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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