fighting Irish (16-5-
1-1 Big Ten, 22-8-2 overall)
fired a fury of shots, looking
for
the
answer
against
sophomore
goaltender
Hayden Lavigne.
With a bouncing puck in
the crease, Lavigne found
himself out of position near
the right post and forward
Andrew Oglevie stared at an
empty net. Oglevie slung a
shot that slid past Lavigne
— but right through the
crease.
The host Wolverines (11-
10-3-2,
16-13-3)
blocked
four more shots and Lavigne
made four more dramatic
saves against the extra man,
sealing the 1-0 victory and
a series sweep against the
nation’s best team.
“Couldn’t be happier for
Hayden,”
said
Michigan
coach Mel Pearson. “He’s
gotten the job done. That
last 1:34 though, he’s got
some
friends
somewhere
watching
over
him,
protecting that net.”
Michigan began the game
with
the
same
intensity
it showed early in Friday
night’s
4-2
victory.
In
the first six minutes, the
Wolverines outshot Notre
Dame,
8-0,
including
a
wrister by senior forward
Tony
Calderone
that
hit
the
goal
post.
Despite
leaving quality chances on
the doorstep for Michigan,
Fighting
Irish
goaltender
Cale
Morris
recovered
with key saves to stif le the
Wolverines’ early chances
off loose rebounds.
Michigan subdued Notre
Dame’s offense for the first
half of the first period,
with quick breakouts from
the defensive zone, hard
forechecks
between
the
bluelines and seven blocked
shots. Unable to mount a
stable offensive attack, the
Fighting
Irish
wouldn’t
register
a
shot
until
almost
eight
minutes
into the contest and
were outshot, 15-2,
through
the
first
15
minutes.
“We
came out
today,
really
limited
their
chances
and
kept
it to the
outside,”
Lavigne
said.
“I
thought
we played
a
whole
team game
defensively.
We
managed
the
time
much better
in
this
game
than
the
previous one. I think it just
proved we improve night to
night, and we’re a contender
moving forward.”
However,
as
the
clock
wound down in the first,
Notre Dame picked up the
pace, recording six of the
period’s last eight shots on
net. With 22 seconds left
in the period, sophomore
forward Nick Pastujov was
called for a slashing penalty
and
the
Fighting
Irish
had their first power play
opportunity.
But
Lavigne
stood
tall
between
the
pipes
and
squashed
the
late
shot
onslaught to keep the game
scoreless heading into the
first intermission.
“Their goalie is really
good,
there’s
a
reason
why he’s a Hobey Baker
candidate,” Pearson said.
“But our guy’s pretty good,
too.”
Entering
the
second
period,
the
Wolverines
killed
the
remainder
of
Notre Dame’s power play,
only to find themselves with
their own man advantage
minutes
later.
Michigan
wouldn’t find success on
the power play, unable to
accrue quality time in the
zone and shots on goal
— only posting one
during the two
minutes.
The
second
period
continued
with
back-and-forth play and
a
bouncing
puck,
with
neither team able to gain
momentum or shots on the
offensive rush.
With
less
than
eight
minutes left in the frame,
the Fighting Irish had their
second man advantage when
junior
forward
Cooper
Marody
was
assessed
a
penalty
for
interference.
Notre Dame had five shots
on goal on the power play,
but timely stops by Lavigne
— even with heavy traffic
in the crease — kept the
stalemate intact.
But with just 38 seconds
remaining in the period, the
Wolverines
finally broke
onto
the
scoresheet.
Senior
forward
Dexter
Dancs forced
a
turnover
deep in the
Fighting
Irish zone
and
the
puck
found
its
way
to
Marody’s
stick.
The
junior dropped a pass
to a trailing Calderone,
whose
wrist
shot
def lected off Morris’
glove
and
into
the
back of the net for the
game’s first — and
only — goal.
“Very
important
goal,” Pearson said.
“I thought whoever
got that first goal
could’ve been the
only one of the
game, just
the way
the
game
was
going.
The
chances
weren’t
passing
the goaltenders, the puck
bouncing all around the net
at both ends. It was a big
momentum boost.”
Michigan returned for the
third period with a renewed
sense of energ y, outshooting
Notre Dame, 10-4, through
the first half of the stanza.
Though a surplus of shots
from the home team, glove
saves from Morris kept the
Wolverine lead at one.
On the other end of the
ice,
the
Fighting
Irish
struggled
to
sustain
pressure
in
the
Michigan
zone.
Lavigne
continued
to stand on
his
head,
making
countless saves, controlling
rebounds and subsequently
limiting second chances.
With Morris pulled for
the last 90 seconds of the
contest, Notre Dame would
continue to throw its best
at Lavig ne. But even with
35 shot attempts in just the
third period, the Fighting
Irish couldn’t capitalize.
Lavig ne
would
make
35
saves,
hold
on
for
his
third shutout of the season
and secure the win — and
sweep.
“I think ever ybody just
took a whole new mindset
that we had to get this
done,”
Lavig ne
said.
“Ever ybody really wanted
to win, we knew what was
at stake and people were
sacrif icing their bodies.”
Added
Calderone:
“ We
just
competed
with
the
best team in the countr y. I
think we can show that we
can play with anyone. … We
have all the pieces, we’re
just starting to put them
together.”
JACOB SHAMES
Daily Sports Writer
BENJAMIN KATZ
Daily Sports Writer
“We were never
behind against a
pretty good
hockey team.”
“That was maybe
our best period
of the year. We
were dialed in.”
“We have all the
pices, we’re just
starting to put
them together.”