Can the Michigan hockey team build some momentum against Penn State before a six-game stretch against three top-10 opponents to close out the regular season? Here is our weekend series preview between the Wolverines and Nittany Lions:
The No. 13 Michigan Wolverines (14-10-2) will look to build momentum this weekend against the Penn State Nittany Lions (11-10-3), who are fighting for their postseason lives before a brutal six-game stretch to close out the regular season.
Keeping Penn State alive is superstar sophomore forward Aiden Fink (16G, 18A). Fink is second nationally in points per game (1.42), fifth in goals per game (.67), and is a Hobey Baker Award finalist. In order for Michigan to slow down Penn State’s elite offense, it starts with mitigating Fink and making someone else beat them.
Defensively, the Nittany Lions are almost as inconsistent as the Wolverines, but are propped up by senior captain Simon Mack (1G, 17A). Despite Finks’ greatness this season, Mack leads the team in plus/minus (+12) and has been an invaluable offensive catalyst in the second half of the season.
In net, transfer junior Arsenii Sergeev (.915 SV%) has steadily improved throughout the season and has shown flashes of why he was the former USHL Goaltender of the Year. Sergeev missed the first series against the Wolverines — Michigan lit up third-stringer Noah Grannan — so look for him to try to make up for lost time with a statement performance.
For Michigan, this weekend is about self-actualization. Is this the team from late October that swept Boston? Or is this the team from December that couldn’t score a goal for three straight games? Anticlimactically, this team is probably somewhere in between, but there’s still a chance to reignite that spark from a few months ago and ride a heater into the postseason.
Up front, Michigan has to get more shots on net. Against Wisconsin, the Wolverines only managed to get 43 shots on net all weekend. The Badgers had 46 in the first game alone. Looking for answers, fair or unfair, it starts with a freshman.
Michael Hage (11G, 14A) needs to take that next step. He is second on the team in points, but Hage is by far the most talented player on this team, and having just one point over the last four games is not going to cut it. Against the Nittany Lions in November, Hage exploded for seven points, and Michigan may need a similar performance if its defense cannot keep it together for more than a game.
The Wolverines have been inconsistent at best on the blue line since the unexpected departure of Tim Lovell. Look no further than last weekend; after allowing a staggering 46 shots to Wisconsin in the first game, Michigan only allowed 24 in the second game, which included an OT period.
Michigan needs to find some balance this weekend in order to prevent that inconsistency from eliminating it from the NCAA Tournament. The offense isn’t clicking like it was back in November when the Nittany Lions put up 11 goals, so Michigan cannot simply rely upon out-scoring Penn State and must find a way to come up with stops. These are the series where team seniors Ethan Edwards (3G, 12A) and captain Jacob Truscott (3G, 10A) need to have an impact on and off the ice.
In net, it’s time to commit to senior Logan Stein (.897 SV%). Although true freshman Cameron Korpi has the slight edge in save percentage — .899 — Stein’s veteran reliability is what this team needs to steal games when the players in front aren’t getting it done. In Game 1 against Michigan State two weeks ago, Stein came up with 35 big saves to preserve an OT victory. And last week against Wisconsin, Stein shut out the Badgers in the shootout to help secure an extra point in the standings. Korpi is the future of the program, but Stein needs to be the guy right now.
Key to the Game
“Shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, EVERYBODY!”
Shots on net. The last time these two teams faced, the Wolverines had their best offensive weekend of the year by scoring 16 goals in two games. However, that came against a third-stringer in net, and after that barrage in Happy Valley, Michigan only scored 12 goals in its next eight games. The offense has picked up in recent weeks, but the Wolverines have still fallen victim to the untimely slow period or sluggish overall performance. This weekend is a chance to rekindle a high-flying offense and gain confidence ahead of the final six games of the season, all against top-10 opponents.
Game 1
When: Friday, Jan. 31, 7 p.m. ET
Where: Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, MI
How to watch: BIG+
How to listen: Varsity Podcast Network
Game 2
When: Saturday, Feb. 1, 6 p.m. ET
Where: Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, MI
How to watch: Big Ten Network
How to listen: Varsity Podcast Network