Michigan falls
to Denver in Frozen
Four overtime thriller
SPORTSWEDNESDAY
B
OSTON — As the Michigan
hockey team’s skaters lined up
along the goal line prior to the
game, each one exuded a calm about
themselves. Standing side by side, their
relaxed auras made
it seem as though
they were about
to
play
any
other
game.
And just as
throughout
the
season,
one-by-one, the
starters
were
called
to
skate
forward.
But
this
time,
they were being called to
something
greater.
Called
to compete for a spot in the
National
Championship.
Called for a chance to write
their names into the history
books.
Upon hearing their names
called, each skater sprinted
to the blue line before lifting
up the front end of a skate,
slowly bringing them to
a stop — hoping their
season
wouldn’t
come to a halt as
well.
Already
lined
up on the other blue
line, Denver heard
a
similar
—
but
opposite
—
call.
Called to thwart
Michigan’s season.
Called to propel
themselves
into
the
championship.
Called to send
the Wolverines’
stars into the
NHL empty-
handed in the
process.
And
it
was
the
Pioneers
who answered the call.
In the Frozen Four, the Wolverines
(31-10-1 overall) fell to Denver (30-9-1),
3-2, in a down-to-the-wire overtime bout,
ending their Big Ten and NCAA Regional
Championship season short of their
ultimate goal. Michigan failed to reach
a National Title, and was left standing in
TD Garden able to do nothing but look up
towards the summit of college hockey.
“(Denver’s) just structurally really
good defensively,” Michigan coach Mel
Pearson said. “Everybody thought that
this might be a high-scoring game, but
both teams played solid defensively. …
They really made it difficult on us.”
That defense kept the game tight,
forcing an overtime session to decide the
victor. Overtime transitioned from tactful
neutral zone battles to track-style high-
speed chases down the ice that created
multiple grade-A chances.
With six minutes left in overtime,
the Wolverines got their best chance to
send the Pioneers packing. Freshman
defenseman Luke Hughes used his
signature speed to create a 2-on-1 attempt,
but was rejected by goaltender Magnus
Chrona from point-blank range.
Only a minute later, that missed
opportunity
came
back
to
haunt
Michigan.
Senior
forward
Jimmy
Lambert and sophomore defenseman
Jacob Truscott both went for the puck
near their own blue line to try and spark
yet another breakaway off a blocked
Denver shot. They hesitated slightly —
unsure which one would take the puck —
leading them both to miss it and allow the
Pioneers to regain possession.
From there, the puck ended up in the
corner, where a pass into the slot found
forward Carter Savoie. Savoie launched
the puck at sophomore goaltender Erik
Portillo, who slid to his right to make the
initial season-saving stop.
But it didn’t matter.
The
save
depositioned
Portillo,
allowing Savoie to secure his own
rebound and pop the game-winning goal
into the net, beating Portillo and his last
ditch effort to get back in the crease from
the splits.
“(Michigan) had a couple really good
shifts there in that overtime,” Savoie said.
“I think our whole group did a really good
job weathering it, not giving up that next
goal. And then we found a way to put that
one in.”
Just as the goal finalized Denver’s
control, it was the Pioneers who took early
control of the high-stakes affair, striking
first and holding the Wolverines without
a shot on net throughout the first 16-plus
minutes. Michigan, though, got itself
settled in as the second period began.
And four minutes into the second, the
Wolverines broke even. Although the
Pioneers’ effective net-out poke checking
continued to give Michigan fits, Chrona’s
poke check on a Wolverines attack ended
up back in Michigan’s control, setting up a
Lambert goal.
The game-tying goal quickened the
game’s pace, and as Denver continued on
its first-period offensive aggression, the
Wolverines followed suit.
The
Wolverines’
bounce-back
response from the first period to the
second was reciprocated in the third.
Just as the Pioneers looked like they’d
skate towards victory with a redirect
goal by forward Cameron Wright six
minutes into the third period, Michigan
responded only four minutes later with
sophomore forward Thomas Bordeleau’s
goal setting the scene for the dramatic
overtime ending.
“You have to be good, and you need a
little bit of luck,” Pearson said, reflecting
on his past postseason runs. “We just
didn’t seem to have any lady luck on our
side tonight.”
No matter how talented a team is, the
Frozen Four brings out the best of the best.
Each team is good enough to win it all, but
only one can. Michigan made mistakes,
and so did Denver. The Pioneers were
lucky enough to make one less mistake in
a game with no margin for error.
So on Thursday, the Wolverines ran
out of luck. And on Saturday, while the
Pioneers take the ice, Michigan will
watch the National Championship from
home.
FROZE
PAUL NASR
Daily Sports Writer
UP
No matter how talented a
team is, the Frozen Four
brings out the best of the best.
Tess Crowley/Daily
Design by Lys Goldman