Alexis Rankin & Miles Macklin / Daily Design by Jack Silberman

Johnny Beecher’s body language said it all.

The freshman forward had a breakaway 

with senior forward Jake Slaker running the 

ice on the opposite side of the neutral zone in 

the first period. But Beecher swung the pass 

too early and Slaker crossed the blue line with 

the puck while Beecher was already in the 

offensive zone, causing an offsides call.

It was just one wasted chance in a game of 

many — ultimately leading to a 3-1 loss for the 

Wolverines (3-5-2 overall, 0-3-1-0 Big Ten) 

against the Golden Gophers (4-4-1, 1-1-2-2). 

But the frustration of wasting such perfect 

opportunity was too much for Beecher in the 

moment. He swung his head back and stared 

at the silver panels on the ceiling of Yost.

As Beecher claimed his place on the 

bench, Slaker sat next to him and patted the 

freshman’s hanging head. It was early in the 

game. Opportunities were a dime a dozen, 

and there would be plenty more chances to 

score. But as the period dwindled and the 

remaining periods dawned onward, those 

chances came. The much-needed goals 

themselves, however, would not.

“If you look at the last four periods, we 

played pretty well,” Michigan coach Mel 

Pearson said. “And you have not much to 

show for it. You can’t fault the effort. You can’t 

fault the opportunities we got. They created.”

And by the end of the game, after an 

empty-net goal by Minnesota forward Sammy 

Walker put a win out of reach, there was no 

veteran player, no alternate captain or reliable 

presence to calm the mounting frustration.

As the horn sounded, Beecher slammed his 

stick against the ice. Slaker slammed his stick 

against the empty net. It broke in two, much 

like the spirits of the remaining Michigan 

players.

“We’re not getting those bounces,” said 

senior defenseman Luke Martin. “A lot of 

posts, a lot of weird plays around their net and 

ours. It’s hard not to get frustrated.”

All game, the Wolverines created high-

danger opportunities — ones where a simple 

tap in from a rebound or another step before 

the extra pass would have been the difference 

between the offense getting shut down and 

dominating a toss-up matchup. 

Michigan outshot Minnesota in the first 

period, tied it in the second period, and again, 

outshot it in the third, totaling 39 shots on net. 

The players were getting good looks. They 

were finding the open man. They just couldn’t 

take advantage of it.

“It’s frustrating for us watching as 

coaches,” Pearson said. “I know that. All you 

can do is put yourself in a position to get good 

scoring opportunities and take your chances.”

Even on the penalty kill, such as in the first 

period, the Wolverines stemmed the tides and 

turned a disadvantage into a Grade-A scoring 

chance when Eric Ciccolini returned to five-

on-five play. 

While the Gophers were focused on 

attacking on the power play, Ciccolini 

hopped out the box and broke away for 

an uncontested confrontation with the 

Minnesota goaltender when the power play 

ended. He dangled the puck here and there, 

but in the end, couldn’t convert.

The scoring drought was only amplified 

by the fact that, while it was seemingly 

outplaying the Gophers the entire night, 

Michigan was down by at least a goal for the 

majority of the game.

Slammed sticks, constant head shaking and 

visibly frustrated Wolverine players offered a 

good explanation of what occurred.

TIEN LE
Daily Sports Editor

Michigan
FALLS TO
MINNESOTA

INSIDE SPORTSMONDAY

SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN: The meaning of a big brother 
SEE PAGE 4B

HOCKEY COVERAGE SEE PAGE 2B

SPORTSMONDAY

HE 
SHOOTS,
HE
SCORES

Michigan 1 -
Minnesota 1 (2 OT)

Michigan 1 -
Minnesota 3

Monday, November 11, 2019 | michigandaily.com

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