4B — Monday, March 5, 2018 SportsMonday The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Michigan seals semifinal berth, likely NCAA Tournament bid with 7-4 win The chanting began with 17 minutes to play in the third period. Michigan sophomore defenseman Griffin Luce lasered a shot from the left point past Jack Berry, giving the Wolverines a three-goal lead. “Be-rry, Be-rry, Be-rry,” the Children of Yost taunted the Wisconsin goaltender, who had allowed six goals off 22 shots for a ghastly .727 save percentage. Later in the period, the jeers returned — “You suck!” followed by an obscenity. With four minutes to play, Berry was gone. The Badgers pulled him in favor of an empty net, sacrificing their last line of defense for a desperate chance at the two goals that would have extended their season. The Children’s chants kept coming. But the goals didn’t. With a 7-4 victory Saturday at Yost Ice Arena, the Wolverines (20-13-3 overall, 11-10-3 Big Ten) not only clinched a semifinal date with No. 6 Ohio State next week, but also all but punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament in coach Mel Pearson’s debut season. Wisconsin (14-19-4, 8-13- 3) opened the scoring just 23 seconds after the initial puck drop when forward Ryan Wagner slipped around junior defenseman Joseph Cecconi and fired just above sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne’s right shoulder. But Michigan was quick with a response. Four minutes and 18 seconds into the game, Badger forward Trent Frederic was knocked off the puck in his own zone, the loose change bouncing to Dexter Dancs in the high slot. On Friday, the senior forward hit the pipe deep in the third period with the Wolverines up one, missing a chance to potentially seal the game. Dancs made no such mistake this time, snapping a wrister into the upper-left corner to equalize. The rest of the period trended in Michigan’s direction. With 6:19 remaining, sophomore forward Nick Pastujov found Jack Becker with a line-drive pass from the right wing, and the freshman forward’s eighth goal of the season gave the Wolverines a 2-1 lead that stood until intermission. It could have been more — just 30 seconds prior, sophomore forward Adam Winborg’s tip off a point shot was disallowed after official review. In the second period, it was Michigan’s turn for a first- minute goal. A hard-nosed forecheck effort by junior forward Brendan Warren led to an attacking opportunity, but Wisconsin defenseman Peter Tischke cleared it inches in front of the line. Tischke was merely delaying the inevitable, though — the rebound bounced outside to freshman defenseman Quinn Hughes, and Warren finished what he had started by tipping Hughes’ point shot past Berry. However, the Wolverines were unable to make it four straight goals, as the next 19 minutes were effectively played on a seesaw. Six minutes into the period, Badger forward Linus Weissbach shot just wide from the point, but Lavigne left his left post open and Cameron Hughes took advantage off the rebound to make it 3-2. Twenty-six seconds later, Michigan came roaring back. Senior forward Niko Porikos jumped on a turnover in the Wisconsin zone and bolted down the left flank, with Cecconi and freshman forward Dakota Raabe joining him on a three- on-one. Four flicks of the stick later — Porikos to Cecconi to Porikos to Raabe to the net — the Wolverines were back in front by two. “I’ve talked about that a lot, our secondary scoring — we’ve got more guys contributing which we need,” Pearson said. “And I think that’s part of the success of the second half, that’s why we’ve won, whatever it is, 12 games second half of the year. But we’re getting more contributions from more players. We put a couple guys in tonight, we won a game, we were able to slot two guys in tonight. Porikos does a nice job on the one goal, makes a great play to Raabe.” Wisconsin replied halfway through the period, as its top line continued to match Michigan blow for blow. Wagner found Frederic all by himself in the middle of the slot, and Frederic’s shot hissed past Lavigne’s glove. The two teams held serve for almost the entire remainder of the period. But “almost” wasn’t enough for the Badgers — on a two-on-one with seven seconds to go in the period, Dancs, who opened the scoring, fired home the eventual game-winner to put the Wolverines up, 5-3. “To be honest, I didn’t know there was seven seconds left on the clock,” Dancs said. “We were in the middle of a shift, and I just shot and it went in, and it was a good goal.” Wisconsin forward Matthew Freytag added a garbage goal in front of the net with 4:42 to play, forcing Michigan to keep its feet glued to the gas pedal. The situation was reminiscent of so many that took place down the stretch of the season, where Pearson has constantly stressed the importance of learning to play with a lead. “I was never comfortable in the game,” Pearson said. “Even when it was 6-4, I was never comfortable until that last goal, then you could breathe a sigh of relief. That’s just the way the game was. They’ve got so many dangerous players, you give them a little bit of room or time or space, they make plays and they can score.” But Lavigne was never seriously threatened, needing to make only one save. And with 18 seconds left, sophomore forward Jake Slaker chipped home the empty-net clincher, allowing Pearson and the Wolverines to breathe easy. Michigan was able to exhale in a larger sense, too. With the win, the Wolverines maintained their position at No. 8 in the Pairwise Rankings, far beyond the precarious influence of the NCAA Tournament bubble. Their season is basically ensured to continue, regardless of whether or not they fall to the Buckeyes next weekend. “Well, I hope so,” Pearson said. “I don’t know where we’re at, but we’ve got a goal of winning the Big Ten championship. We’re trying to get as far as we can and then let the chips turn and fall where they may. We know that if we just continue to win, we’ll be in great shape.” Of course, winning the Big Ten championship would automatically put Michigan in the tournament — no ifs, ands or buts about it. And the Wolverines — after winning just 13 games last year, their lowest since 1987, after being picked to finish sixth out of seven teams in a loaded Big Ten, after languishing in the high-20s in Pairwise as late as mid-January — are now just two games away from doing so. “We’re playing really good hockey right now,” Slaker said. “We have six games left to win a national championship. We’re not looking too far ahead, we’re just going to focus on the next game.” EMMA RICHTER/Daily Sophomore forward Jake Slaker helped seal the Michigan hockey team’s 7-4 win over Wisconsin on Saturday night with an empty-net goal. JACOB SHAMES Daily Sports Writer Led by Calderone and Dancs, Wolverine seniors secure legacy at Yost The Michigan hockey team’s Senior Night officially took place last Saturday against Arizona State. After the Wolverines closed the regular season with a 5-3 victory over the Sun Devils, the sellout crowd at Yost Ice Arena honored the six-man senior class — forwards Tony Calderone, Dexter Dancs, Alex Roos and Niko Porikos, along with defensemen Sam Piazza and Cutler Martin. Traditionally, Senior Night marks the last time that a graduating class plays in its own arena in front of its own fans. But that wasn’t the case this year. One week after the festivities, Michigan was back at Yost — this time to take on Wisconsin in a best-of-three quarterfinal series of the Big Ten Tournament. With two straight wins, the Wolverines advanced to the semifinals, where a road trip to No. 6 Ohio State awaits. Saturday’s 7-4 triumph over the Badgers was, in all likelihood, Michigan’s last game at Yost this season — only a Wolverine win in Columbus, coupled with a Penn State victory over Notre Dame in the other semifinal, would change that. However, there was no official tribute, no large-scale displays of gratitude, no post-game tears at center- ice — after all, you can only say goodbye so many times before its significance is diluted. Instead, this weekend’s series felt like an encore from Michigan’s seniors — a show of thanks to their fans, their program and their university, giving them one final moment to remember them by. Calderone and Dancs, first- line mainstays all season, scored the game-winning goals on Friday and Saturday, respectively, and led the way with six of the Wolverines’ 13 goals. Piazza and Porikos added crucial assists both nights as well. “Really happy for our seniors,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson. “If this is our last game at Yost, which it might be, good way to go out.” Calderone, in particular, saved his best for last. The Wolverines’ leading scorer found the net a career-high four times in Friday’s win, striking in every way possible. A searing one-timer from junior forward Cooper Marody off an odd-man rush. A close- range redirection of freshman defenseman Quinn Hughes’ shot from the point into the net. Another one-timer off a gorgeous feed from Hughes. And to cap it off, a garbage goal after a rebound off the goaltender’s pads, giving Michigan a 6-5 lead that it would hold for the rest of the game. “He’s a shooter, he’s a scorer,” Pearson said. “I’m so happy for him. You want your seniors to have your best year and he’s far exceeded my expectations. He’s not done and we’re not done.” While Piazza and Porikos didn’t light the lamp themselves, they were integral in the buildup to two of the Wolverines’ prettiest goals not just of the weekend, but the entire season. During a power play in Friday’s first period, Piazza received the puck on the left circle with no Badger in his vicinity. With oceans of space, Piazza sliced the Wisconsin penalty kill wide open, firing a pass across the slot to an open Jake Slaker for the game-tying goal. A day later, Porikos won the puck after a neutral zone giveaway and burst down the left wing. Porikos, along with junior defenseman Joseph Cecconi, freshman forward Dakota Raabe and sophomore forward Adam Winborg, bore down on Badger defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk at full speed. The resulting “tic- tac-toe” goal — Porikos-Cecconi- Porikos-Raabe — belonged in the Louvre. And then there was Dancs, the oft-overlooked member of the high-scoring “DMC” top line, with just 22 points on the season compared to Marody and Calderone’s 44 and 39, respectively. No one would be able to ignore the North Vancouver, B.C. native’s presence on Saturday, however. He made that clear with a wrister from the high slot four minutes into the game to tie the score at one apiece. And another wrist shot on a two-on-one with just seven seconds remaining in the second period took Michigan to the intermission riding all the momentum. Guess who assisted on both goals? None other than Calderone. “It’s really special, obviously Tony’s night last night was incredible and he had another great night tonight,” Dancs said. “He’s been my best friend for four years now, and we’ve played together for pretty much our whole time here. So for him to get the assist on those goals, it’s pretty special and will be something to talk about for our whole lives.” As the Wolverines’ seniors skated off the ice after the final horn, the poignant realization that they had likely done so for the last time had yet to hit home. “Last weekend, senior night was sad, and this weekend was all business and stuff, try not to think about it, I’m sure,” Dancs said Saturday. “Tonight and tomorrow, the seniors will talk about it and it will kind of sink in, but we’re enjoying it right now.” And courtesy of Michigan’s senior class, there’s a lot to enjoy. It’s a group that has been through just about everything in four seasons. As role players just finding their way in college hockey, they came oh-so-close to the NCAA Tournament their freshman season, losing in the Big Ten Tournament championship to Minnesota. A year later, they would get their revenge on the Golden Gophers in the title game, helping the Wolverines return to the NCAA Tournament after a four-year drought. As juniors, they endured the malaise of Michigan’s worst season in 30 years, despite playing more prominent roles than ever — Calderone led the team with 15 goals, while Piazza led all defensemen with 14 points en route to being named the Wolverines’ only All-Big Ten honoree. This season was supposed to be one of transition. With a first- year head coach and young talent such Hughes, Slaker, Josh Norris and Will Lockwood continuing to grow and develop, the upperclassmen were expected to bridge the gap and impart their wisdom on the youthful Wolverines in hopes of building an eventual juggernaut under Pearson. Instead, they took the reins, leading Michigan to 12 wins in its last 16 games and an all-but- guaranteed NCAA Tournament bid. “They’ve had some struggles here and they’ve had some good moments here also,” Pearson said. “Really happy for them. You need your seniors to be your leaders. … Those guys have really stepped up so good for them and good for us, we need them.” The seniors’ time at Yost is probably over. But with a dominant performance in their final appearance, their legacy is secure. Oh yeah, a second Big Ten championship — and maybe more — is still very much in play. “It’s been an awesome ride here at Yost,” Dancs said. “Sad that it’s coming to an end, but … I love the team we have right now, we’re really hot, so we’re having a lot of fun right now and we’re going to try to keep going.” EMMA RICHTER/Daily Senior forward Dexter Dancs played a crucial role in his team’s 7-4 win over Wisconsin on Saturday night, scoring a pair of goals. JACOB SHAMES Daily Sports Writer “He’s a shooter, he’s a scorer. I’m so happy for him.”